August 11,
2001. Eugene to Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area (Florence), Oregon. (77 mi.) Mile
4259
"Great
joy in camp.."
"Great joy in camp we are
in View of the Ocian, this great Pacific Ocean which we been So long anxious
to See."
Captain William
Clark, 1805
Last night the excitement and
anticipation of pedaling to the successful finish of our journey kept us awake
as if we were kids anticipating Christmas. It wasn't hard to pack up and get
an early start. While pedaling the last miles toward the coast, I contemplated
the previous 4,200. We have covered so many miles, seen so much country, met
so many people. This has been an amazing way to see the country. I have enjoyed this
trip so much, ...well,.. except
for traffic.
The first miles today were through
quiet rural backroads, one of the most appreciated aspects of the TransAm
Trail. We have only had to contend with heavy traffic when there were no
alternatives. Today, however, there was no alternative but to share the final
miles to Florence on Hwy 126 with a steady string of heavy traffic and the
constant roar of tires just a few feet away.
Highway 126 to the coast
My parents caught up with us in
their car just in time to help escort us through the Hwy 126 tunnel, where
bicyclists have to push a button to activate a warning sign, "Bicyclists
in Tunnel", then ride as fast as they can before being overtaken by an
impatient motorist. My parents followed us slowly through the tunnel with
their warning lights flashing, but the tunnel is short and downhill in our
direction....so no problem.
Push the button
and go for it.
Fifteen miles from the
coast, we stopped for lunch at Mapleton, where the remainder of the Family
Welcoming Party caught up with us. This included all of the kids except
daughter Jennifer, who will catch up with us when she returns soon from a trip
to Japan. Grandson Braden made it though, despite a bout of car sickness
within the last 30 minutes. He was sporting a change of clothes and making a
miraculous and complete recovery. It was so good to see him and the rest of
the family again! While we were busy bicycling across the country, Braden had
been busy growing bigger and learning to walk.
Reunion with
Braden
After lunch, the rest of the family
went on ahead while we followed the Siuslaw River the remainder of the way to
Florence. I would have been grinning ear to ear but that might have risked
getting bugs in my teeth. I even felt a lump in my throat as the river
gradually widened and took on more and more the appearance of a tidewater
river. Marinas and sea birds heralded the presence of the ocean ahead. Even
the headwind off the Pacific didn't phase us or slow us down.
Along the Siuslaw
River to Florence
In Florence we unloaded our bikes
and threw the panniers in the back of our car, which was waiting for us in
town. Then we rode a few more miles to the Oregon Dunes National Recreational
Area to get the full effect of the mighty Pacific. The family snapped pictures
and held up a banner as we rode up to the
beach, where we pushed our bikes
over the sand dunes to dip the tires in the Pacific. It was a bright sunny day
and the ocean was beautiful, more beautiful to us than the Atlantic on that
cloudy day in May, so long ago, when we dipped our tires at the beginning of
our trip. We had made it coast to coast on our bicycles!!
1) 
2)
1) The last few yards of over 4200 miles of pedaling
2) Over the sand to dip our tires in the Pacific: our grand finish!
It felt strange to put our bikes on
our car's bike rack and get in the car to drive back to Florence. We hadn't
been in a car for at least a month, and only a few times in the last 3 months.
The familiar part was heading to the local Dairy Queen after working up an
appetite. Here we sang Happy Birthday to Braden who is now 1 year + 3 days
old. Just as we had a carrot cake at the beginning of our trip to celebrate
our Send Off, we coincidentally had
another carrot cake at the end, to celebrate our finish. Because it was
Braden's birthday, this time we let him carry through with his intent to get
his hands on the cake.
3) 
4) 
5) 
6) 
3) Our welcoming
party left to right: Colin, Mom, me, Dad, Mike, Sam, Braden, Zoe
4) The effect of
the sugar kicks in as Braden enjoys the cake
5) Our kids had decorated a homemade celebration cake while
enroute to meet us.
The cake reads "Biked across USA for Braden's 1st B-Day".
6) Grandson Braden
got a camping trip to the beach out of it.
Braden will be camping on the
Oregon coast for a few days (with his parents) so he can play in the sand some
more. The rest of us headed back to motels in Eugene to get some rest before
driving home tomorrow.
