Elk, Rain, and Frozen Toes and Fingers

 I loaded up my bike with all the bags that I will be using for bikepacking and went for a training spin on the cold wet roads.I found the loaded bike rode very comfortably and was surprised that there wasn’t more sluggishness. Maybe when I add water bottles and food and a few other odds and ends I’ll find that it’s a little bit more cumbersome but so far it rides like a charm. Well almost like a charm.

This morning I went for a ride and before I even got out of Gearhard there was a traffic jam on the highway. I slow down and rode beside the cars on the generous bike path trying to pass them. When I got to the front car that seem to be stalled in the in the traffic lane, I discovered the reason for the slow down.  Standing in front of me was an elk. When I say standing in front of me I mean literally standing in front of me, about 6 feet away. I stopped and stared him in the eye he looked skittish but was not interested in my bicycle and was not interested in the bright green high viz. clothing I was wearing.  I looked around to make sure there were no cows and no calves nearby, and I signaled to the oncoming traffic to slow down because there was an elk about to cross. A young bull with velvet nubs where his antlers would soon sprout.

The elk made it across the highway in one piece and the traffic resumed. It’s funny but it didn’t make me nervous in spite of the fact that I could almost reach out and touch the elk. When I realize how dangerous the situation could have been it makes me shutter a wee bit. 

Anyway I continued with my ride. I had to go to the Seaside library and from there I rode the rest of the way down to the Seaside prom and along the prom through Seaside and out the other side.  I turned at Rippet Road and went to Pat‘s new cottage, which is on land owned by the north coast land conservation trust. The house is on Circle Creek and Pat just calls it the creek house, a house that was built in 1941 and is being refurbished for the land trust. Meanwhile Pat will be living there as caretaker. What a job. It’s beautiful around there  and all native plants.

It was raining the entire time and my hands and feet were like blocks of ice. When I got to the cabin, which Pat and her son Jeffrey were repairing. I went inside to get warm. I asked if there was anything I could do to contribute to the work party getting the cabin ready  and they both said simultaneously you can make some tea for our break so I went to the kitchen and made 3 cups of tea in fact wasn’t there a book called 3 cups of tea anyway we had tea and sat and looked out the window and watched it rain . The next time I come to the Creek House, Pat will have moved to the Circle Creek house. She is putting in $2000 a month to renovate the cabin and as a benefit she gets to live in the house and only pay utilities which are about $300 a month.

It was still raining. Pat offered to let me take her car back to the house in Gearhart but I said no thank you I’m training. I got back on my bike and navigated the cold wet puddles rode back along the prom in Seaside again this time there was nobody on the prom. I rode all the way to the end and then across the highway and went along the back road to Gearhart. As I got to Gearhart there was an ambulance going by and I later found out from Pat that there was a fatal accident on Highway 26 between Portland and Seaside . It is a sober reminder that I have to be careful of all the cars and the traffic when I’m on my bike ride.

I also apparently have to watch out for wild animals. Fortunately it was an elk that I faced from six feet away and not a bear  and not a buffalo, but it is a nice sendoff from the animal kingdom saying have a good safe ride.