Love Letters

Dear public transportation,

I love you. I've returned home to the south and I think I miss you most of all. More than Galbraith, prehistoric ferns, shellfish, bike lanes, or huge mountains. I found myself up poop creek without a paddle a few times and you bailed me out on each occasion. Never mind that I had to walk miles to reach you, carrying my luggage every step. Never mind that you cost me money. You are still awesome and convenient and while I understand that Brevard is not very welcoming to you, I wish we could be reunited here.

Regards,

The person that spent a lot of time with you

Dear Andy,

You are amazing and cute. I'm sorry about your brother, but you've still got the magic. Kick ass.

Love,

Your number one fan

Coming to an End

Hood River is a great place. Tina and I rode at Post Canyon, which she described (with some derision) as the Bent Creek of Oregon...I couldn't complain. Smooth, fast tabletops, switchbacks, and berms are something I don't get enough of. Then magically the dusty trail opened up into what felt like a remote mountain meadow. I loved it. 

After our ride we enjoyed some excellent music at Double Mountain Brewery, then watched fireworks over the Columbia River. God bless Uhmerica. 

Short track on motocross course=painful, ridiculous. I will say, Portland's race scene is something to aspire to, but the thirty minutes of heckling, tutus, and mud reminded me that I am really, truly not interested in racing right now.

 

And now it's one more day on the train, one more day in Bellingham (hoping to watch some Tour at Mount Bakery, just so I can gaze upon the younger Schleck), and a long day on the plane. Big thanks to Tasha and Alexis for their hospitality and good times. 

Brief

Alexis, Tiffany, and I are heading out to Hood River for some bicycle riding so here's a quick recap of the past few days. 

-I finally fell in love with Galbraith on my third ride because I discovered the wealth of awesome not-freerider stuff the mountain has to offer. 

-Circumstances dictate that I won't be going to Canada at all this trip, which is pretty disappointing. 

-Hopping the train to go to Portland felt like coming home. I love trains now. Especially because the nice people at Amtrak let me stay in Portland an extra day at no cost. That means tomorrow: moto short track!

-Yesterday was beach day. Oregon has very pretty beaches.  

-We availed ourselves of Portland's excellent bus system to check out the massive blues festival going on at the waterfront. After wandering through crowds of tripping hipsters and nutty old people we found a great band for dancing, and proceeded to do so for three hours. Love. 

-I am SO over traveling for now. Looking forward to settling back into the comfortable (and MUCH CHEAPER) routine at home. 

Bennett and the beach