Back to the Adventure

Sometimes things work out, but in a completely different way than you expected. Anxious to know when my new trailer wheel would arrive, yesterday I emailed the company in the U.K. to see if they could give me an estimated delivery date. The good news was that they responded overnight; the bad news was that they informed me that security changes in the way they process financial transactions meant they were unable to accept my order until I contacted my credit card company and had 3D Secure added to my card. So after 10 days of thinking I had my problem under control, I was back to square one.

It was at this point that a conversation I had on Sunday became important. I meet a couple of people at the pre-eclipse party (more on that later) who mentioned that Burley, the company that made my trailer, was headquartered in Eugene, OR, about an hour and a half south of where I was staying. So after getting the bad news from the UK, I decided to drive down to the corporate offices and beg them for help. It turns out begging was not necessary. When I arrived I found an empty reception room with a phone on the desk to contact someone inside. The woman who answered listened to my story and said someone would be out shortly to assist me. Seven to eight minutes later Jay came out holding two Travoy wheels and asked me about the problem I was having. I went through the whole story. He seemed genuinely interested and then just gave me two new wheels. Just like that. He wouldn't even let me pay for them. I wanted to hug him but resisted the urge. Jay is my new hero and Burley is my new favorite company in the world.

This means that tomorrow I ride again. Hooray. Here is the bad wheel next to the good wheel for comparison.

Activity update. 

I spent Friday exploring Portland. I liked it. I found plenty of good beer and an Irish pub where they take two quarters, wrap them in a dollar bill, then toss the bill straight up and it somehow sticks to the wooden ceiling ten feet above. They would only attribute it to Irish magic. I also discovered Mills End Park, listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the smallest park in the world. 

Saturday I went out to the Willamette Valley and stopped at two terrific wineries, JK Carriere and Hyland, both recommended by my neighbor and Pinot Noir expert, Grant Baker. The owner at JK Carriere, Jim Prosser, did a cross-country ride in the 90s so I spent a fair amount of time there talking. He was charming, knowledgeable, entertaining, and makes excellent wine. I recommend it if you are in the area.

Sunday I drove further south to visit my friend Jean Ann Quinn and her husband Pat Leavy. They hosted a pre-eclipse dinner at their farm near Aurora for about 50 people. About 25-30 of the attendees camped on the property overnight. I somehow scored a room and bed inside. Monday morning we got up early and drove a few miles south to get further into the path of totality. This was the view of Mt Hood from their front yard at sunrise. 

We could not have asked for a better day, clear skies and warm. Here we are getting ready. 

This is Jean Ann and me watching the early part of the eclipse.

I had read that the difference between 99% and total was dramatic, but I was not prepared for how amazing it was to take the glasses off and see the sun completely gone. We had 40-50 seconds of totality. It was a rare experience. I am glad it worked out for me to be there and I cannot thank Jean Ann and Pat enough for letting me be a part of it. There is a tiny part of me that is sad I didn't get to stay a couple of more days and help with the hops harvest.

Tomorrow I am off again. I leave Olympia after dropping off the car and head south to Castle Rock, WA. I think it will be close to 70 miles.