My two sons and I just completed a 700 mile ride starting in Victoria BC and ending in Calif. It was an amazing exsperience on so many levels. Here are a couple of pics and the link to our web site about the trip. My 18 year old completed the entire ride, and my 11 year old rode 3 of the days. Although he could have done much more.

MBD

http://groups.msn.com/Bikingthewestcoast

Looks like I will have to resize the pictures to get them to load, so for now just click on the link.

Thnaks so much for posting your photos of your trip. It brought back some fond memories of my ride down the Oregon Coast in 1993. Some friends and I did the ride. We had a van and someone to drive it to carry our gear from campground to campground so all we had to carry on our bikes was water. What a wonderful trip. We left Fort Stevens State Park on September 20th. Had one day of fog. We averages 50 miles a day or so. Took a day off when we got to Newport. The Oregon campground were just great. Of course by mid-September they were pretty much deserted. The best ride ever!

Wow man, great pictures! Looks like a wicked cool trip. Any idea what the total weight of all your luggage was?

I kept looking at the pictures and wondering how you managed to get up hills and then stop while going downhill with all that stuff!

How many days did it take?

Wow man, great pictures! Looks like a wicked cool trip. Any idea what the total weight of all your luggage was?

I kept looking at the pictures and wondering how you managed to get up hills and then stop while going downhill with all that stuff!

How many days did it take?

We started riding July 14th and finnished July 29th .... 17 glorious days. You know I never weighed it. But it really wasn't bad. In fact I was thinking today, riding my bike, that it didn't feel much different with my panniers on. And one of my favorite parts of the whole ride was simplfying your life down to just what will fit on your bike. Mid way thru I sent 10 lbs of excess stuff. If I hadn't used it by that point I figured I didn't need it.

However Dan pulled a trailer and I know he said he was pulling about 90 lbs of gear, but he had more stuff than me just cause he had more space. But I deliberately did not want more space and just kept it to two rear panniers.

BTW thanks for looking at the pictures, I just looked at them again tonight and its like wow that was so awesome.

MBD

PS I just looked at the bikes again and I can see why you would think that. This picture was the first day coming to Lake Cresent. The sign warns that the next 12 miles are very dangerous. But give us a few more days into the trip and we had got rid of alot.

Thats Jake and Dan, two of the funniest guys you will ever meet. The other guy in the background is Dans dad , he wasn't in the physical shape he should have been, but he got that way in a hurry..

Thnaks so much for posting your photos of your trip. It brought back some fond memories of my ride down the Oregon Coast in 1993. Some friends and I did the ride. We had a van and someone to drive it to carry our gear from campground to campground so all we had to carry on our bikes was water. What a wonderful trip. We left Fort Stevens State Park on September 20th. Had one day of fog. We averages 50 miles a day or so. Took a day off when we got to Newport. The Oregon campground were just great. Of course by mid-September they were pretty much deserted. The best ride ever!

Yeah Newport is a good place to spend a day. Did you go to the Newport Aquarium or Sea World I can't remember its exact name? I thought it was cool that they now have enclosed little garages that you can lock your bikes in with your gear and at no extra charge. Newport also has a good bike shop.

WOW

This is something your kids will never forget, what a great thing for their memory bank as they mature.

WOW

This is something your kids will never forget, what a great thing for their memory bank as they mature.

Thanks DnvrFox we have had a lot of great adventures together. I have 4 kids and I have try to not only do things as a family but one on one adventures as well. A couple of years ago my oldest son gave me a scrap book for Christmas titled. Dad and Jakes most excellant adventures. Its kind of the benefit of having and excentric father who refuses to grow up. :D Mark, the 11 year old and I are already planning a Canada to San Francisco ride in 2006.


MBD

Here's a shot of Marky Mark. Quite an adventure for an 11 year old to go on an unsupported bike trek. He hauled all of his own gear. And had nerves of steel when the logging trucks zoomed by.

Mark is measuring a crab he caught in the one photo, for someone raised in the desert crabbing is surreal.

MBD

We sure did. Nice little town.