Read any bike touring story and you will hear tales of kindness, giving and community no matter where the adventure took place.  Oregon and Washington proved to be no different.  We will post a full trip report later- but for now, I wanted to share what I think is one of the best part of bike touring… the people.

Our adventures are made possible by friends, family and the folks we meet along the way.

For our five day NW Oregon – SW Washington adventure we had the awesome support of my Mom who held down the fort, including the two dogs, while we were away.

The pups, being very energetic were walked every day thanks to our good friend’s son, Sam.  The Sinicki’s were awesome dog whisperers!  And the jar of homemade Lemon Curd they left in our refrigerator isn’t too bad, either!

Sami, a friend and Linfield Alumna, student of mine, also partook in dog walking and helping Hazel (mom) out with some garden work.  Thanks Sami and good luck in Medical School!  You will be a fine doctor!

Then there are the folks on the journey who helped in large and small ways: The Forest Service Ranger who provided the details of the hiker/biker camp site which we had all to ourselves. He also warned us about the “Kegger” just getting started in the camp ground we had intended on staying.

The folks who donated bottled water to us on a 95 degree day when we neglected to get water when we could… because the “town” of Jewel will have water (the town of Jewel, Mist and anything in between are merely crossroads with no store)-  we were starting to seriously think about climbing down the step banks to the Nehalem river- that would have been our next step!

And last but definitely not least our new friend Angela who graciously let us park our truck in her driveway in Astoria.  Thanks for the fine “recovery” goodies you left in the truck for us!  Very tasty and very kind.

It is often acts of kindness that makes a bike tour just that much better and restores my faith in the human race.  If you see folks bike touring, say hi, offer them some water or strike up a conversation.  I know I will.