Here's Home Slice taking one of the millions of pictures he took of himself during the ride. (Hey Mr. DJ, cue up Carly Simon's "You're So Vain.") Besides the fact that this picture captured Jody's nice smile, check out what else it captured: That little speck in the background above Jody's left shoulder is me! (Had Jody known that I infiltrated his picture, you can bet your last dollar that he would have taken another shot of himself. I mean, just look at that smile of his. I should probably draw a little speech bubble next to his head and fill it with these words: "Yeahhhhhhh. I'm so coooooool.") I had been riding for a long time by myself in the back that day and thought I wouldn't see Jody, Joe, or Tom, who were all way ahead of me, until we reached Aberdeen. That's why I was both shocked and relieved to see Jody and Joe at this point. But where was Tom? Unfortunately for him, Jody and Joe had been relaxing out of sight for about 5 or 10 minutes before they headed back to this turnout. They did leave a helmet on the side of the road in case one or both of us rode past, but poor Tom didn't see it and kept on riding and riding and riding, all the way to our destination, chasing after Jody and Joe.
Here's a picture of Jody during the windy crossing of that really long bridge between Washington and Oregon. I think the look on his face says it all.
This picture isn't all that spectacular (despite what Jody thinks: "All my pics are money, baby!"), but it does show Tom wearing a helmet, which makes it special. Why? Well, he left his helmet in Seattle and had ridden all the way to Oregon without one! Doh! Luckily, we found a bike shop in the first town after we crossed the Astoria-Megler Bridge, so Tom was able to buy a new helmet, finally. Tom's noggin was so happy, I swear I heard it let out a big "Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!"
Here's what happens to your face when you stick to Jody's back wheel in the rain for hours on end... Oddly enough, I kind of enjoyed it. At least my shades kept the gunk out of my eyes!
About 60 miles north of Eureka, a little past Klamath (California), Jody and I took a detour along the Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway that runs through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. I highly recommend it. (Check out the aura emanating from Jody's head. Yet more proof that he's a superhuman.)
Here's a cool shot of the Big Sur coastline.
And here's another look at the coast, which Jody obviously captured while in motion.
I just love this picture. Why? Because it proves that I was actually in front of Jody for a few seconds! Seriously, this is the only picture from the ride that shows what my back looks like.
I also like this picture a lot, because it captures one of the most relaxing times of the ride. The sun was shining, there were so few cars that we could ride in the fast lane, and we knew all the hard riding was behind us. I was feeling good!
Jody: Self-portrait.
Yours truly, having some more fun!
Here's one of Jody's patented shots of him plus another rider, in this case me. It was November 1. We were one day from reaching our goal and the sun was out in force. Perhaps that explains why we were so damn happy!
Here's another picture of Jody and me just after we crossed back over to the United States, after spending about 45 minutes in Mexico. Dekita! We did it!
And finally, here's a picture of the back of the one and only non-riding shirt that I brought along for the trip. Trust me, I'm not a fan of Argentina (although I should add that I don't dislike the country in any way) or Argentinian soccer, but I am a fan of the seniors at my school. You see, every year the senior boys traditionally buy soccer jerseys and this year, for the first time, they included me in the purchase. I thought that was really cool of them, so I wanted to show my thanks somehow. That's why I wore this shirt in their honor. (Why montaña? Because that means mountain, which is what my last name, Berg, means. And why 32? Because that's how many seniors there are this year.) I love you, Class of 2011!
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