Day 127 – Newport to Newberg

Today did not go quite as well as I’d hoped. The weather was good and it was set to be the flattest day I’ve had this week, so it should have been fairly straightforward.

To be fair, the weather was stunning, and I have decided that Oregon – for the most part – is a very nice place to ride through. There is a downside that comes with this increase in temperature though. My shoes have instantly started smelling again… so apologies to the person who has this room after me.

Now whilst heading inland brought heat, it did not bring a tailwind; nor indeed any less wind. I will soon be heading east and I’m praying that that brings a prevailing tailwind. Something I’m yet to experience on this trip.

I wasn’t the only one suffering today though. I came across someone else riding in the same direction for once. Like me, he also seemed suitably unimpressed.

Regardless of the wind, the main issue with today came after about 75 kilometres when I discovered my rear wheel had buckled. I don’t remember hitting anything so it may actually have been that way for a while; but either way it was not very amusing.  I set about trying to fix it but after about 20 minutes I had made no progress. There weren’t any spokes that were noticeably looser, so it wasn’t the easiest thing to do… replacing a broken spoke would have been an easier task.

Anyway, I headed on to a bike shop and was very pleased when they said they would have it sorted in half an hour. Predictably, my joy was short-lived as after a few kilometres of riding, it had returned to wobbling all over the place. This means my ego isn’t so badly wounded as even a ‘proficient’ mechanic couldn’t fix it, but it does mean I still have a dodgy wheel.

I had another attempt this evening but I think I’m making it worse. I have 25 miles to Portland tomorrow where I’ll get it properly looked at.

Hopefully tomorrow’s update will be a bit more positive…

Distance: 112.7 miles / 181.2 km
Riding Time: 8:12:06
Av. Speed: 13.7 mph / 22.1 kph

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