Eyes Up Blog, circa February 22

A month and three days ago I resumed riding from Raymond, Washington to start Act II of the ride. I certainly did not think I would now be back home in Ridgefield, Connecticut, writing a post about the past five weeks and how they went totally off script. Here we are!

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I have been back east now for 13 days and am starting to feel somewhat settled into this new, unexpected change in routine. It’s been an emotionally taxing past few weeks with some tricky logistics and still a couple large questions about what’s next. Since coming back home, I have given myself the space to be off of Instagram and Strava. With all of the changes to the trajectory to this spring, I felt that a break from social media was needed and it has been fantastic to limit my use of Instagram and Strava to focus on what’s going to keep me and the Eyes Up mission moving forward.

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The start to Act II was pretty smooth, though I did feel some resistance and hesitation as I headed north from Portland, Oregon on my Amtrak to Olympia, Washington and the land of unrelenting rain. I was fortunate enough to have help with trip-restart logistics from my Warm Showers hosts I stayed with the night before the final day of Act I. Warm Showers is an app for touring cyclists where they can find hosts offering accommodations ranging from a plot of grass to camp on to a guest suite and hot meals. John and Marnie shuttled me from Olympia to their home in Cosmopolis and then to Raymond the following morning to resume riding. They were as pleasant and easy-going as when I left them and they let me watch the end of the 49ers-Cowboys Wildcard game. I even got to spend some time with one of their grandchildren, Zoe.

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Driving back to Raymond and retracing the final ride of Act I the following morning was odd and I was taken back immediately to the emotional state I was in and it was quite wild to see it all pass by so quickly and effortlessly. Raymond is where I stopped on November 13th for what I thought would be a brief inspection of my noisy front brake and ended up being the stopping point for the year when I learned my brake was not safe to ride. Boy did it feel good to get on a fully functioning bike and pedal past the café I spent hours in while I figured out logistics on that day, and to get out of the town, onward. I was finally making my way to the Pacific Ocean.

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I got my first official glimpse of the ocean by bicycle that night as I entered Seaside, Oregon on January 17. This was after a relatively smooth ride and getting back into the headspace of bike life and enduring my first (and hopefully only) instance of being coal-rolled on the Astoria Bridge. The following day, January 18, was similarly smooth and symbolic - I made it to Cannon Beach and poured out my little pill bottle of water from Provincetown, Massachusetts that had been stashed in my med kit since August and filled it with water from the Pacific. This was where my dad started his cross-country ride back in 1977 and scooped up his own water to carry east.

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From this point forward, it felt like the universe was knocking on my door to tell me something. And that something became increasingly clear as the days went on. Let’s take a look at what all happened:

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• January 19 - the wettest day of riding I have experienced, coupled with a steady headwind
• January 20 - Hero moment! Warm Showers host John lets me take a zero day to wait out additional rain
• January 21 - I discover my sleeping pad is leaking when I woke up in the wee hours of the night
• January 23 - I stop in Bandon, Oregon to look into a creaking noise my bike is making while going uphill. Hero Moment! Jeff at South Coast Bicycles does an incredibly thorough inspection after not finding the source of the creak and discovers my derailleur hanger is cracked. At least a two-day delay while I wait for replacement to be delivered
• January 24 - Hero moment! Warm Showers host John somehow sources and delivers a replacement derailleur hanger to Bandon
• January 25 - Shooting knee pain while getting ready for the day. Bike still making creaking noises. Erin at Pineapple Express Adventure Rides discovers a crack in my bike frame. Hero moment! Erin starts the warranty process with Kona so my frame can be replaced
• January 26 - Free hub seizes. That's the center part of your rear wheel that clicks and allows you to coast and pedal forward (it’s important). Hero moment! Erin from Pineapple Express offers to drive a replacement wheel to where I am on the side of the road. I was fortunately able to fix the hub and carry on
• January 27 - Almost unbearable pain in left quad on final 12 miles of the day
• January 28 - Shortened mileage to just 23 to protect knees
• January 31 - After two full days of rest for the body, knee pain returns after only 20 miles. Zipper on frame bag breaks.
• February 1 - Knee pain returns almost immediately after starting to ride. Day ends after 5 miles in Miranda, California and I decide to make my way home. Hero moment! Sam (a brand new Warm Showers host) approaches me in Miranda (he teaches there) and offers to drive me after school to their home and host me.
• February 2 - Hero moment! Sam from Warm Showers’ wife Janelle happens to be driving to San Francisco for work and offers to shuttle me and my bike down
• February 3 - Heroes! Good friend Maddy and her fiancé Nick let me crash at their apartment in San Francisco until I figure my situation out

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In short, it became abundantly clear when I got to Miranda, California and reflected back on all that had added up over the past week or so that I needed to stop riding and go home for a while to figure things out. These were all unexpected and, at times, incredibly frustrating setbacks. It was less clear at the moment, but now looking back it is obvious how fortunate and blessed I was to have so many heroes helping me get through these couple of weeks. This is amazing and consistent with my experience for the entire journey, regardless of whether I was facing a real challenge or just passing through a town. People are incredible and want to help. This country is filled with kindness and generosity. I think it’s hard to see for most of us these days with the media we consume.

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I’ve now been off the bike for almost three weeks and have had time to settle into a yoga and stretching routine and, more recently, swimming. All of these things seem to agree with my body and I am confident I will be back on the bike sometime this spring. This is a large period of time away from my riding goal. It’s also a great opportunity to focus on raising awareness through events, talks, and presentations. If you know a group or organization that may be interested in hearing my story and about TextLess Live More, please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

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Talk soon! There is good out there. Eyes Up!

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-Ben Grannis

ben.grannis@gmail.com

EyesUpRide.com

#EyesUpRide

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