Day 9 - Wednesday, July 4, 2012 - ouch!

We haven't really elaborated on the myriad of pain that affects us each on a daily basis. Just to put things into perspective, this trip hasn't been all mallow and peanut butter. The run down:
- Melissa:
Kneecaps - The tips of my knee caps are in pain with each pedal stroke until the Aleve breaks down and streams through my body, slightly dulling the pain and switching from one knee to other.
Ankle - I sustained an injury from the sand boarding excursion. I had my left foot in the binding and was attempting to skate to the edge of the dune, where I slammed the board into my right ankle (I probably just needed more wax to make the board move more smoothly). So now I have a bruise that aches with each pedal stroke as well. It wouldn't hurt as much if the sand boarding was worth it.
- Mike:
My Achilles heal is my Achilles tendon. Just on the right side, but it HURTS! No amount of ibuprofen seems to help so I've stopped trying. Just hoping it will get better when we have a rest day. My ass is also killing me. I adjust my seat several times a day and think I've found the perfect location..... Until it starts to hurt again. Prostate might be broken. I throw up when climbing hills after lunch. Not a big deal though. Other than those minor things I feel great!
- DJ:
achilles. back. butt. pride. i suggest more than a week's worth of training for anyone considering a similar excursion.
- Z:
I'm feeling pretty good right now. I had all the typical pains of a saddle in the wrong position for the first few days, but applying the intermediate value theorem and playing the game of millimeters I think I've finally found the perfect saddle height.
-ALL:
Sore Quads!!! (Except Melissa.)

We hit the road early without a cloud in the sky. At a market 10miles out, we copped a few flags to show our American pride on our bikes.

We blazed down 101 with the wind at our backs and stopped for lunch in Gold Beach after peddling out 50miles. Along the way we saw wind surfers and a kite boarder taking advantage of the strong winds and waves. Our solid morning made the climbs later in the day that much easier, and we made it to Brookings in good time with a total of 84miles for the day.

We set up camp at the Harris Beach State Park hiker/biker area. From there we made a dinner of quinoa, broccoli, and squash. We had a fire going and made s'mores, perfecting our technique with melting chocolate and adding peanut butter into the equation. We couldn't view the fireworks from camp, but enjoyed the fourth of July sounds in the background as we drank a few beers around the fire with a fellow bike tourer we met a few days ago.

Even with all of our ailments, we're having an amazing time. And we certainly played Phantom Planet's song California in excitement for entering the last state on our journey!