Westport to Long Beach (Garmin File)
We rolled out of the Saltwater Inn at Westport with mostly sunny skies and a mild crosswind from the east and spent the better part of the day navigating around Willapa Bay. There was so much green and the shoulders were pretty good. With 130 miles, 6000 feet of climbing and 11 hours in the saddle so far we were starting to feel the effects. Parkinson’s Disease is a movement disorder and while many of us can hide it pretty well, at least early on, it becomes harder when you are tired. A classic tell, which I have as well is a dropped shoulder and a bent arm. It feels as awkward as it looks and it ends up putting abnormal stresses on the body. Shoulders ache, lower backs hurt and so on. Further adding to the point that Pedal to Phoenix was no normal bike tour, we had Albert and Julie filming our trip. They have a grant from Norwegian donors to create a documentary focusing on the Norwegians. I was glad to not be a focus, so I could limp into the corner at rest stops and rest in peace and quiet. Spoiler alert, a 9 minute short film was presented at the World Parkinson’s at the end of the trip and brought tears to many eyes.
