Whiskey and Beer.

Gonna keep it short this time, I'm tired and we have a big day tomorrow.

When we got up this morning, our lovely hosts Harriet and John had already left for work, so we were on our own for breakfast. There was no shortage of options, however. Harriet also packed us brown bag lunches, despite our worries that we might not be able to fit them. Luckily my magical panniers pulled through (last night I eloquently compared them to Hermione Grainger's purse) and I  crammed it all in.

Today was a little tough on our bodies; Sam's knee has still been acting up, and once again my allergies are off the friggin' hook. It was about 13 years ago biking through this same spot with my dad that my allergies to pollen first began, so it's quite fitting that they're giving me such hell now. We managed to find a brace for Sam's knee in Corvallis, but he and I still had kind of a rough day.

We had a fun moment today about 15 miles out of Eugene, when we both ran out of water. We were both parched for a few miles, until our route took us through the lovely hickville called Coburg (pop about 1100), where we managed to find some water and powerade. It has never tasted so good.

Fully hydrated, we made our way to my buddy Ben's house, near U of O. I took a shower, and immediately after began the worst allergy attack I've had in many years. My eyes were all puffy, I could barely breathe, and I looked quite ridiculous. I almost went to urgent care, but when we went to walk there, I started to feel better, and I managed to get by with some antihistamine eye drops. Hopefully once we get out of this godforsaken valley I will feel better. Wah.

Despite Sam's limp and my significant facial handicap, we visited Ninkasi brewery and got tasters of all their beers on tap. Mmm. We then headed across the street to a sweet japanese whiskey bar, where we proceeded to spend too much money. But man was it good. Yummy food and some classy single malts. So despite the setbacks, life is good.

Sam's been riding with basically no back brakes, cause his are all worn down. He's been neglecting to change them for the last several days, and finally, at almost 12:30 tonight, he's getting around to it. Good thing, he'll probably need them on the ride tomorrow. Which we're a little worried about. It's gonna be a big day. 

The Special Sam Moment of the Day:
As we were leaving the japanese restaurant tonight... Sam: "i know how to get back. Trust me, I'm Sam the navigat...the nav...navigator...the navigating captain!"