June 1st, 2017: I’d slept fitfully the previous night, and rose by 0500 hrs. After some more tinkering with the saddlebag setup, a quick shower, and a banana and a smoothie for breakfast, I was ready. It was drizzling, so both Meaghan and I threw on our rain jackets and hit the road. She knew the way to the meeting point selected by TABR racers heading to Astoria, so that was one less thing for me to worry. After a few minutes of rolling, we made it to the meeting place, and saw many other racers had already made it there. Brad and Alexis Crossley were going to drive to Astoria, but were there anyway, to meet other riders. Ever the nicest of folks, they even offered to transport stuff to Astoria, if any of us didnt feel like lugging our gear all the way. I also met Jen Colestock, Eric Fishbein, Jack Peterson, Timothy Stephen, Andrew Suzuki, and other riders for the first time there.

I was set to leave to the United States, for the Transam Bike Race 2017, on the 31st of May, with my bike and all accessories in a bike box. The idea was to disembark in Portland, use the tools available at the Portland airport (they have a special bike assembly section!), discard the box and ride to my hotel. Then, there was this little matter of things not going according to plan.