I left Rockaway Beach at 8:45 this morning. It was cold, drizzly and foggy still. After about an hour of riding, I stopped just before Tillamook for breakfast to thaw my balls, and to ask about the scenic detour. The server suggested it was the most common bike route, so that sold me. She did also say it was hilly, and that the roads were narrow, and there were no gravel parts. Perfect.
The first 30 minutes were flat, and beautiful. Despite the fog, the farm land and fishermen were fun to watch. Then the hills started. There wasn't a flat road for the next 5 hours. I think I climbed 3 mountains in total, all at the speed of 5k and hour going up, and 50k an hour coming down. I really appeciated my helmet mirror most on this leg. I could see if anyone one was behind me at any time, which allowed me to use the road more liberally until an approaching vehicle came. There was no shoulder. Also, the towns were few and far between. Thank goodness I had a lot of water.
I made my first real mistake today. I rode into some deep sand. This covered my entire bike with sand. The gears, the chain, the derailer. I stopped at a public washroom to do my best to clean my bike. I got most the sand out, and re-lubed everything.
I arrived in Pacific City at about 3:00 and 88km later and as soon as I got here, I knew I was good to stay here. It's beautiful here. There is also a long boarding competition in town, so there's a bit of a vibe here. I was also quite tired. I found an awesome room for $99 and the room tax is $0.99 here. Crazy. The beers are $2.75 and no tax. Oregon kicks ass that way. After a soak in the tub, I could barely walk to the pub. But I made it alright. I hadn't eaten since breakfast, so the prime rib meal was perfect.
Tomorrow I have a other big hill in the morning. After today, I think I can handle just about anything. Luckily for me, nothing matters.
1 comment:
Yeah, um anonymous is Harm
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