I woke up to a cool, damp, and foggy morning. No one had bothered me in my "unofficial" camp site, which was nice, and I packed up, ate a PB&J bagel, and left. Sadly, it looks like my cycle computer died last night, the wheel sensor stopped working, so I no longer get a speed reading or distance, but cadence still works. From here on out till I get a new one, all daily distances I record will be based off the ACA map segments, which should be pretty close.
I ended up biking in the fog all morning to Astoria. I made sure to turn on my flashing tail light, which I really haven't been using unless I'm riding at dusk or night. I also ended up wearing my windbreaker which usually get shed very quickly as I heat up, but it was cool enough to keep it on, even half-zipped. As I cycled I was surrounded by damp forest filled with tall pine trees and smaller vegetation like ferns between them.
Before I knew it I was coming down into Astoria and the town definitely had a foggy coastal fishing town vibe to it. The traffic was a bit congested around the peninsula that was the town, and I kept wondering where this end point will be, when will I hit the Pacific? Well, as it turns out, Astoria is kind technically still in the Columbia River, as you can still see the Washington shore on the other side of the water.
Looking at the map, I would have to push on to Seaside if I wanted to get to a beach with a full ocean view. The route between Astoria and Seaside goes back into the hills a bit, taking me on a windy rural road, aptly named the "Lewis & Clark Rd" with little traffic and a small but decent climb.
Once I made it to the top, I was treated to a fast windy downhill into Seaside. I jumped onto the I-101, the coastal highway which runs down to California, and I immediately noticed - lots of traffic. I was told to expect it, but as I entered Seaside, I started moving faster than the traffic, it was the slow moving kind you'd expect to see in any tourist town.
I would be staying with a warmshowers host tonight in town, Neil, who lives between I-101 and the Pacific, so I decided to check in with him before I went for my official dip in the ocean. I found his house pretty easily and was greeted by 2 guys there who were touring the west coast in an old but working RV and another guy who was hitchhiking, but Neil was out somewhere running errands.
After introducing myself and chatting for a while, the sun had come out and I wanted to finally hit the Pacific so I left the house and traveled maybe 100 yards to the beach. Let me tell you, riding a fully loaded touring bike in the sand worked for all of 5 seconds, and even pushing it was hard work, the tires just dig right into the sand.
I probably looked out of place on the beach populated by people in swimwear, but I didn't care. I pushed my bike out until the waves licked the tires... and I made it! Mission Completed! 4,447 miles from Ithaca, NY to the Pacific ocean in Seaside, OR!
I beamed with pride looking at the open ocean, and then remembered that I should probably get some pictures! I asked a woman nearby and once she heard how far I've gone she gladly agreed to help me. After that was all said and done, I just leaned on my bike's top tube and looked into the ocean for about 20 minutes.
My trip, which seemed very daunting the first couple weeks out, was completed. All those times I thought that it might be too much, too big to do, was done. I remember cycling through the corn fields of Indiana, wondering if I'd be able to make it through the winds of Kansas; in the Kansas heat, sweating, wondering how I would get over the passes of Colorado; crossing into Wyoming, hearing stories of crazy winds and snow in Montana and if I'd be able to get through it all... and I did.
Afterward, I cycled back to Neil's house where I hung out with the guys until Neil came back and then I introduced myself. Right off the bat I could tell Neil was the type of guy who was very generous with what he had and spent a lot of his time helping other people out. He loved having people at his house, and offered his cabin up in eastern Oregon to any of us that would be passing though.
Eventually it was getting later and everyone else was still up in the dining room chatting while I excused myself to get some much needed sleep. Neil said he was going to drive some kids to a track meet in Eugene tomorrow, but I should feel free to spend an extra day at his place if I wanted. I thanked him and told him a rest day sounded awesome...
It would give me a chance to sleep in, catch up on some things... and plan my trip to San Francisco! That's right, this bike trip just got extended! I picked up the Pacific coast route maps at the ACA headquarters in Missoula in case I got to the coast and decided to tack on another 800 miles! Might as well, everyone and their brother has been telling me that the Pacific coast is beautiful to bike, and hell, I'm already out here, let's do this!
Start: Gnat Creek Campground, OR
End: Seaside, OR
Distance: 40 miles
No comments:
Post a Comment