Day 10 - Manhattan Beach, OR to Lincoln City, OR

73 more miles today brought me into Devil’s Lake State Park. Oregon continued it’s assault on the gap in my fitness involving long, charming climbs. 3400 feet of elevation gained and 2300 calories shed according to Strava which isn’t aware of the extra weight I have in tote. Twice today I was on extended climbs, once at 30 miles in and the other came painfully late in the day as I was uphill most of the way into Lincoln City this afternoon. During that second climb I snapped the photo above of the word danger written twice in two different colors of what appeared to be sidewalk chalk. Not knowing what perils lay ahead I bravely pedaled forth to find a one inch drop and a change from tarmac to gravel for roughly fifty yards before it switched back to pavement. I’m just glad I lived to tell the tale! Here in camp I’ve got some great company. After the all important beer run I hung out with the girl from Paris whom had set out hiking for 3 weeks on the PCT before quitting to switch to cycling and a dude from Marin County who is cranking out over a century a day. We had a great time and will hopefully be meeting up tomorrow evening again. How many bonus points do I get for finding a Blockbuster Video?

Day 9 - Astoria, OR to Manhattan Beach, OR

Well I was back doing the pedaling thing today after convincing myself to part with the motel room a bit later than I normally set out following a night in the tent. Creature comforts are just too damn comfortable! From Astoria the route took me inland through Ft. Clatsop State Park for 20 tame miles before handing me off to the Pacific. I passed through a tunnel around Arch Cape and then began the grand climb of the day. I’m sure glad I had a week of training if today was any indicator of what the rest of the coast will be like. Halfway into the 5 mile ascent seemingly out of nowhere it begins to pour. Pulling to the side of the road I start digging through my panniers looking for the rain gear which of course is buried down at the bottom after having been lucky with the weather up until now. I’ll be sure that all stays front and center moving forward as cold rain really sucks. Once the climb was over I enjoyed the first of many incredible views of the Pacific Ocean, and reached camp with 53 miles total.

Day 8 - Cathlamet, WA to Astoria, OR

Up at 6am this morning I was so excited to break into a new state (and arrive in my rest-day town) that I was climbing hills before 7am this morning. I was 14 miles away from the Cathlamet, WA -> Westport, OR ferry when I set off and was determined to make the 8 o’clock departure. A few rolling hills later it flattened out and I cranked just as hard as Mr. Wonky knee would allow. Success was had as I rolled onto the boat three minutes to the hour.

Upon arrival into Westport I grabbed food & coffee at a newly opened cafe. They were happy to hear that they were located right on an ACA route and would be seeing plenty of cyclists in the coming months. I inquired about the elevation of the road ahead, which is, from a morale standpoint something that I really need to stop asking about.  It actually did work for me this time to know that the worst of it was right in front of me. It took almost 30 minutes to reach that summit, but was followed by an epic 4 mile descent. 42 cumulative miles later I was in Astoria checking into my campsite at Motel 6. I love biking and camping, but damn does a bed feel nice after a week in the tent!

My first stop here in Astoria was the local bike shop. I got the bike’s chain and drivetrain cleaned up and we also fine tuned my saddle position which will hopefully save the knee from exploding. Really cool staff here that gave me a tour of their store which had a straight bicycle graveyard down in the basement. Tomorrow I’m planning to ship some extra weight home and take a self-guided tour of the local breweries. Thursday begins a whole new venture down the Pacific Coast!

Day 7 - Toledo, WA to Cathlamet, WA

42 miles gingerly ridden today and 40ish more to go to Astoria. The beautiful state of Washington has almost been conquered! I have a ridiculous view of the Columbia River from my campsite tonight. Above is a massive logging ship that passed by earlier, and I’m told by my neighbor here in camp that if it were loaded the red part of the boat would be fully submerged. Aside from barges you can also spot seals and other wildlife out on the river. It’s a real nice spot to spend my final night in Washington. From what I’ve been hearing this state was my warmup ride and shit’s about to get real on the Oregon Coast. I’m really hoping that the knee will cooperate and be ready for the challenge after the Wednesday rest day.

Day 6 - Elma, WA to Toledo, WA

Today I made my first 70 mile ride, and while I feel accomplished it’s going to be the last of that distance until I can get this knee healthy. I waited until I hit Centralia this morning at about 35 miles in to have breakfast. Nothing majorly wrong until that point, but since I felt it beginning to flare-up I popped into a store and bought a knee brace hoping it would help. It seemed to make walking less painful, but riding worse. An hour later I ended up removing it and taking a long roadside rest before even attempting to ride again. It took me a total of 7 hours in saddle to make the miles after starting the day with a much faster pace and then limping along the rest of the way. I finally made a point to fill up a zip-lock with ice on my way into camp tonight and I should have been doing this for the past few days. It’s 80 miles from here to Astoria, OR and I’m just going to chop that up into two days and see if that helps. At this point it’s also probably looking like a rest day in Astoria would be a solid idea. This knee issue stems from a running injury last October, but they have a great bike shop in town and a fitting adjustment is on my agenda just in case. On a positive note I came across another one of my favorite road signs and discovered what 40mph feels like on a bicycle!

Day 5 - Belfair, WA to Elma, WA

The weekend is here and the parks are starting to get busier.  I met a nice group of RV’ers from Tacoma that I sat around the fire with before crashing last night.  This morning was the coldest of the trip thus far, and to get out of the tent I had to take a caffeine pill then scamper to the heated bathroom to put on every layer I had.  After that of course the morning ritual of breaking down camp and then I was off and pedaling by 7am.  Steady hills greeted me for the 30 miles from Belfair to Shelton. With Shelton being the biggest town of the day I’d hoped for something better, but with Dairy Queen the only spot open in town I settled for it.  After lunch I had 26 more miles to get to Elma and thankfully they were almost Florida flat because my knee was barking.  It actually hurts more to walk than to pedal which is good...I guess?  I’m staying in Elma RV Park tonight and was greeted with homemade chocolate chip cookies that they give to all their cycling guests.  Awesome spot with clean facilities and laundry machines which comes at a convenient time with zero clean clothes left in the panniers.  56 miles down today and it’s looking like tomorrow will be another 60 or so to make it into Toledo.

Day 4 - Poulsbo, WA to Belfair, WA

The abbreviated day I needed yesterday culminated into a 40 mile ride for me today.  Aches and pains are present in both legs as I work to whip them into touring shape.  I was hoping for an easy recovery day today and ended up actually getting it!  The weather was cold and the threat of rain hung in the sky all day, but I stayed dry.  No headwinds to speak of with plenty of flat riding and way more downhill coasts with easy-graded climbs.  Knowing I’d be taking a breather today I ate a big breakfast at a cafe and sat around for an hour drinking coffee.  I opened my banking app and found a branch nearby and rode over to withdrawal some cash.  I had lost my debit card right before beginning the trip, and while explaining this to the teller was delighted to find out they could print me a new one in house while I waited.  Pretty cool!  

Ten miles out from where I’m staying tonight in Belfair State Park I finally found someone else riding a bike with a bunch of stuff strapped to it.  I’ve been wondering where my touring brethren are as at this point on my last trip I’d already met quite a few.  This, however, was no ordinary encounter as this was “SuperDave”.  This old fella has been riding up and down the Pacific Coast for the last 15 years!  I’d seen mention of him in multiple touring blogs I’d read in planning for this tour.  He’s undoubtably met thousands of cycle tourists over the years.  We chatted for about 20 minutes before heading on down the road.  He told me to tell his friends in Monterey when I get there that he is doing okay.  I’m not sure who exactly I’m supposed to tell this to, but maybe I’ll find out?  Anyway, early to bed tonight in hopes of healing the ailments.  Happy Friday to all, and of course “May the 4th be with you”.