Day 5 - Tuesday 9/15/2015 - South of Raymond, WA to Seaside, OR

Have you ever gotten up in the morning, looked outside and went UGH!  Cloudy, cold with rain in the forecast?  But, you get on your bike anyway and head south.   The breakfast table at Denny's this morning was a feast - waffles, 3 plates of pancakes, 3 plates of eggs, sausage, bacon, 2 bowls of oatmeal, 1 bowl of grits, coffee all around - and that was just for the guys!  Back in the cars, bikes of the racks and headed south to the drop off point.


Once again, Tracy got a head
start on the route and missed the photo shoot.

Pedals spinning - Jerry and Tom did catch up to Tracy down the road a ways.





Cold weather gear from start to finish - brrrr

48 degrees and drizzle at the start.



The geography begins to change the further south we go.  Logging trucks become fewer and resources from the sea are more prevalent.

                     
Wonder what it was like in 1854?






                                           



The route was an easy route to follow and with Tracy showing the way, all went well.



We followed the Lewis and Clark Trail.  Hwy 101 south to Hwy 4 then south to the 401.


Who could get lost with directions like that?




The final turnout before we crossed the Columbia River on the Astoria-Megler Bridge was also a turnout point for Lewis & Clark.  It speaks volumes of how our weather was today.

              

One mile down the road is the entrance to the bridge.  The bridge is four miles long and connects Washington to Astoria, Oregon.  Avoiding all oncoming cars, RV's and trucks, I risked life and limb to get this picture.

Tracy discovered that should he ride the bridge route, he might be late for a scheduled "rest stop" in Seaside, Oregon - avoiding rain, wind and cold, he chose to ride the next 16 miles with Kathy and the dogs.  Especially after I called Kathy at mile two on the bridge to advise her of the steep climb beginning at mile two!   Amazing views from the bridge.

This one is for Gwen - cuz bridges are her thing.

Everyone arrived at our motel - all checked in.  Jerry, Tom and I made a side trip to visit the Columbia River Maritime Museum.  Great stories of the coast guard and "Crossing the Bar"  where the Columbia meets the sea.  We meet up with Kathy and Tracy and enjoyed a fabulous dinner at an Italian Restaurant in the heart of Seaside.

Notes from Tom.

First the stats.  We rode a chilly, windy, and wet 66 miles.  Our average speed sucked--at 14 mph.  Since we started at sea level and ended at sea level, our net elevation gain was zero, but along the way we  gained 1800 feet (and of course also descended 1800 feet.

I'd like to give a couple of shout outs.  First, to my amazing wife who is the best bike trip coordinator ever.  She keeps us organized, picks us up and drops us off when necessary, feeds us along the way, and arranges all the hotels and restaurants.  She's really the best.

The second shout out is to another friend of mine named Jerry--Jerry Divine.  I've known Jerry 36 years--he was my boss when I worked at the Climax Mine.  Jerry and I did a lot of bike riding together--the first time I rode in Washington and Oregon it was on a trip that he organized.  We had a lot of rain on that trip and Jerry said he was DONE riding in Washington.  Well Jerry, we made it almost all the way to Oregon, via the Olympic Peninsula with only a little rain on the last day.  One more thing for Jerry.  He always said he didn't like riding the interstates and major highways because of all of the flat tires he got from the little wires that get scattered about when a truck tire blows apart and spreads debris for hundreds of yards.  I always said I'd never had that problem.  Well Jerry, one of those little wires got me a couple of days ago, and I immediately thought of you.  Keep riding and be safe.

Notes from Jerry:

We played it right yesterday by getting almost all of the hill work done while the weather was still reasonable.  Today, as Tom stated, started with some light rain that went away after an hour or so, but then the headwind started.  Hills on top of the weather would have been brutal.  Supposed to be rainy tomorrow so once again out comes the scuba gear and onward to Tillamook!  .

Tourist info:

There is so much history along this route.  The famous Lews and Clark landings and camps.  A quick note about Astoria - the northern gateway into Oregon from Washington.  Astoria dates from the winter of 1805-06 when the Lewis and Clark expedition camped at Fort Clatsop.  Fort Astoria was built by a fur trading company established the previous year by John Jacob Astor.  Astoria was the destination of traders, explorers, missionaries and settlers.  A city of about 8,500 built mostly on the hills above the Columbia River.