DAY 3 - Astoria OR to Tillamook, OR
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Another day, another hotel hallway!
When the trip is completed, we will have spent 17 nights
in 15 different hotels! Living out of a suitcase is fun! Not!
We had a beautiful backdrop for today's departure photo.
Jim and Glenn took off at about 8:30 on a misty, gray morning.
The fog and mist did not burn off until about 1 PM, a
more typical day in the Northwest and nice cool riding weather!
A Glimpse from Glenn:
I did my riding partner, Jim, a disservice to start the day. Having been to Fort Clatsop yesterday, I thought we would have less traffic to head out that way today. I also thought it would be preferable to follow my bike computer to today's destination. Bad idea. We passed up a flat 12 mile ride for a rather hilly route. Although Jim knew about some hills we would encounter later in the day, none of them was as steep as what we faced from the outset. Once we finally got on the Lewis and Clark Road ( it reminded me of Peachtree in Atlanta, the road name seemed all of over the place which also led to some confusion.) There seemed to be a bike path that we could not figure out how to get on but maybe that was a good thing as it was used by some very large dump trucks. With the aid of Google Maps, we eventually made it to101 South and remained on it the rest of the day. We did do those four climbs Jim had read about and he did great. By the time we finished the last one, the sun had finally broken through (see the picutre of us below.) Our efforts in climbing were rewarded with some nice downhills. Jim met his mileage goal again for the day. I am really proud of his achievements so far.
GEMS FROM JIM:
Today was the hilliest 50 miles I've ever ridden. The Holiday Inn Express coffee and pancakes were barely down the hatch before the first hill....and then almost back up again. Only three blocks long, but crazy steep. Glenn called it my morning eye opener. I could see from the map that there were 4 long, steep inclines to climb today. I kept obsessing about them all morning, even considering asking Laurie & Lynn to drive me past them. But they were off lunching, and Glenn was ever the cheerleader. We did all 4. Each climb was tougher than the one before, but each was rewarded by a magnificent apex view of the raging Pacific below. And, more importantly, a wild barely-controlled carnival-like ride down the backside. I am also thankful for Laurie's loving greeting when rescuing me each afternoon....a kiss and a pint bottle of a local craft beer.
I thought of Ian when the hills felt too steep to climb.
Laurie and Lynn decided to explore Astoria in the AM
walking on the bike path behind our hotel, visiting the downtown
area and checking out Pier 39. Interesting sights everywhere!
I guess they aren't as bike friendly in this spot as in most places here :)
This must be a Seagull convention.....so many in one place!
Our bridge once again!
Our hotel "beach". Not exactly the Jersey Shore but pretty!
The Bumble Bee company began in 1899 when seven salmon canners
in Astoria, OR formed the Columbia River Packers Association. The Bumble Bee Brand
was introduced in 1910. This trivia about Bumble Bee is appropriate for this blog
because this is the ONLY brand of Solid White Tuna that Glenn will eat!
Our first Harbor Seal sighting on this trip!
We hope to see many other types of wildlife as we
explore the Pacific Coast!
Some of our favorite signs today
Our first glimpse of the Pacific Coast today.
What an extraordinary sight!
GLENN CONTINUES:
I received a call about 20 minutes outside of Tillamook. The rest of the party had driven out to the Inn we where we were to stay in Oceanside only to find that they had lost power. They made a unanimous decision to cancel the reservation and come back into Tillamook. After I got to the hotel and cleaned up we went for a self guided tour of the cheese factory and creamery. They provided some samples of the former and we had some ice cream before dinner. Lynn pulled a fast one, she offered me some of hers and it was coffee flavored, not exactly my favorite in the world.
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This would have been our view from the Oceanside, OR Inn with no power! Would have been a gorgeous view to see in the morning. |
Greeting Glenn as he rode into our Tillamook hotel
Can you say "Cheese"?
Yes, those ARE blocks of cheddar!
Local beer is always a great way to celebrate a ride well done!
Now for some info that I know you want to see....Stats and Trivia Results!
Jim rode another 50 miles today! Amazing!
Glenn rode 69.4 miles in 5 hours and 35 minutes while
expending 3795 calories and ascending 3697 feet!
Our kids call him the "Machine" and Jim has started calling him "The Beast"!
Today's ride - Astoria to Tillemook
******Trivia******
"Upon reaching a wide body of water Wiliam Clark waxed momentous—prematurely. On November 7, 1805, he thought they had reached the Pacific: "Ocian in view! O! the joy," he wrote in his journal. But they were actually at the estuary of the Columbia—still 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the coast. "
We had so many blog followers answer the trivia question that
we decided to award t-shirts to the first four to respond.
we decided to award t-shirts to the first four to respond.
Our winners are:
Deb Buckley, Sue Rothstein, Kate Young and Paulette Kelly
We'll get your shirts to you when we return from the journey!
Thanks to all who responded! We'll do some more trivia in a few days!
Thanks so much for your support and for following this journey
here on the blog page! We love hearing from you!
Every year approximately 12,400 children and adolescents under the age of 20 are diagnosed
with cancer and about 4,000 of children die from cancer each year. That means about 11 children
die from cancer or cancer-related complications each day.
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