Day 2 - A Journey from Elma, WA to Astoria, OR
A little pre-ride tire check before heading out at 8 AM on Day 2
The morning fog doesn't keep these two from getting started!
On the way to meet up with the guys, Laurie and Lynn
stumbled upon a little town, Aberdeen, WA where their
favorite son is honored with a small obscure park.
Wildlife along the highway!
We happened upon these two bikers on Rte. 101 near Raymond, WA
Another beautiful, sunny day (unusual for the Northwest!) with
temps in the 70's. Jim wonders if you can see the
rope attached to Glenn's waist that is pulling him up the hill?!
Western hemlock and Douglas fir support Washington's timber industry.
The state is second in the nation for timber production. Instead of counting
punch-buggies or padoodles, we counted logging trucks...14 in a short span of time!
Laurie is multi-tasking....driving and posting a
photo on Facebook! No worries-this is legal in WA!
Amazing scenery as Glenn comes up a very steep and long hill
with about 39 miles still to ride to reach Astoria!
Jim heading to meet the SAG vehicle!
He hopped in for a few miles to rest up for the
bridge crossing into Oregon!
Jim and Glenn both commented on the salty sea air that they smelled as the
passed by oyster beds in South Bend, WA which is the oyster capital of the world.
Laurie, by the way, had oysters for dinner tonight!
Approaching the bridge leading from Washington State
to Oregon at Astoria over the Columbia River
This is the Astoria-Megler Bridge
which is 4.1 miles long and is the longest
continuous truss bridge in North America.
Laurie caught this amazing photo of Jim crossing the bridge!
Glenn made this same crossing a few hours later with no cameras there :)
Jim's view from the bridge
Jim made a new friend on the bridge. Frank Rubio is on the road
traveling solo from Victoria, British Columbia to LA.
He carries everything on his bike and sleeps in his tent each night.
Interesting fellow and he enjoyed hearing about I Care I Cure.
Now this is a view! Who would imagine a Holiday Inn Express with this
outside our window! We all love this place! I have the fireplace in our
room glowing as I write this! Do we HAVE to leave tomorrow?!
A quick visit to the Astoria River Walk where we found these
men cleaning freshly caught salmon from the Columbia River.
Of course, Glenn had some of that Wild Salmon for dinner tonight!
This is the funniest bike sign we have ever seen. It is warning bikers of
uneven tracks and on the bike path behind our hotel!
That would hurt!
Glenn pedaled into the hotel around 3:15 today so we had time to
visit a local attraction, Fort Clatsop, in the Lewis and Clark
National and State Historic Parks. For history buffs like
Jim and Glenn, this was a perfect end to a great day!
Lewis and Clark and their Corp of Discovery
wintered here in 1806 while on their expedition westward to
the Pacific Ocean. Tomorrow we reach the Pacific!
No blog about Astoria would be complete without a mention that
Many parts of Astoria were shooting locations for the
1985 movie about kid geeks and their adventure landscape.
Although we didn't do the "Goonies" tour, there is one here!
Today's trivia question:
Who is attributed with saying the quote that is used
as the title of this blog post. Email us if you know.
Win a t-shirt if you are the first to respond!
Carb loading is essential when doing a long
distance bike ride like this. Jim enjoys his
pasta and fresh local seafood! Great Combo!
Today's map shows you how close we are to reaching the Pacific!
Today's Stats
Jim traveled 52 miles....his goal today was 50 so he surpassed his goal!
He is excited about the ride along the coast tomorrow.
Glenn pedaled for 6 hours and 14 minutes and traveled
94.24 miles while burning 4979 calories,
He ascended a total of 3178 feet....lots of hills today!
Tomorrow we head to Oceanside, OR and we expect temps in the 50's and 60's.
Now this is great summer weather!
Feel free to email us with comments, trivia answers or just to say hi!
It is impossible to forget the reason for this journey.
Cancer is the leading cause of death by disease in children
under the age of 15 in the United States.
Thanks for your support of I Care I Cure!
