A recap of the first week of the cycling touring trip from Vancouver to Baja Sur, this portion covering mainly Washington and Oregon.
Day 1 70km 20 Dec 09
Vancouver to Victoria
6:50 Larch House leave. Bus driver gives me free lift through Massey Tunnel. Ferry terminal. Tea with Melissa in Quay. 9:00 sailing, ride to Brad’s in Oak Bay. Have heavy cold, back and hips sore. Rain most of the way. New gloves leaked.
Day 2 70km 3:02 21 Dec 09
Victoria to Port Angeles to Sappho
9:00 Leave Brad’s, 10:30 sailing to Port Angeles, hella windy on boat! 16:00 sandwich at roadside cafe middle of nowhere, free camping in state grounds.Some wind and rain all day, edge of too cold. Tea and Fireball whiskey.
Day 3 154km 5:54 22 Dec 09
Sappho to Forks to just south of Neilton
8:0 Leave camp, 9:00 Forks diner and groceries, rain and sleet last night, condensation inside tent got me and the bag wet, edge of too cold. 16:00 camp Amanda Park, almost bonked twice, sun a few times in afternoon. Worried about wet sleeping bag. Campground closed, snuck in, free, ice on ground, pond.
Just outside Astoria.
Day 4 157km 6:13 23 Dec 09
Humptulips to just north of Astoria
7:00 Wet inside again, cold but no ice. 8:15 leave camp, lots of clearcuts. Groceries in Hoquiam, breakfast in Raymond at same cafe Shawn and I went to four years ago. Fog morning, sun now. Ate 7 cookies. 15:30 almost bonking in no man’s land. Good shoulders. Hard to tell ice from salt from glass. 16:30 hike up side logging road to clearcut, worried about beers and dead racoons nearby. Hard day, rode hard.
Somewhere in the sun along the 101 in Northern Oregon.
Day 5 140km 5:36 24 Dec 09
Astoria to Seaside to Tillamook to Cape Lookout
7:00 Up. Ice inside and out tent. A bit too cold in bag this night. Hips sore. Huge rice porridge breakfast. Gorgeous morning sun to Astoria bridge, with mega cross winds. Feet frozen. McKeowns for breakfast in little seaside town, sun hovering a bit. Great food. Flatted near Bayview. Tillamook groceries, slow rear leak fixed. 16:15 Cape Lookout for sunset, a few other campers. Free hot shower, first since Victoria. Clothes smell. Bad. Near bonk 3x today. Stupid slow leak flats.
Day 6 153 6:26 25 Dec 09
Cape Lookout to Lincoln City to just south of Waldport
6:30 up, no condensation inside tent for once (sea breeze?). Slightly warmer, clothes dryish in bathroom overnight. Safeway Lincoln City, everything else closed. Good pace in afternoon, 15:00 Gatorade in Newport, worried about campsite as sun set. Beachside or something State Park closed, but go around gate anyways, site to myself near beach, but no water or bathrooms. BB getting loose, knee hurts. BO so bad. So many obese people in America. 3 biggish climbs today: right outa Cape Lookout steep and windy, long sweet 4% one outa Neskowin (remember doing with Shawn), short 8% outa some other place. Asleep by 7pm-ish as usual.
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