Today’s Highlights:
It’s a good thing that I like hills, because we enjoyed climbing four big ones today. Our day started leisurely, since Chris and I are still waking up on Eastern Daylight Time and the ride did not start until 8:00am PDT. We took a short walk near the Port of Astoria around 7am when it was still 50 degrees outside. That prompted me to go back in and pick something warmer to start the ride with. After some group photos during the luggage loading, we started our ride a little after 8:00. It was very chilly starting out and for the first half of the 67 miles.
We started riding a little east of the shoreline, avoiding RT 101, which brought us through some nice countryside with small farms in the lower elevations and through pine forests on the hills. It was very scenic, but unfortunately I did not take many pictures while working on the climbs and then enjoying the fast downhills. The first big downhill brought us into Seaside where we had a chance to celebrate with a short break at the edge of the beach where the town’s Lewis and Clarke statue is. Leaving there, we were on a bike path for one mile, then hopped on RT 101 for most of the remaining route.
Our next interesting town was Canon Beach. It’s a popular location with many nice shops, but I only stopped to take a few pictures and pushed along to our first rest stop at 28 miles. Along this section we saw many nice views of the beach and the sea stacks. The next couple climbs kept us wondering where the tops were, but there were nice views along the way and great downhill runs to reward us for the long ascents. From the town of Wheeler, at around 45 miles, the elevation changes were moderate and we also had some nice flat sections. We got lucky with a good tailwind on and off for the next 15 miles to help us finish the first day. The small towns along the way were quaint and interesting. Unfortunately, we did not have time to explore their shops and their history in logging and maritime.
Reaching Tillamook around 2pm, we stopped at the very popular Tillamook Cheese Factory before going the last 1/2 mile to the hotel. We did not take the cheese making tour which I heard is very interesting, but instead we treated ourselves to their famous ice cream. That alone was well worth the stop, and we really needed the calories after the long ride.
Chris and I reached the hotel a little after 2pm behind about 5 other riders. The crew conducted the route rap at 4pm, then we had an early dinner.
I had a little technical difficulty with my heart rate monitor today, so if you will be looking at the Garmin data don’t be alarmed that my heart rate was zero a few time. I kind of ignored it on the ride since my legs were still spinning just fine when it happened. Chris’s Garmin had a small problem too, so his average speed is off from our actual.
A Great First Day
Since my dad is doing such a great job of chronicling the days’ adventures and adding all of the pictures, I figured: what else could I add. I guess I’ll have to talk about me.
What an awesome first day! Oregon is beautiful. Between the picturesque ocean views, the mountains and the towering trees, it couldn’t be more perfect. (There’s a reason for that tree on their license plate.) Though, it is a bit cold. After training in the 90 to 100 degree heat of Virginia these 50 to 60 degree mornings are down right frigid. Other than being a little cold, the ride was great. Again, the views were spectacular. We got to see the sea column from which the Goonies’ One-Eyed Willy’s ship emerges (pic 20 in the slide show) and I took a pic of a cool graffiti stencil of the truffle shuffle. We passed lots of landmarks for Lewis & Clark, too.
The hills today were almost the end of me; I’ve only ever ridden flat flat flat. I better build my climbing legs fast. Can’t wait for tomorrow.
Chris
Pictures Of The Day:
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Statistics:
Zoom and pan the map to explore the route. Click the name or ‘View Detail’ to view more information at Garmin Connect.
Chris: