December 15, 2012
Tillamook to Pacific City, Oregon
Today was actually the first that dawned with rain, so that we could fully prepare under shelter before setting out. The first step was to find the rubber duck that normally rides on the front rack. It was a bad sign that we found this duck hiding under a chair!
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Second step was to break out the rain booties. These things have several velcro tabs and straps, and unless you are a flamingo or a gymnast are almost impossible to put on just standing in a road. But if you know you need them, they are not bad to out on while sitting on a chair.
We had already come too far to go back for another look at the cheese factory, and we just pretty much cruised through the main town of Tillamook. You can look inside the factory with us on our previous blog.
South of town is an area of dairy farms, all members of the Tillamook association and co-op owners of the factory. It's a pleasant area to cycle through, even in the rain. The shoulder, here was wide enough and not too slippery, so it was an ok ride.
The ride only gets an " ok " rating because of the blowing rain. However, "just an ordinary day at the office for coastal Grampies" we tried to tell ourselves.
We arrived at the cutoff away from hwy 101 and toward the coast, including Pacific City. Pacific City is only about 40 km from Tillamook, but we chose it as our target by looking at the weather and at the road elevation profile. The Oregon DOT map has a great bit where you can see the distance between cities and the hills between cities. It makes it easy to decide on where to shoot for each day.
The booties, which are new to us, look dorky but worked quite well. With the wind and rain, though, after about 30 km we were fairly chilled. A dilapidated general store in the tiny hamlet of Sand Lake had a covered porch and filled the bill for a place to drink the hot soup in our thermos. Inside, we found Ma and Pa, glued to a reality show on the TV by the cash register. Except for the TV technology, this could have been a laid back general store any place, any time.
The hill at Cape Kiwanda (part of the "three capes" scenic ride) had Dodie wanting to push the bike for a bit. The only thing, we don't think walking on the bottom strap of the booties is a good idea. So Dodie took the booties off, knowing she would not then trying putting them back again. Result: wet feet.
We arrived at the Inn at Pacific City in the pouring rain, and impressed the people there, probably with our foolhardiness. They were very friendly, including bicycle friendly, and gave us a large room for cheap with the invitation to take our bikes inside.
So very early in the day we find ourselves comfortably under blankets, watching some non stop documentaries on History Channel about the possible scenarios for the end of the world. It's the lead up to Dec 21, and is an entertaining mix of drivel with just enough scientific fact.
Pretty soon, if we build up the strength, we will make some hot chocolate as well!
Today's ride: 42 km (26 miles)
Total: 585 km (363 miles)
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