July 20, 2005
Clatskanie, OR - Ft. Steven;s State Park: The Pacific Ocean!
I ate breakfast early and was on the road. It was flat for a fair distance. Soon I had lots of rollies to entertain me. It was a two mile climb to the top of Clatsop Crest at 656 feet. I was sweaty! Smoker John was just in front of me and we stopped for photos.
The roadside was lush and green. Vines and flowers were everywhere. There were marshy areas as the Columbia River widened out near the ocean.
I rode into Astoria alone. I stopped at the first bicycle shop I saw to ask for Clif Shots. I use them on extended climbing for a boost. This first shop didn't even know what they were. The woman sent me down the road to another shop. This shop had Clif Shots right on the counter. The man also gave me a nice discount. I checked here for a pair of new cycling gloves. My gloves were already old and faded before the trip. After 30 days of non stop use, they were disintegrating. I wanted a pair with bright colors, but the shop had only black.
I stopped at a big Safeway and bought chinese food at the deli. I ate and read the newspaper. The food wasn't too delicious. The ice water was top notch.
Today was my cooking day. There had been some discussion about making today a carry day, but Ryan decided against it as the ACA map showed a grocery store close to our campground. I did decide to buy some bakery goody here as this was a very large store. Remembering my last dessert failure of s'mores, I bought great big cookies. I had a bit of trouble bungie cording them to my trailer, but finally managed.
I ran into Peggy and Jerry on the way out of town. They were going to Ft. Clatsop, where Lewis and Clark had wintered. I wanted to see the fort also, but decided I would go tomorrow when we had a short day.
I rode as quickly and carefully as possible over the long, long bridge on Hwy 101. It was very windy with lots of gusts. I was extra happy to get off of the bridge.
I stopped at a convenience store for a milk and a muffin. I hadn't seen anyone else on the road and thought someone might catch up with me. I finally moved on to the state park. It was huge. I had no idea. I was the first one to get there. I couldn't check in as I wasn't paying. The ranger did tell me what site Ryan had reserved. It was a distance to the tenting area. These spots were very small and close together. People were in tents, but with their cars so the sites consisted of a parking spot, a picnic table, and a patch of dirt. Even with two sites, I wasn't sure we would fit. I showered, but didn't set up my tent. I read my book and tried to take a nap in a patch of sunshine. Ryan eventually showed up. We agreed to go look at the hiker/biker sites. These were $4. per person, first come first serve. No vehicles allowed. I have never seen a hiker/biker before. We don't have them in Colorado (I think). These were nice. It was a large area with plenty of grass. There was one tent set up, but no one was there. We agreed to move to this site. Ryan went back to the office to change the reservation and I started setting up my tent. I had already showered and had a nap. I was relaxed. I did not feel like back tracking to buy food. Ryan came back and said there was a grocery store eight miles round trip away. I did not want to go.We had had several meals from convenience stores over the month. Another convenience store meal worked for me. We exchanged a few words over this and I finally agreed to go to the real grocery store. I pouted the entire distance. I was not communicative while shopping. "Whatever." "You pick." The only thing I chose was a watermelon. I was carrying it, I could buy it. It wasn't a difficult ride there, it's just that I was done for the day and didn't want to get back on the bike. I later apologized for my bad attitude. Ryan had ALWAYS been upbeat and enthusiastic the entire trip. He didn't deserve my attitude.
We had tacos for dinner. They were very good. A nice change from the noodle dishes. It was Ryan's suggestion we have tacos. As we were finishing dinner another cyclist came in. His gear looked very road weary. I offered him the bit of extra food we had. He devoured it all. I think the man's name was Jim. He was from Boulder, CO and had been to Alaska and was on his way back. Jim said he never did get any training for a good paying job, so he figured he would just work enough to get money to ride around and see the country. He had plenty of stories to tell.
It was a bit chilly so close to the ocean. I slept in my longjohns.
We had voted to take Hwy 26 back to Portland. In order to do so we had to give up our day off. It wasn't too much of a sacrifice as we only had to bicycle 15 miles the next morning to Seaside.
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Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 1,160 miles (1,867 km)
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