Day 69: WOOOOOHOOOOOO!

Astoria, OR to Seaside, OR

Stats!
Miles biked today: 22.9
Total miles biked on trip! 2298.0
Max speed: 32.0 mph
Full post on trip stats to be posted soon!

We did it! The ride was beautiful, and we are so glad. It was a wonderful, sunny, warm (but not hot) day, and we rode from Astoria through the Fort Clatsop National Historical Park most of the way to Seaside. Very pretty. It was a hilly ride, but that meant that when we crested our last hill, we had a great view of the ocean! Our first real Pacific Ocean view! It felt amazing.

My bike was making weird noises, and we checked it out, but couldn't figure out what was wrong. As we rode along, it got worse and worse. We stopped and checked again, and saw that the tire was rubbing against the frame, because the wheel wasn't at all securely attached! It could have just fallen off at any moment. Scary. But we did our last on-route bike repair and pressed on.

We got to Seaside and spent some time in the water, just splashing around in celebration a bit. It was really tough pushing our fully loaded bikes through the sand to the water! We felt elated and sad all at the same time. It was really bittersweet, and there is a lot we will miss about the bike trip. And we'll probably forget about all the tough stuff!

My friend, Joy, met us and we spent some more time on the beach and then went down the Oregon coast some. We saw amazing beaches and went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory! It's a pretty big tourist attraction, and we bought some cheese to use in our dinner.

We ended up hanging out on the Oregon coast all day, and didn't even have our whole wheat mac and fancy cheese until 9:30 or so, and in the end we just crashed out without having posted. So sorry the blog is late!

I can't believe we did it! I am really proud of us, and also bummed it's over. I think we made memories to last all our lives, and we are still very happily married. Spending 24 hours a day, every day with someone for 70 days might put a strain on some relationships, but not us. We are as happy together as we were on our wedding day.

Thank you so much for reading the blog! Please stay tuned! There will be more posts to come in the next couple of weeks with stats, superlatives, advice for people interested in touring, and more.

Day 68: The Finish Line Moves Back a Day...

Astoria, OR

Well, Dean was pretty sick last night and today. We did end up going to karaoke last night, and had a good time! We each sang, and if you know Dean, you should be surprised. ;)

We got back, and Dean wasn't feeling great. He was sick all night and still sick today. Before you jump to conclusions regarding karaoke, a brewery, and a sick night, let me say that we didn't drink all that much, and I was 100% fine, even though we had roughly the same amount to drink. I suspect that Dean might have had a bug anyway, and the brewery visit didn't help much.

He was still sick for most of the day today, and still isn't feeling completely better, but says he wants to ride the last 21 miles tomorrow. My awesome friend, Joy, will pick us up from Seaside tomorrow afternoon. If Dean's not feeling better tomorrow, I'm not sure what we'll do. We might call it off in Astoria if we need to.

Unfortunately, I have no video footage of the karaoke. Sorry!

Hopefully I'll have good news tomorrow!

Day 67: Here's Mud in Your Eye!

Clatskanie, OR to Astoria, OR

Stats!
Miles biked today: 36.5
Total miles biked on trip so far: 2275.1
Max speed: 31.5 mph
# of bike touring n00bs met: 5
# of karaoke songs sung: TBD

Today was a beautiful ride! Cloudiness and rain aside, it, really was lovely. The road was nice, with a wide shoulder. We climbed a serious hill, but it gave us a great view.

On the way down the big hill, the sky opened up. No big deal, except that both of my fenders broke in the last week. Mud was flying everywhere. The downhills were tough, because mud kept flying in my eyes. We got pretty gross. By the time we reached the bottom of the hill, I looked like a mud monster.

Twenty miles into our ride, we stopped for lunch at Loggers' Restaurant. Before we sat down, I wiped the mud off my face and hands before sitting down,'cause I'm classy like that. We had barely ordered when another group of bike tourists showed up -- maybe 5 or 6 of them. We soon decided that they must be pretty new to bike touring, given what they were talking about. As we got up to leave, they asked us about our trip. We told them, and they were seriously impressed. Turns out, they were on day one -- of their three day tour!

Along the route, we saw a lot of fruit stands. Joy had told us that if we saw a cherries stand, to buy some cherries, so we did! Washington cherries are delicious right now. Mmmmm!

The rest of the trip was rolling hills, but all manageable. We rolled into Astoria at a very reasonable hour, and the town is very cute. We hope to make it to karaoke tonight at the Wet Dog Brewery.

Tomorrow's our LAST DAY! We can scarcely believe it, and we're not sure if we're happy or sad. 21 more miles to go!

Day 66: Gammy's Books, Terrible Cooks, Scenic Overlooks

St. Helen's, OR to Clatskanie, OR

Stats!
Miles biked today: 33.2 (exact same as yesterday!)
Total miles biked on trip so far: 2239.6
Max speed: 30 mph
# of bicycle tourists seen on tandems: 2 tourists, one bike
# of vitamins needed to induce illness: 1
Best coffee shop name ever: Latte Da (in Clatskanie)

We woke up late again this morning, but we both slept great! We no longer care about what time we wake up, since we could leave at noon and still do a 30 mile day without getting in too late. It's all less-than-40-mile days from here on out.

After the past week, with Dean and I each feeling a bit sick in the mornings since buying a new bottle of vitamins, we decided to take our vitamins after breakfast. Breakfast was great, and we were able to confirm that it was the vitamins making us sick, since they made us sick even having them after breakfast. No more vitamins for us. So that slowed us down a bit, too. Yuck.

I also learned that, on a morning when you're already starting out really late and you want to make some progress, the worst possible thing to say it, "Look, Dean! That used bookstore is open!" Dean had finished his book last night, and needed a new one, so I pointed it out when I saw that "Gammy's Used Books" in St. Helen's was open. He browsed FOREVER, and that set us back, time-wise, too. But he now has a book, so we're all set.

We got back on the road, and the first 10 miles or so were nice, if a bit cloudy. The shoulders all along 30 were wide for that stretch, but for some reason were just covered in bark. In Iowa, the shoulders were covered in corn, and here in bark. I guess there's a big timber industry here?

After those first 10, we got to Ranier (lots of towns named after mountains around here, though the mountains aren't really nearby), where we had lunch. It was just the worst lunch ever. We went to a Chinese restaurant. We have so many burgers and sandwiches and fries that we usually jump at a chance for something different. Bad jump today. It was slimy and disgusting and the meat tasted.... wrong. All in all a bad choice, but we ate it anyway, since we needed the energy for our next challenge.

Another mountain!

Or at least a really big hill. The last time we had a climb like this, it turns out that we were crossing the Blue and Wallowa Mountains. I'd never even heard of the Blue or Wallowa Mountains, but we crossed them. It was a substantial climb, but nothing like the Rockies, so I didn't think it was actually a mountain. So I'm not sure whether today's climbs were mountains or hills, is my point.

Anyway, as soon as we started the climb, our beautifully wide shoulder disappeared, and on our right side appeared a metal railing. We had to ride along a perilously narrow strip, and we couldn't get over any farther because of the railing. It was pretty scary when tractor trailers went by.

The lack of shoulder also meant that we couldn't walk the bikes. You, next to the bike is wider than you on the bike, so when it's narrow and dangerous, you can't really walk. This can be tough on a long, steep climb when your body is screaming for a break and you just can't safely stop.

Luckily there were a couple of scenic overlooks on the way up where we could pull off and take a break. I'm not sure what we would have done without them! While we were at one of the overlooks, a hobo (I guess? He definitely looked like a hobo) started talking and talking and talking to Dean about the trip. Usually, we have a few conversations each day with locals about our trip, but nothing crazy so we haven't posted about it. I think this area does get more bike tourists than the midwest, but people are still curious about us.

We pressed on, and ended up doing two big climbs. No rest for the weary. At the top of the second climb we saw our favorite sign -- we call it "trucks on wedges" -- indicating a steep downhill. Woohoo! Unfortunately, the shoulder was really rough, with potholes and all kinds of stuff in our way, so we couldn't go as fast as we'd have liked. But we were grateful just for the break, after those big ascents.

At the bottom of the hill, we were in Clatskanie! Clatskanie is a nice enough town, but nothing noteworthy, other than the best named coffee shop ever, Latte Da. Tomorrow we should make it to Astoria. Can't wait!

Day 65: Winding Down

Portland, OR to St. Helen's, OR

Miles biked today: 33.2
Total miles biked on trip so far: 2206.4
Max speed: 23.5 mph
# of minutes it took me to talk Dean into knocking off early: 1

Honestly, today was a pretty boring day. I'm going to throw that out there right now, so you're prepared for the boring blog post. Apologies! It was such a yawn that I didn't take a single picture, so I'm using pictures from our fun day in Portland yesterday.

We left Portland this morning LATE. We woke up late, for no good reason, and then Dean wasn't feeling great. I asked him if we needed to take the day off, but he said he was okay to ride, after a bit of a rest. When we got on the road, it was drizzling, cloudy, cool, and a little bit windy, plus we don't know our way around the town too well yet. It took us awhile to navigate our way out of the city, but we finally got back on the route.

The rest of the ride was all on highway 30, and we'll be on highway 30 all the way to Astoria. Highways are tough because we can't hear each other over the cars, even if we shout, so I have to keep checking my mirrors to make sure Dean's still with me and everything is okay.

The ride was pretty easy, terrain-wise. We chugged along happily, if slightly chilly. But overall, we just weren't feelin' it. Our original plan was to go about 50 miles to Ranier, OR, but when we passed this motel, I said, "Why don't we just stop here?" I just wanted to chill out, read my book, relax. Dean was on board. :)

We were originally going to take 2 - 3 days to get to the coast, and chill at the beach for a few days, but since Joy's going to meet us there on Saturday, we can take it super slow. The weather hasn't been very beachy, so we might as well do 4 short days instead of 2 super long ones or 3 normal ones.

I'm looking forward to making it to Astoria soon. It's supposedly a very cute town, and where they filmed The Goonies!

Day 64: A Perfect Portland Day!

Portland, OR

We had the best Portland day today! We went to Powell's, bought a good few books we didn't need, walked around town, had lunch at the food carts, hiked around Multnoma Falls and had a great dinner at a restaurant Joy recommended. We topped it all off with a game of Settlers of Catan. Excellent rest day! Tomorrow we're back on the road.

Sorry for the short post, but I'm exhausted!

Day 63: Portland -- The End is Nigh.

Walla Walla, WA to Portland, OR

Today we drove from Walla Walla to Portland and met up with Joy, a friend of mine from high school. It was great to see her!

The ride in was absolutely beautiful. The Columbia River Gorge was really stunning, but it was windy enough for the river to have windsurfers out and windmills churning, and it was also raining. We were happy to enjoy the sights from a car today. :)

We also went to go see Harry Potter! It was great, and I might want to go see it again before it leaves theaters.

Tomorrow I want to give Dean the Portland tour as best I can (I've only been here once, myself). That means Powell's Books, Multnomah Falls, food trucks, and Alberta St. I'm sure Dean could spend the whole day at Powell's. Possibly me, too.

After that, it's on to the shore! For now, we are exhausted. Zzzzzz....