Oregon Coast Bike Ride - Day One
Woke up around 6:30, but that was the third or fourth time as the dogs kept waking me up for somethin. I was not interested in getting up at 3:30
I had packed the trailer so it was easy to get just need to attend to morning rituals and wait for my wife to get up and ready to go. Got the car packed and we were off to have breakfast. I was riding and she drove there.
I was only about a 1/4 mile from the motel when I survived a close call. A cat came shooting across from the other side of the road. I had pretty good speed as I was going down hill and there was not much that I could do to avoid it. The cat actually hit my front wheel and bounced back into the road. Lucky for the cat or my back tire and trailer would have gone over it. I avoided going down and crashing, which would have been a very bad way to start the day and the ride.
Had a good breakfast, egg scramble with sausage, red peppers, onions and white cheddar. I guess Nancy hated to see me go, she wanted to stay and have coffee when we were done. So after a nice leisurely breakfast I was on the road.
I decided to follow the same route that I took last year, and stay off 101 until Seaside. I was 8.5 miles into the ride when I had my first incident. I saw a small piece of what looked like rubber in my lane (the shoulder of the road) I avoided it with my front tire but somehow just nicked it with the back tire. My tire went flat instantly. I pulled off into the gravel and walked back to see what it was. It was a piece of car/truck tire about 8 inches long and about 1/4 inch thick. I throw it off the road so that no one else would hit it.
Back to the bike I inspected the tire and as I suspected it was sliced on the side wall. Got out a new tube and tire (this is why you carry a spare tire while touring) got them on and the tire inflated in about 10 minutes, then I was back on the road.
There is an old raod that that Adventure Cyclists said was a good alternative to the Lewis and Clark Rd I was on. I thought I would give it a try this year. About a 1/4 mile down the road there are signs saying private property, no unauthorized motor vehicles. Well I did not have a motor so I kept going, but another 1/4 mile later the road turned to gravel. After having the flat and not having another spare tire, I decided to turn around and go back to the orignal route. After climbing a hill it was down into Seaside. When I got close to 101 I pulled out my phone and checked where the closest bike shop was.
I stopped at Prom Bike and Rental, which just happened to be on my planned route down 12th ave. The lady there was very nice and was interested where I was coming from and where I was going. I got a nice looking folding 25 with kevlar, I had never heard of the brand before but the price was reasonable and they did not have the Gatorskins that I prefer to run. Purchased the tire and then off through Seaside on the side road just west of 101. I did not try to go down the boardwalk this year as I had checked and knew the beach volleyball tournament was going on. It hard enough to walk down the boardwalk when that it taking place.
Out of Seaside and some flat roads until I crossed the Hwy 26 junction, then the first climb on 101. I think I am carrying too much weight this year as I had to stop twice going up the hill. I think I have an extra 15 pounds in the trailer and 35 on me, will have to work on lightening the load for next year.
Over the hill and into Cannon Beach, as this is a summer weekend the town was busy and all the resturants looked packed. Decided to try the Warren House Pub by Tolovana State Park. Had a good reuben here last year, this year I tried there special which was a BBQ chicken sandwhich. It was very good, I drank plenty of water and no beer. Decided not have any beer this year until I acutally get to the campground.
After lunch it was more hills, two good climbs, with a number of rest stops along the way. Then it was down hilll to Manzinita. Decided to grab dinner at a pizza place that I heard about last year. Pizza was good, not spectacular, but definately better than most places. The crust was very good, but the sauce seemed to lack a lot of flavor, but that could have been the great flavor of the Canadian bacon covering it up. If you are here and want pizza, you likely will not find better for miles around, it is at definately worth the price.
After dinner it was a quick stop and the store for a Sobe water for tonight and a banana for in the morning. Arrived at the camp ground, registered and got my spot selected. Set up the tent, locked the bike and off to the showers. It is amazing how good a shower feels after a long day of riding. Back to the camp site, got my mattress pad inflated and sleeping bag out. Thunder, very loud thunder, and it started to sprinkle. Decided it was time to close everything up and retire to a dry tent. Wrote my blog post, a little reading and then off for some sound sleep.
Day one is in the books. Hopefully tomorrow will be dry.
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