Day 6

August 15th 2008

Astoria, OR to Bay City, OR

63 Miles.

After a good nights sleep, it was time to say goodbye to Monique and roll on down the road.  It was cool and foggy in Astoria, so there wasn’t much to see.  The first big town south of Astoria is Seaside.  It is a popular destination for a weekend at the beach, but because I was rolling through so early in the morning, I didn’t really have any problems dealing with the traffic.  I wasn’t so lucky by the time I reached Cannon Beach, another popular tourist spot.  Even though the weather was still cool and foggy for the most part, the town of Cannon Beach was crawling with tourists.  And I do mean crawling.  Traffic was at a stand still through town.  I stopped for a quick photo and then headed out of town.

Me at Cannon Beach

Cape Arch tunnel

It was great I was finally passing all the cars rather than having them pass me.  But my joy was short lived as I was soon entering Oswald West State Park and climbing a steep hill.  On the plus side I was finally climbing out of the fog, but the shoulders on 101 weren’t the greatest and the traffic was increasing exponentially.  When I was finally at the top I took a well needed break and a few photos.  Below me I could see the small town of Manzanita.  I’m not sure there is a more scenic viewpoint along the Oregon coast, but it was still compromised by the persistent fog.

Oswald West Viewpoint

I waited for a lull in the traffic and then started my quick descent.  Soon I was back in the thick of it, both the weekend traffic and the fog.  I was beginning to get concerned this fog and dense traffic were going to be my constant companion and the Pacific was going to remain elusive.  Soon however, 101 turned away from the ocean to go around Tillamook Bay.  I only had to go about a half mile away from the coast and the fog lifted and the skies cleared.  I reached Bay City and decided to call it a day.  I unloaded the bike and rode back north about a mile to a seafood restaurant that overlooked the bay.

On my way to the restaurant I saw a fellow long haul tourer heading south, so we stopped to talk.  His name was Mark, and he is way more hardcore than I am.  He is riding from Prudhoe Bay, AK to Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina.  Yes that’s correct, from the northern most point of North America to the southern most point of South America, about 14,000 miles total.  I’m not worthy!  We had a great conversation but he had a different perspective than me.  He was ready to abandon the coast and head inland where he thought he might make better time riding along I-5.  I told him it wouldn’t be as scenic, but he figured he was going to get plenty of the ocean on this little adventure so he could afford to miss a little of the Oregon coast.  Besides he didn’t like the tourists any more than I did.  We said our goodbyes and he pedaled away.  He does have a website so you all should check it out:

http://weslock.home.att.net

After that I had a nice fish and chips dinner and went back to the campsite to get some sleep

Maury