Day 4: Montesano, WA to Astoria, OR

Day 4: August 3, Montesano to Astoria, OR

77.2 miles, 15.2 mph

Granny, Jerry and Vince made us a sumptuous breakfast of oatmeal pancakes, eggs, sausage and the works (including a raspberry pancake "syrup") and we were off for the state of Oregon. The day started in a promising fashion--with the sun peeking thru the clouds and eventually coming out, albeit briefly. Riding past the Beehive, we found WA-107 which meandered for a ways next to the Chehalis River. We then "enjoyed" a series of climbs and descents next to forested hills.

This is where I got my first flat of the trip. This has been the "summer of flats" for me. I, apparently, have displeased the inner-tube gods. On on of these steep descents, a big piece of metal jumped out and hit my tire, and I was shortly off my bike getting more tire-iron practice.

Aside from that, the rest of our WA-107 segment proceeded without incident and we eventually descended into the somewhat scenic town of Raymond, where there was a parade, fair and car exhibition going on. 

The Marines from Raymond

We grabbed some Gatorades from a convenient market and rejoined 101. As we crossed the bridge leading out of town, we spoke to a local woman who directed us to a bike path that paralleled the freeway, hugging the banks of the Wilapa River from Raymond to South Bend about 3 miles away. Thus, we enjoyed a brief respite from the shoulder of 101.

This was really our first real sense of being near the ocean. The Wilapa River joins the Pacific pretty close to South Bend, and we could smell the sea (and fish) as we followed 101 towards its mouth, eventually heading south as the river met the ocean. We crossed over a series of inlets from the Pacific and caught a variety of views of the ocean before heading back inland towards the hills.



As we neared the coast, the weather got foggier and hazier. We left 101 for WA-4 as we headed inland. Climbing over some rolling hills we found a local diner--the Rocket Cafe (tag line: a blast from the past) where we enjoyed a relaxed lunch. We were within striking distance of Astoria.

"Rocket men..."

From there, we turn right onto WA-401 where we enjoyed another hill climb and descent before being able to see the Columbia river and the bridge leading to Astoria. The sun came out in full force by the time we glimpsed the Columbia, providing an incredible view of the 4.x mile bridge between Washington and Oregon. We stopped at a viewpoint about 4 miles from the bridge entrance to take some pics and assess the situation.

Need I say more?

Contemplating the crossing

My personal philosophy is to avoid learning about difficult things in advance, otherwise I just end up worrying about things I can't do anything about. Mark and Amy, however, obsessed over the Astoria bridge, as it's really long (4+ miles), has very little shoulder, has a pretty steep climb to the top of the highest section, and has been known to frequented by teenagers racing cars. Additionally, it is susceptible to high, non-bike-friendly winds.

That day, however, the sun was shining, our destination was at hand, and we all went for the crossing. It was the highlight of the trip, thus far. The view was incredible, the cars were courteous. We were moving along the flat part of the span at almost 20 mph (probably pure adrenaline). The climb to the top of the span must have been at least 150 ft and we were stopped near the top for several minutes for construction work. It was a bit peculiar for the roadway at the top of a bridge to suddenly shift to single land. In any case, it was quite a view.

What goes up must come down, and the descent off the bridge was spectacularly fast. I'm sure it was scenic as well, but my eyes were focused on the road in front of me or on the cars to my left. Our hotel--The Astoria Riverwalk--was almost directly at the bridge exit. We were there.

As a result of my flat, I wanted to pick up an extra inner tube. So Mark and I went to a local bike shop where one of the guys showed me the Schwalbe "Flatless" tire--a heavy, treaded tire with a very thick skin. In fact, an exhibit for the tire showed a section of tread with thumbtacks stuck into the outside (and none showing on the inside). I picked one up for my rear wheel. As I was to later learn, the tire's title was a bit of an overstatement.

Once in our rooms, our daily post-ride stretch commenced.  

Stretch out those glutes!

Astoria bridge from out hotel room

Drinka Restaurant

We dined that evening at a Bosnian restaurant in downtown Astoria. Mark and I had some wonderful lamb, Amy had some incredible goulash, and the owner regaled us with some interesting bits of beer lore. We made it to Oregon!

Astoria bridge at sunset