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The Portland International Hostel turned out to be not too bad. It could use a little up dating since it was a bit worn in spots but all in all, it was convenient and we slept well. We spent our last morning in Portland visiting the Oregon History Museum. Fortunately it only had two floors so we were able to see  it all in the limited time we had. We picked up our bikes and bags, headed to the train station for the 6 hr ride to Mt. Vernon. 

Here are our bikes tagged and ready for boarding. Heading home. 

Crossing the Columbia and saying goodbye to Oregon.

Six hours on the train gives one time to reflect on our bike trip. Some things we've learned ............

-hills are never as steep as they appear from a distance. 

-more towns should clean the shoulders of the roads.

-99% of drivers are polite.

-always pack half the amount you think you need and bring more laundry soap instead.

-stop often to enjoy what is there -- you'll probably not come this way again.

-traveling by bike is the right speed and with someone you love it is the best! 

-you can eat and drink lots while cycling (after you stop pedalling, of course).

-numb fingers and a sore bum are part of the experience.

When planning a trip, you can't always make perfect connections. We arrived in Mt. Vernon at 8:30pm, not enough time to bike to Anacortes before dark. So we had to spend the night in Mt. Vernon and then catch the ferry to Victoria that leaves Anacortes at 8:45am! So up at 4:45am and off by 5:15 we biked 30 kms to the ferry, over the Skagit River on the old bridge and across the fertile (and flat) farmland. It is light at that time of day and there's less traffic, although Mt Vernon is still coping with congestion from the I-5 bridge collapse. When we started our trip 2 weeks ago the ride from the ferry to our motel, in Mt. Vernon took us 2hr and10 minutes (in rain). Today we planned for 2 1/2 hours but arrived at the ferry in under 2 hours. Maybe we are better riders after all the biking we've done. 

Norm needed a coffee by the time we got to Anacortes at 6:45am.

The weather is cloudy and cool today, good time to return to our normal life in Metchosin. Our total milage for the trip is 688 km. I think we'll round it up to 690 kilometres.

24 hours in Portland

It seems we spend much of our time talking about food. When you've been biking all day, food is the reward. Well today seemed like lots of eating and we did almost no biking. Breakfast, before we caught the train to Portland was at the Morning Glory Cafe, a vegetarian and vegan restaurant right beside the train station. Prefect. Norm tried the granola coated French Toast again and this time it was delicious, topped with fresh fruit and maple syrup. Great spot, highly recommended.

And check that bike rack. Eugene knows how to treat their cyclists. Next stop Portland, 2 1/2 hours on the train. Once we arrived we biked about 10 blocks to the International Youth Hostel, left our bikes and bags and went to walk about. 

A Victorian style old mansion with many younger than us staying here. It is always nice to raise the average age. Mind you we are right next door in the building below. Not quite as fancy but still cozy.

You can see our bedroom window out front. 

So we have about a day here. Tomorrow we catch the train at 2.30 for Mr. Vernon for our last ride to Anacortes. We decided to check out the classier Northwest district this time. Lots of boutiques, restaurants and designer type stores. The Salt and Straw got our attention. We lined up. I had a scoop of Gooey Chocolate Brownie and a scoop of Salt and ribbons of Carmel ice cream. Norm had a small Bourbon laced ice cream. A great lunch! We then walking, into the Pearl District where had a real lunch at the Bridgeport Brew Pub. This time I had a small salad and Norm opted for the Bratwurst meal, with purple cabbage and spatzle noodles.

Hungry yet? Onward we walked and guess what, right around the next corner is Powell's Books. Ok only one more book each allowed. And I just happened to find the Knit And Purl store where I got wool for my next project. Sure glad it isn't heavy or take up too much space. (I hope) 

We could now check into our room at the hostel. Not bad, clean, large, no tv or telephone but a good size. Shared bathroom, kitchen and back garden where we sat for some time reading our books until the very talkative older gentleman was just a little too loud and full of himself that we had to escape. Enough of his loud claims to walk two miles three days a week, and run the same distance on the other days. And his odd love of cereals like Captain Crunch and Lucky Charms. We'll see what he has for breakfast in the morning.

We finished our day and end of our trip with our final meal at the Olive Place having a variety of middle eastern appetizers - garlic prawns, spanakopita, hummus, pita, olives and roasted feta as we toasted our perfect holiday. And we talked about what was the best - the Oregon Coast and where should be go next :) 

One last entry tomorrow and will let you know just how far we actually biked. Stay tuned. 

Back roads to Eugene

When Norm first planned our bike trip he hadn't quite worked out the last leg of it into Eugene. Highway 99 was a possibility since we had biked it before and although busy it did have wide shoulders. I-5 is right beside 99 but in fact it turns out that I-5 was placed on top of 99. Although Oregon allows bikes to ride on I-5 -- true fact -- we were not at all interested in biking I-5 beside huge semis going 100kmh.! Elliott, our new best buddy in Newport Bikes, suggested a back road. With a Oregon bike map in hand Norm planned out route to Eugene. And since it looked more than 50 miles and as the weather's been hot, we decided to get an early start. 

So we got up really early this morning in Elkton and headed to Tomasilli's Cafe that opened at 6am. We were their first customers at 6:30. The eight-grain cereal was what I ordered and Norm the same but in pancakes with blueberries. The waitress asked if he wanted more than one. Of course he would order a double stack, but then she explained that she had seen only one person finish two. She was right. 

On the road by 7:45 heading first to Drain. We got to go through our second tunnel. Incredibly noisy going through, but Oregon has a wonderful bike-friendly feature in their highway tunnels -- press a button at the entrance, and lights flash overhead at both ends to tell motorists that cyclists are coming through.

Check out Norm in the picture too. The scenery along this perfect highway was beautiful, the photo below is the little valley just over the hills from Elkton. And being a Saturday morning, there wasn't a lot of traffic. 

 Again life is pretty quiet here. Logging and sawmilling, pulp and paper mills are mostly gone and so many places are for sale. You can probably get a good deal if you are interested. 

Here is an old beehive burner left to decay. By Drain it was coffee/pastries time. We couldn't pass this store by. Honest, there were two large women running the bakery. The baked goods were just okay.

The day was getting hotter and the roads long and hilly. At one point on our way to the next really small town of Lorane we had to push our bikes at least a mile up a mountain road. We were in the Coast Range here, not as high as the same mountains farther north in North Vancouver, say, but still a grind on bikes. But coming down the other side is a real thrill. 

Lunch was in Lorane with sandwiches made at Tomasilla's this morning. Lorane has two stores and a post office. It is hard to believe that you can find post offices in these small places. Elkton had a post office too and they only have 195 people living there. No wonder the postal service here is losing money.

The roadway we took actually follows some of the 1840s-era Applegate Trail, which was meant to offer a more convenient route from Oregon to California. Don't know how those oxen pulled the wagons up the slopes in these parts. The effort had us sweating lots.

Finally we crossed into the city limits of Eugene. What amazing hills coming into town. For those who know my bike history, I am a relatively new bicyclist. So when I hit 51.7 kms per hour coming down the hill you can appreciate my shock and thrill of it! And then to just bike in downtown Eugene to our motel right near the train station without a second thought of city traffic, then I'd say I can confidently say I am a bicyclist! Before I sound too confident, I follow Norman so I know where I am going at all times:) 

We cleaned up, met up with Kathleen Piovesan (a friend of Holland's from preschool days in Victoria)  for dinner and a chance to catch up on her life at the university of Oregon, where she's one year into earning a PhD in cultural anthropology. Nice to see her. Before calling it a night, there was time for one more treat at the Red Wagon Ice Creamery for a sundae: scoops of Heart of Chocolate and Not So Plain Jane Vanilla.

Tomorrow we catch the train to Portland, spend one more night then train again to Mt. Vernon before biking home. 

How about a hot Umpqua?

Early evening and it is so warm we are sitting outside on the deck of the River Inn in Elkton and the temperature today got up the high 20s C.  An interesting place, not quite what you would expect in a little town along the Umpqua River. We have a jacuzzi tub, unlimited supply of VHS videos, a family of 12 baby mallards living outside below the deck and a blues band practising just next door, and they're pretty good.

Getting here today was probably on the best road yet, slightly winding and mostly flat -- we like flat -- following the Umpqua River. However.......I was more bagged than any other day. As we came into town the temperature read 89'F. Now that is hot. It made us realize how pleasant the coastal breeze was.

We left Reedsport -- another former resource town, once had a paper mill, but now kinda quiet -- by 9:30 today after filling up for the ride. Back at the Harbor Light Restaurant, Norm couldn't resist the boar sausage breakfast. As he said, "How often do you get to eat wild boar?"

I stuck with Red Mill healthy oats. Once out of town there many signs telling you to watch for elk. It was quite exciting to be able to bike right up to a herd grazing. Amazing animals!

And as we biked it got hotter and hotter. We stopped for mango yogurt and a mango milkshake in Wells Creek. Who knew you'd find such goodies along the way? Here is a 1929 bridge built for the bustling community of Scottsburg back then. Probably bustled even earlier -- the town was founded in1850 and had the first newspaper in Oregon. The historic signpost said it was common for pack trains of upwards of 500 horses/mules to head up into the mining camps in the hills around here. Just trees growing around here now, and numerous logging trucks passed us along the highway. And you can see the gorgeous river we got to follow.

We don't usually need a reason to rest our bums but a sign indicated something historical gets Norm's attention. Here he is at Paradise Creek reading a plaque about the many stage coach drivers who carried people and goods down to the coast. You don't find memorials like these anymore, carved out of a solid block of stone.

We biked into Elkton around 2.30 pm. Glad to stop. Found our Inn, bathed and decided to discover Elkton, a town about seven blocks square but quite full of businesses. A drink is what we decided we needed. Now Elkton has one place to stay and we are in it, unless you're driving an RV, and then you get to park a few feet from the river. It has one main street and aside from Arlene's cafe/bar/poolhall, there didn't seem to be much for thristy travellers. But there are wine tasting establishments and so we found ourselves at Brandborg Winery, which has actually been written up in the New York Times. We decided to skip the tastings and went straight for a cool, bottle of wine, Gewürztraminer, some Boursin cheese and crackers and sat outside on the patio enjoying the good life.

Once the bottle and cheese were finished we discovered the river, fast flowing and actually quite pleasant. 

After sun, wine and water we needed a nap. The joys of being retired and on the road by bike. An hour later we woke up refreshed ready to plan tomorrow. 

From Yachats to Reedsport

The Green Salmon Cafe started us this morning in Yachats. Norm's hot granola with nuts, seeds, cinnamon, cranberries, steamed milk and more was amazing! By 9:30 we headed for Florence. Again the beauty of the coast is even better on a bike. You can bike, see, smell, hear and take your time. And sometimes even walk up the really big and long hills. Here are two spots that were quite exciting. The first is Devil's Chasm where the surf crashes in.

 Cook's Chasm has the surf spurting straight up if you are lucky to catch it.

At Heceta Head  we biked up a steep hill, got to use our lights in a tunnel and then look back from the viewpoint to the prefect lighthouse scene.

It may be hard to see but there is a lighthouse way back there. Next we came to Florence. 

What a view! That is Florence somewhere way down there. We are entering sand dune territory. By 1 pm we were hungry and managed to find the old part of Florence. Thank goodness for that because all the way into town is like one giant strip mall. The old part is historic, quaint and "old". We brought along our own buns, roast beef, chips, pastries and drinks. You'll note my coke but Norm insisted on keeping his in the bag. Is alcohol allowed in public spaces in Oregon? We decided not to find out. But where we ate lunch was a converted garage to a funky coffee shop called Siuslaw Coffee Roasters. 

Food is so good when you have been biking for over 3 hours. Behind us is the Siuslaw River and bridge that we biked across, very Art Deco.

So over the bridge and heading to Dune City. There are dunes everywhere and you can take part in dune buggies, dune sand boarding, dune tours, dune sleds........ It looks like the dunes may take over the roads one day. 

Every once in a uwhile we need to stop and give our bottoms a rest. Here are a couple of Norm's points of interest.

Can you see him?

Chainsaw carving is big down here, that's Mary with a plump eagle along the way to Reedsport. There we had a bite to eat at the Harbor Light Cafe where Norm had the biggest plate of onion rings for dinner. We did a walk about the town and decided there really isn't any town but rather a long stretch of highway with a few stores. And now to rest up for our ride along the Umpqua River to Elkton tomorrow. 

Bridges of Lincoln County

Early morning snack at the Rockfish Cafe for coffee, tea, cinnamon bun and a scone got us on the road by 9:15 heading south on Highway 101, also known as the Pacific Coast Scenic Byway. It has incredible views of the coast, unfortunately more traffic. But we were OK in the paved shoulder alongside as trucks, buses (some of them huge RVs pulling SUVs) and cars whooshed by a few feet away.

Our first stop was for breakfast in Depoe Bay, a little spot with a small boat harbour and a memorable cafe called the Spouting Horn, for the hole in the rocks on the ocean side of the highway where pounding waves throw up a plume of spray. But it wasn't open yet -- goodbye thoughts of having the blackberry pie that Norm remembers from the first time through here some 50 years ago -- so we picked Gracie's Sea Hag down the street and had a delicious breakfast. Norm had Shrimp Neptune and I asked for porridge and the waitress said they only had oatmeal. Oops. 

                 

Note here we are with our new bikes toasting with our Oak Bay Bike water bottles. Now it wouldn't be the Oregon Coast if there wasn't a bit of fog. You can see in Depoe Bay the low clouds. The coastal bike route sends you off to the old highway away from traffic. We took the Otter Crest Loop and got to travel right along the edge. It took us right to Cape Foulweather, named by Capt. Vancouver on his way by a couple of centuries back. The winds can hit 100 mph here routinely in winter storms, the sign said.

This is the Ben Jones bridge, named for an early settled who had campaigned for better roads in the area -- they used to drive wagons on the sandy beaches between coastal towns, if you can believe it, before a coastal highway was finally completed in the 1930s.

I

At Newport we stopped at the Newport bike shop. What a great bunch of guys there. I splurged and bought a front carrier that hangs off the handlebars. Now I can store food, sunglasses, money etc when I don't have any pockets. Elliott, the store owner, talked up Newport as a much better place to visit, as a real town with people living and working there, as opposed to Lincoln City with its rows and rows of beachside condos that are often dark at night, and its giant casino. Yeah, and they're not very bike-friendly. So we invited Elliott to stay with us next time he is biking by Metchosin. He's been up our way once before, biking the Galloping Goose to Sooke (he called it Sook) and what a great time he had skinnydipping in the tea pots (pot holes). Got to love it! His comments and a short bike ride to a neighbourhood cafe in the Nye Beach neighbourhood convinced us -- next time, skip Ljncoln City and head for Newport. With Elliot's directions we headed out of town and over the Newport bridge and walked it as he suggested. It's a lovely Art Deco structure built by the state in 1937. It was so windy up there and such a long span, we were glad we walked.

Norm insisted we stop part way along for a photo op! Almost blew us away.

It is almost 3 pm and we need some lunch. We found a great beach side picnic spot for an international lunch of  Genoa salami, British Cheddar cheese, Greek yogurt and organic mini carrots, and Safeway buns. 

Next stop was Waldport and another bridge, Alsea Bay Bridge. Stopped for an apple break and then on to the Dublin House Motel in Yachats. It is pronounced ya-hot and comes from the Siletz language meaning "dark water at the foot of the mountain". The things you learn when traveling. 

It was 5:30 when we arrived. Total distance covered about 52 miles, 82 km on my odometer. Felt good to stop. We showered then toured the town. It is actually quite nice. In a car we would just zoom by. There isn't a lot here but it has character. Well done Yachats! 

The sun goes down on Lincoln City

Great sleep at the Captain Cook Inn, an older but newly renovated auto court from the 1940s and very comfortable. We needed the rest so we are ready for the next 4 days of biking about 50 miles each day! 

We did breakfast today the American way by biking to the Pig'n Pancake. Well most Americans don't bike but they do eat! 

Norm enjoyed his breakfast especially the fruit salad minus bananas. 

Like many travellers, time apart is good. So Norm headed to look for postcards at the antique malls and I biked through town to the outlet mall. Remember no tax in Oregon but mustn't forget we are on bikes. I found deals on underwear and a T-shirt, Norm 10 old postcards. When we met up Norm suggests we go for a bike ride. A BIKE RIDE? Really? Oh well, why not. So we put on another 20 km today biking to the historical town of Taft, named after President William Howard Taft. 

Not really too historical -- although it's apparently the oldest of the five communities that amalgamated in the 1960s as Lincoln City -- but we did manage to check out the Snug Harbor Tavern for beer and pizza. As we walked in someone handed us a plate of deep-fried ravioli with Marinara sauce as a free appetizer. I'm not even sure if the guy worked there. He left shortly. And the deep-fried ravioli, not bad. Pizza, ok. We now had to bike "home". Our way to Taft was on side roads, near the ocean with beautiful views, expensive homes and hills' which we walked. Going home we took Highway 101. To say it was windy does not truly explain what it was like pedalling, our way uphill in a gusty gale. Thank God we are biking south and not north. The wind would do me in! 

After a rest at our room we decide to walk to McMenamins for a drink and snack. And as we returned along the beach we caught the setting sun. Beautiful and still windy. 

Tomorrow, Depoe Bay, Newport and Yachats, only 49 miles! Sun will be shining and the wind will be pushing me along. Yeah! 

Over the hills cyclists

We can see the ocean! We did it! 82+ km and we are now in Lincoln City. We started our day at 7am by biking into McMinnville for breakfast at the Wildwood cafe. I wish I had brought by iPad to take a picture of Norm's Wildwood Toast. It was 2" thick white bread, rolled in granola and fried, sort of French toast. He definitely was "carbing up" for the ride. (Note from NG: had a plate of fruit too, including some bananas.) Too bad it didn't taste as good as it looked. Back to our motel to pack and we were on the road by 9 and off to Lincoln City only 48 miles away! Having to take a main highway means a lot more traffic. Fortunately the drivers have been really good, giving us lots of room and most of the time we have a four-foot shoulder to bike on. But Norm is always looking for a better way, so all of sudden we take a side trip to Sheridan (coffee anyone?)  One thing you notice is the worn and tired state of many of these small towns. So many homes need fixing, store fronts are closed and many people are living in trailers. The recession is still going on here. But we did find a coffee shop, Slow Train. And she was slow but the coffee, tea and toasted bagel were perfect.

Next staying off the main highway we pass through Willamina. You probably haven't heard of it but  it was busier when they had a plywood mill. Looks like the small town where they made that Stephen 

King movie about the kids tracking down a rumour about a body out along the river. Now Willamina makes veneer and we were passed by many trucks loaded with logs and the finished product peeled off them. We now joined back up with highway 18 to the coast.

Since we had a long long long way to go we didn't stop too often, only to give our bums a rest and to share an apple.  But here we are at the summit of the coast highway. Yeah! Only had to walk about 1/2 km to reach the summit. It was a long climb.

It is all down hill from here, we'll almost. It felt great to get into high gear and just go for it. We made it to Captain Cook's Motel in Lincoln City by 2.30. To say I was pooped would be accurate. Showered and feeling somewhat refreshed we then walked 3 km into town and celebrated with a drink at Kyllo's -- photo below especially for Colleen Brownlee, who knows the restaurant that sits on stilts by the sea. It felt so good to sit and not pedal but not easy to get up and walk back.

We had to check out the beach. Windy! Windy! It was so windy we walked only until we could find the nearest exit. But it is beautiful. 

Tomorrow we will spend the day exploring Lincoln City, outlet malls, antique malls and maybe a bike store too. It will be nice to rest up for the next 80+ day Norm has planned.