Day 7

Saturday, 5 June 2004
  Cape Disappointment State Park, WA to Seaside, OR
44.1 miles, 3h35m, 12.2 mph
Elapsed Time: 5h32m, Max speed: 34.1mph
Total Climbing: 1604ft, Max elevation: 409ft
Total mileage: 433.1


Copyright 2002 DeLorme. Topo USA. Data copyright of content owner.



Everything was wet in the morning, but it wasn't raining and the sun would occasionally poke through the clouds. Still there was not enough sun to dry our tents so they went in the bags wet. I slept fairly well and didn't get up until about 7am. I managed to stay dry despite the fact that the inside of my tent was wet with condensation. Next time I'll have to be more careful about how I orient my tent relative to the wind. This particular tent (the Eureka Zeus II) is known for having ventilation problems under non-ideal conditions and the more breeze you can get blowing through the better.

The mosquitos were just as ferocious in the morning as they were at night. JT donned his rain gear to keep them off his upper body while he packed his bags.


JT struggles against the insect assault.

We finally got rolling at around 9am. The goal today was Seaside, Oregon, a resort town about 15 miles south of Astoria. Linda had reserved a room for us at the Comfort Inn. It wasn't cheap but after yesterday we deserved a short day. Also, with bad weather expected for the next few days, we wanted to stay indoors as much as possible.

The big event of the day was the crossing of the Columbia River on the Astoria Bridge. The bridge is more than four miles long and ends with a big climb into Astoria. There is a small shoulder but traffic is fairly light, especially compared to the Hood Canal Bridge.


Approaching the Astoria Bridge.

Unlike the Hood Canal Bridge, the Astoria Bridge is too long to sprint over, and you don't really have to. The shoulder is small and filled with debris but traffic was light enough that I could pull out the camera and take some pictures.


JT says he didn't notice me taking this picture. What was he looking at?

There is a big climb at the end of the bridge (which is not reflected in the route profile). We just struggled up and down the ramp on the other side.


An artsy look at the Astoria Bridge.

A few miles outside of Astoria, we visited the Fort Clatsop National Memorial. This was the site where Lewis and Clark spent the winter of 1804-5 (I think). There is a reconstruction of the barracks that the Corps of Discovery used for their quarters along with some other stuff. There was a ceremony underway a couple of miles down the road to dedicate some statute or other.


The barracks at Fort Clatsop.

The last few miles into Seaside were slow. The road was great and there was no traffic, but the weather finally turned against us. The rain started as we struggled against a headwind up a valley that seemed to go on forever. It got harder as we climbed the last hill between us and the coast. Needless to say the descent was exciting.

We stopped at a bike shop in town for JT to get a tube and spare brake pads. While we were inside the rain really started coming down, but it stopped within a few minutes. That seems to be the pattern around here. We checked in to the Comfort Inn and grabbed a big meal (we never really ate breakfast or lunch). After that we walked up and down the main drag and looked into the ice cream parlors until I found one I liked.

Tomorrow it's supposed to be rainy again but we're committed to a 50 mile ride to Tillamook.


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"JT and BC's 2004 Pacific Coast Ride" Copyright © 2004 By Bob Clemons. All rights reserved.