Day 2 - Tasting Cow $hit (Christi)
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| Cool painted wall we came across in Wheeler, OR |
Woke up bright and early at 0630 to pack up our camping gear. Only took us an hour to get ready and pack everything. By the end of the trip we are going to be pros and will probably have that down to a record time. Unfortunately, I had my first equipment malfunction, at some point I lost a screw to my rear rack. Placed my small panniers on the front rack and had Hannah carry the rest of the gear in the car. We plan to find the next open bike shop and find a replacement screw that’s longer than the ones we currently have.
Breakfast was ravaged in Rockaway Beach, at Grumpy’s Cafe. 100% recommend the food there and the service was excellent. I forgot to take a picture of my food, but believe me when I say it was delicious!
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| Brandon helped me out with the food pic, but he was a little hungry, so he ate “some”. 😂 |
Originally we planned to just ride to Tillamook and assess the air quality. There was a lack of smoke smell in the air, but we weren’t spared from the taste and smell of cow manure. It truly was the highlight of the day (heavy sarcasm). We stopped at the Safeway in Tillamook because I also realized that I had forgotten to pack a toothbrush and a full stick of deodorant; couldn’t pass up the Snickers bars and a six pack of IPA. The only bike shop in town had a closed sign stating they were closed due to the local fire, so no replacement screw for me. After leaving Tillamook we had about 20 miles to Brandon’s family’s cabin.
To Pacific City was not bad, we have ridden this route before a few times, but specifically skipped the Three Capes Loop this time to avoid some elevation gain. The temperature was definitely a change from the day before! We went from sweating yesterday to freezing our balls off today. Luckily I had my semi-insulated rain jacket which helped with the “new” wind and cold temperatures we were facing. This section of the road was much less congested than it was last time!
As we got into Pacific City I was surprised to find that I couldn’t see anything past Pelican Brewing/Restaurant. It was literally a scene out of Game of Thrones or The Mist, if you are familiar with either of these references. We decided to grab lunch at Doryland pizza, it is bomb, best cycling food ever! While sitting there we wrote the blog post for the day before and got updated on the wildfires. Our hearts are breaking for the families across the state that have lost their homes or their loved ones. The amount of destruction is devastating. While there, a man came in to pick up pizza and we overheard him telling the waitress that he had originally evacuated from the Santiam Fire to Lincoln City and then had to evacuate again to Pacific City. I can’t imagine what thousands of people are going through throughout the state and continue to feel selfish that I’m on this bike ride. My thoughts and love are being sent to everyone ❤
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| The white truck in the picture had a cute puppy in it that I rescued (it’s poor head was stuck in the cracked window) |
While at Doryland the support crew stopped at a bar down the street. We hopped on our bikes and I quickly realized how unprepared I was for cold riding. I packed regular riding gear, but didn’t pack thermal gloves, jersey, or pants. As I was shivering down the street I told Brandon I wouldn’t be upset if we stopped at the bar to meet the group (It didn’t take me long to convince him). Sportsman’s Pub-n-Grub had some good beer and I enjoyed catching up on the NBA (specifically Westbrick being a scum player). Next we headed to the cabin and Hannah cooked up some BOMB seafood cowder (see below 😍)
Road kill- 2 snakes, 1 frog, 1 cat, 3 raccoons, 1 squirrel
Weird things in the shoulder- dead frog, tow hitch, CO2 canister, raccoon family, rotten cat head, recliner
Things forgotten: toothbrush, floor tire pump, and warm pants
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