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DAY 2
A beautiful day along the beach...where did all those rocks come from?

 

 

Yesterday          Tomorrow
ROUTE: Seaside to Tillamook OR DISTANCE: 46 measly miles WINDS:  NW 10-15...tail sometimes
WEATHER: Sunny and warm...just about perfect TERRAIN: Hilly in spots TOTAL CLIMBING: 2800 feet

DAILY REPORT:  The day started out with a egg and pancake breakfast next door to the motel just as the sun was starting to peak over the easterly mountain range.  It hasn't taken everyone long to get into our routine but they are a lot more laid back than the summer rides...good thing I guess.  We still try to keep on a schedule, but it's a little more lax than usual.

We started out fairly late this morning with loading at 7:45; then we went to the beach to have a group photo (left) before we pressed southward.  We were expecting a long day on the road and that proved to be accurate.  Our route was entirely on hwy 101 except for one short stretch through Cannon Beach along the water front.  Hwy 101 had a pretty good shoulder all day and the traffic was sporadic...a very enjoyable day to say the least.  Practically everyone stopped several times and snapped photos of the coast.  It was hard not to stop every time there was a pull out to get the latest view and to talk to the other tourists who seemed flabbergasted at what we were doing.  Every stop seemed to be the "best view" until we stumbled on to the next one.  I hate to tell them that it gets even better the next couple days...at least that what I remember from last year.

Today was also a shortish day of only 48 miles...but sometimes even that mileage is long especially when there's so much to see along the route...and what a spectacular route.  At 11:30, most of the group had pedaled a whopping 24 miles!  Of all the rides we do (and we ride in some beautiful places) I think Oregon's coastline scenery was right up there with the best.  At times we were surrounded by trees, other times we had the cliffs on our left and the ocean crashing into the rocks to our right.  At times we were riding along the water while other times we were 1500 feet above the surf.  I've seen photos of the northwest coast, but seeing it first hand is something special.  I hate to rave so much about the scenery today because I'll run out of steam when we get to other worthy of praise areas, but it was really impressive to a boy from the midwest who only knew bodies of water that were pond size.

Everyone was pretty much in by 3:00 when we were planning on having a bike handling clinic.  I found a small parking lot near the motel to demonstrate some bike handling skills and give them a chance to practice under supervision.  We discussed and practiced body position, turning techniques, and survival skills to just mention a few subjects.  I think the riders that took the time to attend appreciated the instruction and enjoyed the skill drills.  No one fell over...that was a good thing.

Tomorrow we head out to Lincoln City...another day of scenic Oregon coastline...sensory overload to say the least.  The real good news is, I'll be able to ride tomorrow!  Can't wait...see you then.

 

 
HEARD DURING THE DAY:

"If it got any better, I'd just have to have someone else with me to take it all in."

"By now everyone should realize that these mountains keep the ocean out of Texas."

"Mike, you run a pretty tight ship.  I told Barb today that I was thinking about not washing my hands at the SAG and she told me that she was thinking I wasn't going to eat today."
"You are right...I think in '06 the last person who tried to grab something from Barb's SAG without washing their hands first has probably healed by now."

"The hardest thing today was just trying not to run off the road while gawking at all the beautiful scenery."

 

 CAN'T BELIEVE I DID THAT:

Over the past couple rides, I've pretty much stopped putting names with some of the Duhs we have on the road.  That's probably the best way to report items because we certainly don't want to embarrass anyone, but I really need to be able to report some of the silly things we do out here on the road.  Like yesterday you probably noticed that I reported on a couple things without names...for example...one of our experienced riders locked himself in his shoes by jamming the ratchet strap and couldn't get them off.  I thought that might be pretty embarrassing especially for someone who's a highly experienced rider so I was afraid to publish his name and tell the whole world about his plight.  Plus, I was afraid all his riding buds at home would just think he was hopeless.  By publishing the deed anonymously, we were all able to share a little chuckle and no one is any the wiser.  I also think by keeping most of the real duh things anonymous, I'll get more people to volunteer things for me to report on.  That being the case, you'll be happy to know that I saw Fred wearing his tennis shoes this morning so it appears he fixed his problem...oops, sorry.  Forget I said that.    Oh, and someone else had a flat today so Bill M. now has some company. 

SCENES OF THE DAY?

Some farmer is missing a whole steer for those two burgers.

Andy, I think you'd better start balancing your workouts.

After riding that Tootsie Roll seat all morning, Tom was relieved to be able to sit in Barb's chair while she replenished the SAG goodies.

Bob and Dave, ABB's version of modern day explorers, wanted to have a statue of themselves put up near the beach.  Sorry boys, Lewis and Clark were here first.

OK class, if you're riding and this happens...it's not a good thing.

I saw this shop selling bird houses.  I'm not sure if they are good ones since I didn't see one bird living in them while they were on display.

Scenes of the rugged Oregon coastline.

Tore, I'm working on getting you in the brochure someday.

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