by Liz

Day’s mileage : 49

Running total : 474

I’ve wanted to reach the ocean on the west coast for days now and each time we’ve not quite made it. Yesterday we arrived to find we were on another estuary with a wide expanse of mudflats. So when we went to watch the sunset from ‘the beach’ and found stretching before us a fully functioning ocean with waves lapping and sandpipers running up and down in the shallows, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was an amazing feeling. Sunset was beautiful. 

We were eager to visit the beach again this morning and unexpectedly it was still ocean, the tide hadn’t transformed it to mudflats or anything else. We watched a bald eagle cruising above us on the thermals. It’s been another day of unbroken sunshine with a cool wind for our final stretch in Washington state, where we’ve been incredibly lucky with the weather – unseasonably good for this part of the world. 

The scenery has transformed from mountains and forests to wetlands and coastline. We rode past a massive area where driftwood had washed up, huge trunks bleached silver by the sun and sea. We passed bright turquoise river meanders with forest beyond and hills on the horizon, and exchanged greetings with a man tending his orchard. 

At 12 miles we stopped for a sandwich, realising that in our haste to visit the beach this morning we’d forgotten to have the toast part of our breakfast. We passed roadkill no 6 – it astonishes us that in 500 miles we’ve only seen two opossums, three snakes and today a porcupine. It’s a pleasure and a relief not to see more (what we’ve seen is totally cool though). Also super cool, on an outlying peninsular around mile 30, was watching a pair of bald eagles flying together overhead and calling to each other. 

Someone said to me recently we must be serious cyclists but in fact that’s not really the case. Philip loves riding his bike at home and I love cycle touring and only ride when I’m training, otherwise I prefer running. We’re quite capable of nonsense, riding off with our stands still down and I’m forever changing up and down gears when I mean to do the opposite (very inconvenient on the steeper uphills). On Friday I cable-tied my panniers on the wrong sides and wondered why my heels kept hitting them. Such a pro. No one takes us seriously on Box Hill but here we are wonderfully free because, other than one or two in the occasional town, there are no other cyclists, so we set the bar. 

This afternoon we entered Oregon. I’m sad to leave Washington behind, it’s been spectacularly beautiful and kind to us through our first ten days. The transition to Oregon took place over the 4.1 mile long Astoria-Megler bridge built in 1966 across the mouth of the Columbia River. It was a stunning ride above sapphire sea, cormorants and an eagle wheeling around us and a snowy Mount St Helens shining to our left 100 miles away. Such a clear day!

Tonight we’re staying just outside Astoria. It’s a beautiful town on a steep hill but what I really enjoyed was a chat I had while Philip was shopping for food. Much younger than we are, Stephen rode the Great Divide in recent years, a similar length ride, from Banff to New Mexico. We struck up a conversation outside Safeway, exchanging experiences of life on the road. It gave me food for thought. 

Somewhat unexpectedly we are eating like royalty on this trip and Philip’s salmon risotto tonight was no exception. We’re staying in our own weatherboarded cottage above the bay and are about to go out and explore the coastline nearby. 

Additional notes

Bay Center, Cowlitz county, WA, to Astoria, Clark county, OR.

Left at 9.30am. Arrived at 4.30pm.

Weather: A pure blue-sky day, full sun, cool wind.

Landscape: Quiet roads beside the sea and inland, up and down gradients, like Cornwall. Wetlands. Rural miles past scattered homes with glimpses of the sea between the trees. Forested roads, either pines or silver birch. Alongside the Willapa River and bay to Long Island. Inland through rural Washington. A tunnel, our first, with a button to make the lights flash to warn motorists when there are cyclists to heed. The Astoria-Megler Bridge, 4.1 miles long. Super steep residential roads of hilly Astoria.

Towns: Nemah. Middle Nemah. Chinook.

State roads: The 101 – very busy, narrow and fast traffic – no idea where so many cars came from as we left that rural part of Washington. The 202 in Astoria (twice the 101?), along the coast.

Breakfast: Porridge, fruit and yogurt.

Lunch spot: Chinook Country Park on a log overlooking the sea, a man walking his dog on the mudflats.

Dinner, made by Philip: Salmon risotto. Banana and mango. Chocolate muffin (from the deli in Raymond) with raspberries and vanilla creme. Tea.

Wildlife: Sandpipers, bald eagles, a busy dark brown squirrel. A lone deer and a family of six. Lots of water birds, a large butterfly and a blue jay. A pair of bald eagles calling to each other in a tree beside us. Cormorants and another eagle from the Astoria Bridge.

Plants: Wild broom. Hillsides of it.

Things we saw: A massive area with huge silver trunks of driftwood. A bright turquoise river with meanders stretching back to the forest and hills behind. A dead porcupine.

People we spoke to or saw: I greeted a man tending his orchard. Stephen outside Safeway, who cycled the Great Divide a few years ago. We later discovered this is a much bigger ride than the PCH.

Incidents: We carried a whole frittata with us today, it felt like we were hauling half our body weight in leftovers. Leftover food kept fine in our panniers, even for a couple of days, as it was so cold for the whole trip. Komoot silly-billy specials (needless diversions where we just have to retrace our steps). Savage dog attack in the rural inland area – it bit a hole in Philip’s pannier. The shoulder on the Astoria Bridge was 2.5 feet wide and cars and trucks passed close and fast, including one logging truck with branches overhanging the side, ready to sweep us off as it passed. We weren’t going to put that in the blog, or the dog attack; my mother was already convinced we were going to die on this trip.

Shopping: Safeway in Astoria.

Accommodation: A homely, warm, cosy cottage full of character, yellow weatherboarding, tastefully furnished and with tea and a tea pot provided. The owner had left little friendly handwritten notes all over the cottage telling us to make ourselves at home and not to worry about anything.

Today’s sound: The sea lapping out of sight below us on the road. The eagles calling to each other.

Today’s smell: The sea and seaweed. At last.

Special moments: Walking down to the ocean again before leaving and finding it was still there. Seeing and hearing the pair of eagles. Grateful Philip wasn’t hurt by the dog and touched he stopped so I wouldn’t reach the road just as the dog did and have to face it on my own. I suggested that next time both of us should ride by as fast as possible but he said he couldn’t avoid stopping to help me if it happened again, he just couldn’t do it. That really touched me.

Positive experience from my journal: The sweet chat with Stephen.

Appreciation from my journal: Reaching 500 miles on the bike.

Blog comment from Kathy Fraser: ‘Wonderful! You folks are having the quintessential experience (minus the typical fog and drizzle) on this trip! My husband and I are taking notes as we read your experiences…. thanks for sharing them!’

Audio: Bald eagles calling to each other (32s).

Mementos: Safeway receipt, Astoria.