A Cranking Odyssey: Success on Day 1 - Astoria to Rockaway Beach

Monday, August 4, 2014

Success on Day 1 - Astoria to Rockaway Beach

Today went just about as planned. We were very fortunate to have Tiffany shuttle all 3 of us, our gear, our bikes and her dog out to the starting point of the Transamerica Trail in Astoria, on the Colombia River north of Portland. Nervous energy was in the air.

All smiles now before we start riding in Astoria

This is also Lewis and Clark territory for those of you that know your American history.

Seaside-the end of the Lewis and Clark trail

Tradition has it that you dip your wheel into the river at the start of the ride but seeing as we aren't riding right across America to dip our wheels in the ocean at the other end of the trail in Virginia, we skipped this formality and rolled right on out of Astoria at 9:15 am, excited and pumped to just get the ride started.

Katie rolling out of Astoria

At this point I did not think that we would still be riding at 5:30pm and just rolling into our campsite for the night after a 64 mile first day at 5:45pm. (Actual riding time 5 hrs 33 mins).

Barview Park Campground

The day took a little longer than I expected firstly because it took me a while to work out how the maps were marked and we missed a turn within the first 8 miles of the ride and had to backtrack (this has nothing to do with my poor map reading and navigation skills at all). After this we stopped a lot for a while to keep checking and re-checking the map. Then we hit some Oregon Coast hills which only rose some 600 feet above sea level as they crested around the various capes, some sections with a 7% gradient. Riding with our load you really feel the slightest incline dragging you backwards more than you are going forwards. The fact that I already had to drop down onto my smallest chain ring on my front derailleur was extremely perplexing seeing as we are not even into the serious mountain passes yet. Hmm, just what items are we willing to give up and send back to Portland with Tiffany when she leaves us tomorrow?

By the end of the day I was just spinning, spinning, spinning to get me through to the end, climbing these small coastal passes at 5 miles per hour.

Country road riding on Lewis and Clarke Rd

We experienced a variety of road conditions today that went from good to worse, starting with a walking/biking trail along the Colombia River, some pretty and quiet rural roads around the Fort Clatsop National Monument, a pretty beach promenade to the horribly busy highway 101 with it's Sunday traffic as everyone made for the beach and the biggest RV's I have ever seen roaring past.

The Oregon coastline is very scenic with some cutesy little seaside towns along the way. We really wanted to end our day after a hard day on the bike with a swim in the ocean, but once I realised the water was only 49F / 9C we opted for a $1 hot shower instead!