Sept. 5, 1998 LABORDAY
Going to the Coast over the Labor Day weekend on a bike sounds a little dumb, but it was a good trip with only a few glitches.
The weather was in the high 80’s and didn’t cool down much at night. I was working 10-hour days, starting at 04:00 a.m. On Friday I went in at 6:00 a.m. It was the usual day at work and when I got home I started to pack. Myran and I were going to make it an over-nighter just to see how hard it was to carry the gear. My 24-pound bike got a lot heavier when I got through.
New pack bags and sleeping bag all add up with water and food. The bike handled different. You couldn’t move it side to side as fast. Going up the hills was not noticeable with more weight on it.
We left at 4:45 p.m. and went on the bike path through Portland. The usual funny people were there on this section of Front Avenue. We went under the Broadway Bridge where this couple had an old fashion hanging a few weeks ago.
On down Front Avenue and then over a street and into McDonald’s to eat. This made it about 6:00 p.m. The road was full of glass and junk. Yes, I got a staple in my tire and didn’t stop fast enough to pull it out so I got a flat tire. It didn’t take long to change it and we were off again. Through Scapoose and St. Helens where we stopped to get water and juice to drink. It was dark so new batteries for my light (as if it did any good). It is for being seen, not seeing.
There is this light for only $309.00 that would work really well. That is only 1/3 the price of the bike. Ilene doesn’t think biking is a very cheap way to go. I think I should have bought a more expensive bike; then the light wouldn’t seem so high.
By now it is dark and we have no place to sleep. There was a railroad trestle around, so we decided to stop. It smelled like everyone was using it as an out-house. Oh, did I forget the “no trespassing” signs and “no over-night” staying. I spotted something that looked kind of like a road on the other side. The traffic finally let up so I could get over there to take a look. It was the end of a bike path and what turned out to be a good place to stay for the night. Some kids had beat down the brush and made a tree house. Myran put up his new tent and I let my mattress inflate itself. We put in our new bags. It was late so off to bed we went. Yes, hard as a rock. You laid on one side, then your back, then your other side. When they started to hurt enough to wake me up, I moved. What a slow night. I didn’t get a lot of sleep.
Breakfast was my part of camping. Myran took down the tent. I went out to the bike path and put two sterno cans on it with Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup on them. The sterno was old. After 15 minutes we ate our warm soup (well, partly warm). At around 7:00 a.m. we were on the road again. We went about 30 feet and another flat. This time it was a thorn.
As we were riding and making 14 miles per hour average, it seems this trailer with roofing shingles in it was passing us when it broke away from the trailer ball. It started to whip back and forth throwing 90 pound bundles of shingles all over the street. If we had been 50 feet farther he would have had two bikes and us to add to his list of bad things that happened to him that day. Some people drove over the bundles rather than stopping or going around them. We stopped and helped them get them off the road. We are “nice” people.
The next town was Rainier. It was coffee time and time to talk the waitress into doing the Seattle to Portland ride. I think she wanted to do it, but needs some one to push her over the edge. Back to the Park to do our thing and back on the bikes and under the Longview Bridge overpass to see our support van go bye-bye up the hill. They were supposed to take our gear so we didn’t have to take it up the hill. They did wait at the top for us and Vellen joined us there.
Ten miles later we stopped in Clatskanie and our support van brought us lunch. By the way our support team was Ilene, Marci, and 4-month old grandson, Noah.
A few more up and downs (36 miles) and we were in Astoria eating dinner at Burger King. Ilene pulled up and we left our support there. (Before they left they handed me two new tire tubes should I need them.)
We had the dreaded Astoria Bridge (5 miles across) to go over and it looked scary –high, windy, and lots of traffic. The ride up was not too bad and it is wider than I thought. The wind didn’t blow you away and as a whole it was a lot of fun. I would do it again just for the view.
Going through the tunnel on the other side was fast and loud. The flashing light means 35 miles an hour. Ilene was going as fast as the rest of them – 55 miles an hour. (right – and what flashing light?) Payback time was coming. The KOA campground was the junction and about 3 miles to Long Beach. We passed them because they were standing still. It was the beginning of a 15-mile traffic jam because of a 15-mile parade of old cars. Cars from the 40’s, 50’s, & 60’s – some even older – were in it. The road was closed from 3:30 to 7:00 p.m.
It was about 30 miles from where we left Marci, Ilene, and Noah in Astoria to our beach lot. Ilene just shut the motor off and we drove up, almost beating them.
It was a good ride – 138 miles from our house to the lot. Omar and Lori met us at the lot. They got there earlier and missed some of the fun, but they didn’t seem to mind.
Well, time to eat all the oysters and clams you would ever want and sleep. Now it’s lots of food and drink. Even the water out of the well’s pitcher pump is the only way to go.
Sunday we went over to my cousins’, the Wieses, and ate and drank over there too. After that it was down to the beach where it was warm and no wind – can’t fly a kite without wind. We went back to our lot and the Wieses came over and we ate and drank again. (What’s your favorite sport?)
Monday we packed up and slowly started back. We went for a mile hike in the woods, even Noah. On the way I bought two 24-pound tuna fish for a $1.00 a pound. We then drove home. It was around 6:00 p.m. and the traffic was good, making it a good 3 days!
Stay tuned for the next chapter: Cycle Oregon, September 12 – 19, 1998
Going to the Coast over the Labor Day weekend on a bike sounds a little dumb, but it was a good trip with only a few glitches.
The weather was in the high 80’s and didn’t cool down much at night. I was working 10-hour days, starting at 04:00 a.m. On Friday I went in at 6:00 a.m. It was the usual day at work and when I got home I started to pack. Myran and I were going to make it an over-nighter just to see how hard it was to carry the gear. My 24-pound bike got a lot heavier when I got through.
New pack bags and sleeping bag all add up with water and food. The bike handled different. You couldn’t move it side to side as fast. Going up the hills was not noticeable with more weight on it.
We left at 4:45 p.m. and went on the bike path through Portland. The usual funny people were there on this section of Front Avenue. We went under the Broadway Bridge where this couple had an old fashion hanging a few weeks ago.
On down Front Avenue and then over a street and into McDonald’s to eat. This made it about 6:00 p.m. The road was full of glass and junk. Yes, I got a staple in my tire and didn’t stop fast enough to pull it out so I got a flat tire. It didn’t take long to change it and we were off again. Through Scapoose and St. Helens where we stopped to get water and juice to drink. It was dark so new batteries for my light (as if it did any good). It is for being seen, not seeing.
There is this light for only $309.00 that would work really well. That is only 1/3 the price of the bike. Ilene doesn’t think biking is a very cheap way to go. I think I should have bought a more expensive bike; then the light wouldn’t seem so high.
By now it is dark and we have no place to sleep. There was a railroad trestle around, so we decided to stop. It smelled like everyone was using it as an out-house. Oh, did I forget the “no trespassing” signs and “no over-night” staying. I spotted something that looked kind of like a road on the other side. The traffic finally let up so I could get over there to take a look. It was the end of a bike path and what turned out to be a good place to stay for the night. Some kids had beat down the brush and made a tree house. Myran put up his new tent and I let my mattress inflate itself. We put in our new bags. It was late so off to bed we went. Yes, hard as a rock. You laid on one side, then your back, then your other side. When they started to hurt enough to wake me up, I moved. What a slow night. I didn’t get a lot of sleep.
Breakfast was my part of camping. Myran took down the tent. I went out to the bike path and put two sterno cans on it with Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup on them. The sterno was old. After 15 minutes we ate our warm soup (well, partly warm). At around 7:00 a.m. we were on the road again. We went about 30 feet and another flat. This time it was a thorn.
As we were riding and making 14 miles per hour average, it seems this trailer with roofing shingles in it was passing us when it broke away from the trailer ball. It started to whip back and forth throwing 90 pound bundles of shingles all over the street. If we had been 50 feet farther he would have had two bikes and us to add to his list of bad things that happened to him that day. Some people drove over the bundles rather than stopping or going around them. We stopped and helped them get them off the road. We are “nice” people.
The next town was Rainier. It was coffee time and time to talk the waitress into doing the Seattle to Portland ride. I think she wanted to do it, but needs some one to push her over the edge. Back to the Park to do our thing and back on the bikes and under the Longview Bridge overpass to see our support van go bye-bye up the hill. They were supposed to take our gear so we didn’t have to take it up the hill. They did wait at the top for us and Vellen joined us there.
Ten miles later we stopped in Clatskanie and our support van brought us lunch. By the way our support team was Ilene, Marci, and 4-month old grandson, Noah.
A few more up and downs (36 miles) and we were in Astoria eating dinner at Burger King. Ilene pulled up and we left our support there. (Before they left they handed me two new tire tubes should I need them.)
We had the dreaded Astoria Bridge (5 miles across) to go over and it looked scary –high, windy, and lots of traffic. The ride up was not too bad and it is wider than I thought. The wind didn’t blow you away and as a whole it was a lot of fun. I would do it again just for the view.
Going through the tunnel on the other side was fast and loud. The flashing light means 35 miles an hour. Ilene was going as fast as the rest of them – 55 miles an hour. (right – and what flashing light?) Payback time was coming. The KOA campground was the junction and about 3 miles to Long Beach. We passed them because they were standing still. It was the beginning of a 15-mile traffic jam because of a 15-mile parade of old cars. Cars from the 40’s, 50’s, & 60’s – some even older – were in it. The road was closed from 3:30 to 7:00 p.m.
It was about 30 miles from where we left Marci, Ilene, and Noah in Astoria to our beach lot. Ilene just shut the motor off and we drove up, almost beating them.
It was a good ride – 138 miles from our house to the lot. Omar and Lori met us at the lot. They got there earlier and missed some of the fun, but they didn’t seem to mind.
Well, time to eat all the oysters and clams you would ever want and sleep. Now it’s lots of food and drink. Even the water out of the well’s pitcher pump is the only way to go.
Sunday we went over to my cousins’, the Wieses, and ate and drank over there too. After that it was down to the beach where it was warm and no wind – can’t fly a kite without wind. We went back to our lot and the Wieses came over and we ate and drank again. (What’s your favorite sport?)
Monday we packed up and slowly started back. We went for a mile hike in the woods, even Noah. On the way I bought two 24-pound tuna fish for a $1.00 a pound. We then drove home. It was around 6:00 p.m. and the traffic was good, making it a good 3 days!
Stay tuned for the next chapter: Cycle Oregon, September 12 – 19, 1998
posted by Byran on the side at 7:41 PM
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