Day 33, 9/16/08

A big ride planned for today - riding from San Francisco to Santa Cruz. Over 80 miles. We figured an early start would be a big help but 11 am was as early as we could get started. We still pulled it off though, arriving at my girlfriend, Shoua's place in Santa Cruz at around 8 pm, where she had a big dinner waiting for us. Today's ride covered 84 miles and 7 hours of cycling time. Fairly easy terrain and tailwinds helped.

Day 31-32, 9/14-15/08

Rest days. Did laundry and took care of equipment issues. Took the Randonee into the REI bike shop for derailer adjustment. Installed a new chain and cassette.

Day 30, 9/13/08

We had a fairly short ride today, only 30 miles. It was such an awesome ride from Samuel P. Taylor Park to San Francisco. The weather was warm and sunny. The route went through Marin, where I do a lot of cycling so it was fun to now be returning over familiar roads from such an incredible trip. It was much hillier than I remember and we are both fatigued and very much looking forward to resting up at my place in San Francisco.

Out of curiosity, we weighed our bikes and gear once we got up to my apartment. My bike, the Randonee, weighs in at 39.7 lbs including 3 full water bottles and no gear. My gear totals 59.8 lbs for a combined total of 99.5 lbs. We are also out of bread, peanut butter and bananas, so let's make it an even 100 lbs that I have been pushing the past 1,227 miles. Sam's totals come in at 30 lbs for bike (the Saratoga) + 3 full water bottles and 27.5 lbs of gear for a total of 57.5 lbs. Which may explain why I've lost 13 lbs on this trip so far and why Sam weighs the same as when we started. It is so good to be home and sleep in my own bed.

Day 29, 9/12/08

We awoke to find that our panniers had been ransacked...by raccoons. Before we go to bed every night we put everything away except for our stove and a pot of water to boil for coffee the next morning. We close and latch the panniers and leave them on top of the picnic table. Two panniers were on the ground this morning. We discovered that the raccoons were able to reach their grubby little hands up inside the top cover of the small pannier, tear through 2 plastic bags and remove the remaining half loaf of bread. This hazelnut bread is what we make our peanut butter banana sandwiches on and now it is gone. To add insult to injury, I had to scrub a muddy mixture of raccoon saliva mixed with hazelnut drool off the outside surface of the pannier.

Turns out we camped at the Ocean Cove RV campground, not Stillwater Cove. Private vs County. Was a bit more expensive, but it all worked out fine.








Another big day - 70 miles. But so much climbing! We briefly saw some sun just south of Jenner, but otherwise was overcast the rest of the day. Pretty nice conditions for all the climbing we did though. We rode from a few miles north of Fort Ross to Samuel P. Taylor State Park, which is a few miles south of Pt. Reyes Station. Got into camp after dark again. Some familiar faces from the past few days were already there, Thomas and Zena from Berlin, Gary from Canada, and Sammy.











We had bow tie pasta with a basil/artichoke/parmesan sauce, sourdough baguette, and a bottle of cab. We picked up some bar cookie things at the Tomales Bakery that were made with oats, sunflower seeds, raisins and honey. They weighed a ton and topped off our dinner perfectly. We we were getting ready for bed we noticed the fairly large raccoon population descending down from the woods to see what they could scavenge from the campsites. We put the panniers containing food into the bear box. The coons were raising quite a racket trying to get into a neighbors food box. Successfully, it turned out. They ate all Gary's pasta.

Day 28, 9/11/08

More foggy, chilly weather for cycling. Most of the route today was tough rollers, finally mellowing out south of Gualala. Our legs had not recovered from yesterday, so we felt a bit weak early on. North of Elk we came across 6-7 turkey vultures sitting on fence posts just across the road. Creepy looking birds. Just south of Elk we had a short climb, but maybe the steepest grade yet. We broke for lunch in Anchor Bay and did a small load of laundry as we ate.

Our pb& b, h sandwiches kicked in around the time the rollers leveled out, so we made good time over the last 30 miles. We were flying. Rolled into the Stillwater Cove Regional Park with 70 miles under our belt and 6:15 hours of cycling time, our longest ride yet. We were happy to have Tasty Bite, as there were no markets open nearby. Dinner was Tasty Bite mixed with chicken flavored rice, hazelnut bread and cookies. Showers were partially outdoors, but the water was hot and things went fine.

Day 27, 9/10/08

Since neither of us had ever heard of Tasty Bite, we decided not to leave it to chance that we would find it again down the road. So we made our first stop of the day at the market across the highway from the park and bought the remaining 2 packages.

Once we were on the road again, we faced the toughest climbing day yet. Just past Leggett, we climbed the remainder of one of the highest peaks on our Northern California route. It was fairly gradual with shade and a lot of turns, so it wasn't that bad. The next hill would prove to be not as easy. We were running into the other bike tourists who camped at our campground last night. One older guy was carrying entirely too much gear, including at least a couple 2 liter containers of water. He also did not appear to be in very good shape. We passed him climbing the first big hill and Sam asked if he was doing OK. He said he wasn't doing that great. We also met a group of older bike tourists who get together 1 week every year and tackle a portion of the Pacific Coast tour. One of the wives drives a SAG vehicle and the group stays in hotels along the way. Looked like they were having fun. Pretty cool.

The second hill around what used to be Rockport proved to be tougher. Partly because our legs were already spent. Partly because it was steeper. The few times we saw the sun climbing the first 2 big hills would be the last time we would see it today. The descent down from Leggett is my new #1 favorite descent. After that, the route was full of rollers but every climb back up proved to be extremely tough as our climbing legs were long gone.

We stopped for a snack in a tiny town called Westport. Trail mix, apples, chips and coffee. Three of the bike tourists we camped with showed up. We stopped in Fort Bragg and replenished our groceries. The entire ride today was along the coast, very foggy and damp. Leaving Ft. Bragg, we saw a guy riding his bike northbound loaded with gear including a large size hard case Samsonite luggage strapped to his rear bike rack. We were amazed and impressed. Would have been fun to hear his story.

We camped for the night at Van Damme Beach State Park after a 60 mile ride. Four others from the night before were also camping here. Dinner tonight was those giant blue cheese filled burgers, mac & cheese, and our favorite Safeway cookies. One guy camping next to us was a young Asian student from Seattle. His name was Sammy and he was doing his first tour - riding from Seattle to San Francisco. Sammy didn't have any cycling experience before this tour. He was riding a mountain bike he bought off Craigslist for $75. He didn't have any cycling shorts, so he put a gel padded seat on his bike. He was putting in 70 mile days and a 97 miler as his longest. Proving that you don't need fancy gear or even experience to enjoy bike touring, just determination and a positive attitude.

Day 26, 9/9/08

We reached out destination today, Standish Hickey State Recreation Area, just north of Leggett. Some of the toughest climbing so far and 44 miles total. We also had a long stop in Garberville which included a great lunch at the Calico deli and an hour updating our blog at a coffee shop.






The first part of our ride was the last few miles of the Ave. of the Giants. After that just mostly a lot of climbing. The weather was warm and sunny but not too hot. When we got to the market across the street from the entrance to the campground, the woman working there told us that they have been having a spell of hot weather and it was the first day not in the 90's. Glad we missed that.


Dinner tonight was a big hit. We didn't have a wide selection at the market. We did find a heat and serve pouch of an Indian dish, "Agra Peas & Greens" by Tasty Bite. Neither of us had ever heard of it before but we decided to give it a try. We combined it with a cheddar broccoli rice package from Liption. It was awesome. We will surely be having that again. That is, if we can find Tasty Bite.

Day 25/ 9/8/08

After a great breakfast at Papa Joe's in Frendale, we rode to Myers Flat for a total of 43 miles. We had the energy and daylight for another 10-15 miles, but today was laundry day and the Great Redwoods RV Campground in Meyers Flat along the Eel river had laundry facilities and a nearby market.

Today we rode through redwood forests along the Avenue of the Giants, easily one of our favorite rides so far. We pulled over and stopped at a roadside produce stand and picked up a few things. We bought lemon cucumbers, tomatoes, a sweet onion and some plums. We also had homemade blackberry popsicles which were tasty and very refreshing, as it was sunny and warm out. Easy terrain for cycling today. A few climbs getting out of Ferndale, but easy cruising after that. The ride also offered some gorgeous views of the Eel river.

Dinner was cheddar filled brats on sourdough sandwich rolls with chili. We also ate a whole bag of salad mix to which we added the lemon cucumbers and tomatoes we picked up earlier in the day.

Day 24, 9/7/08

We're still not exactly sure how it happened, but today we didn't start riding until 1 pm. We were shooting for Ferndale which should be around 55 miles away, but we sure were getting a late start for that kind of ride. We did reach Ferndale eventually, but sure had to work for it. We ended up riding 65 miles.

We broke for lunch in Arcata at 4:30 pm. We covered another 30 miles after 5 pm. Less than ideal. Conditions today were cold and damp. It was foggy most of the day, worsening towards the end of the day. A missed turn in Eureka cost us 3-4 extra miles and ensured more time cycling in the dark. Around 8:45 pm we had pulled over to check our map. We were 5 miles away from Ferndale, our destination. A woman pulled up alongside us and offered to help. We told her we were set on our directions. She told us that we would soon be crossing a very narrow bridge and offered to drive slowly behind us as we crossed over the bridge. We gladly accepted her offer as the SR211 road were were on was already dangerous for us to be riding at night. She also gave us some info on where in Ferndale we might find something to eat. It was approaching closing time, but she said she would tell the owner at the Ivanhoe to expect us. Once we cleared the bridge, we looked back to see that our good Samaritan had been pulled over, presumably for driving too slow. As they say, no good deed will go unpunished. We imagine that she didn't get a ticket as her explanation would be believable, plus they both drove by us fairly soon after.

Finally arriving in Ferndale, we were cold, wet, fatigued and starving. We found the Ivanhoe at the end of town, only to hear the restaurant owner tell us that he was closed. Wild-eyed, we stared at him for a second in disbelief then raced back to a pizza joint we saw only to arrive at the front door just as a waitress was turning the sign in the front window from "Open" to "Closed". She seemed to understand our predicament and took pity on us and returned and told us that we could order a couple of sandwiches to go. We were soon sitting in front of the now darkened pizza parlor devouring warm, delicious meatball sandwiches and garlic cheese bread in the foggy darkness.

With our stomachs full, we got back on our bikes to go find the Humbolt County Fairgrounds, our campsite tonight, which turned out to be the highlight of a fairly unmemorable day of cycling experiences. It wasn't very far away, but difficult to find in the darkness and heavy fog. To say the night at the fairgrounds was surreal would be an understatement. We found the fairgrounds and eventually a place to pitch our tent. It didn't look exactly like where they wanted you to camp, but it did have picnic tables and grills so that seemed fine with us. The bathroom was possibly the creepiest place we have ever seen. I kept feeling that we were going to be part of the next Saw movie. The bathroom looked like it had been abandoned years ago and the walls were painted a sickening lime green color. We found the showers to be in working order and hot, so we were happy about that.

Soon we were dry and warm in our sleeping bags, falling into a deep, much needed sleep at around 11:15.

Day 23, 9/6/08

Got off to a pretty slow start today. Slept in til past 8, then took a very long time to get out of low gear. Enjoyed the motel's "continental breakfast" of coffee, pb & j on wheat toast and old fashioned glazed donuts. Brother Tom called and visited for a few minutes.

Once we got outside, it was really nice weather, partly sunny, warm with a cool breeze. Feeling like I needed a little more to eat, we rode down the street and found a bakery. We bought day old ham and cheese croissants at $1.99 each which we had warmed up. We found a place outside in the sun and ate the croissants with ranch jalapeno dressing, americano espresso and another cake donut.

Feeling satisfied now, we pushed off. It was now 12 noon. We had our first tough climb just south of Crescent City, around 1,200 feet. By then it had warmed up and the climb, which seemed to go on and on had no shade. Up at the top though, we enjoyed riding through Del Norte Coast Redwoods State Park, our first taste of redwoods on this tour. Pretty amazing.


Had a close call on our descent from Del Norte State Park. As we were beginning our descent and building up speed, I was in the lead and could hear that something large was coming up behind me and coming fast. I was starting to tense up and then things looked worse as I noticed that the shoulder in front of me disappeared in the upcoming curve to the right. I was riding the line as a gigantic RV passed fast on my left leaving me what seemed like mere inches. Sam was following a few bike lengths behind and saw this happen and feared that whatever the RV was towing may clip him as the RV rounded the curve. Sam decided not to wait to see if that would happen and took his chances "off road". He was lucky that his bike didn't get tossed by the rough ground or a flat from the glass he road through. Obviously we were both feeling relieved that we weren't run over or tossed aside.

Just before Klamath, we stopped at a place called Mystery Trees. They have a gondola that takes you up in the redwood forest to see some cool trees. We didn't do the tour, but browsed around the gift shop and American Indian museum a bit. After a pit stop and water refill, we were back on the road.

South of Klamath we faced the second big climb of the day that took us to one of the best rides so far on the tour, the Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. Once we climbed into the park, the rest of this 10 mile ride was pretty much flat or gradually downhill. All the while, we enjoyed the breathtaking beauty of being in a redwood forest. It was especially enjoyable for Sam, who has experience working with trees at the Natural Resource District in Nebraska and had always wanted to see the redwoods and sequoias. At one of our stops we sat on a giant redwood log alongside the road and ate lunch. Refuled, we hit the road again.

The town of Orich was our last town to get groceries before riding to Patrick's Point State Park where we planned to camp for the night. We stopped at the market and picked up a few things for dinner. Outside the market while we were packing our grub into the panniers, some kid rode up and tried to rope us into eating diner at their spaghetti feed to benefit their church. Funny kid, but we politely declined.

Our campground was around 14 miles away. We were at the end of a long day and this will be an unusually long ride hauling groceries. We put on our cold weather gear as the temperatures were dropping. Along the way we were witness to a pretty nice sunset. We finally rolled into the campground at 8:30 pm. It was dark and we were cold. After we found the hiker/biker sites and pitched our tent, we hit the showers which were a short walk from our campsite. The shower is not included in the $3 per person/night fee, but at $0.50 for a 5 minute hot shower, still not that bad.

Rejuvenated from our shower, we cooked dinner. Tonight's menu was another concoction created while shopping back at the market. Sauteed chicken breast with onions combined with instant mashed red potatoes, can of french green beans and topped with french fried onions. We also threw in a can of chicken gravy that had an expiration date of 8/06. We are hoping that will not create a problem. Anyway, it was all very tasty. Finally got into bed around 12:30. We are completely satisfied with our 58 miles for the day, especially given our slow morning, late start, and all the climbing we did.

Day 22, 9/5/08

Pretty uneventful day today. We were both feeling fatigued. We rode to Crescent City and found a bike shop. Both bikes needed the derailers adjusted. While we were having our bikes worked on, we had lunch of cheeseburgers, fries, fried pickles and ice cream.

After we picked up our bikes, we rode through town and found a motel. Showered, went to a pizza restaurant and had dinner. Twenty five mile day. Rest day?

Day 21, 9/4/08

After a breakfast of oatmeal and bananas and our french press coffee, we got rolling at 9 am - our earliest departure to date. Another day of warm temperatures and sunny skies. Not a cloud in sight. Today was a tough ride. Sixty eight miles total. Highlights included a really nice ride along Cedar Valley road between Ophir and Gold Beach, a backroad with gentle rollers, pretty back country, and very little traffic. We had a monster hill to climb south of Gold Beach, a never-ending grind of a hill, completely exposed to the sun. The subsequent descent was fun, but we were unable to enjoy it completely as the gusts of wind were so strong that they were moving our bikes around and that can be pretty scary as you are screaming downhill at 40-45 miles per hour. So we had to ride our brakes more than we would have liked.

We pulled off the road around Pistol River State Park and locked up our bikes and walked down to the beach and waded into the surf for a good soak. I don't think the soak in the cold waters of the Pacific is Sam's cup of tea. Unfortunately, Sam also took a spill as he was trying to power through the deep gravel leaving the parking lot.

We broke for lunch in Brookings. By then it was a bit toasty out. The neon sign outside Ace hardware said 77, but just a few miles later we saw a thermometer outside a market that said 88. Anyway, it was 3:30 in the afternoon and we were exhausted and had waited too long to eat lunch. We did stop in Ophir at noon, but cinnamon rolls, donuts and a pizza stick only lasts so long.

With today being laundry day, we needed a campground with laundry facilities or near a laundromat and we also had a goal of reaching California by the end of the day. We scored a hit with Salmon Harbor resort. It's a private campground just south of the Oregon/California border with hot showers and a laundry facility. Fee was $22 per night but was worth it. And it was right on the water. Small campground and we were the only tent campers there.

With no market nearby and the closest restaurant closed, our prospects for dinner seemed slim. There was a casino a couple miles north that had a restaurant, but neither of us had the legs or interest to ride over at that hour, which was around 9 pm. Always carrying emergency food, we pieced together what turned out to be one incredible dish. We combined a packet of instant garlic potatoes with the can of tuna we bought in Charleston and 2 packets of Indian noodles we bought up in Vancouver. We also had some ciabatta bread with it and the tuna was amazing. Melted in your mouth. After dinner, we enjoyed a roaring fire we built in the fire pit. Fell into a very deep sleep to the sound of the surf right outside our tent. It was a tough ride, but what a great day.

Day 20, 9/3/08

Out of coffee, we rode back to Charleston and the main route for a cup of coffee and a bite to eat. We went to the same market as last night and had biscuits and gravy, 1 sausage biscuit, 1 apple turnover, 2 coffees for under $10 and the food was incredible. The dogs in the neighborhood were all off leash just running around and hanging out at the market. As we were getting ready to leave, a guy drove up to the market with an elk laying in the bed of his pickup truck. And across the street fishermen were driving up to the seafood market with their fresh catch. A real outdoorsman town. Before we left Charleston we stopped by the seafood market and bought a smoked salmon jalapeno stick (kind of like a slim jim), a can of albacore tuna that they canned there on the premises, and some peppered fish jerky for later.

The first part of our 61 miles today was pretty hilly. One hill that we climbed up to the ridge line reminded me of cycling in Marin. It had views of the Pacific and it even has Oregon's version of the 7 sisters - called Seven Devils road. This 2 hour stretch was great riding and the best of the day.

Stopped in Bandon and found a coffee house. Bought some beans and had an espresso drink while we snacked on the salmon stick and the rest of our trail mix. Lunch was in a small place called Langlois. Picked up groceries in Port Orford and camped in Humbug State Park. Another very nice campground. Camped with other bike tourists we have been running into along the road. Cole, a student from UCSC, and 2 other guys.

Dinner was a Sam creation - hash browns, sausage, green pepper, onion, chilies, and cheddar cheese sauce. We devoured it. This is the driest campsite we have stayed on the ride so far. It was also warm in the evening. Early to bed, around 10:30 so we can get an early start in the morning and make it to California by end of day.

Day 19, 9/2/08

Woke up to sunny skies. Great conditions for riding. We put in 58 miles, stopping to camp at Sunset Bay State Park, west of Charleston. State parks really are the way to go here in Oregon. The scenery today was fairly ordinary and uneventful. We stopped at a place in Reedsport and bought a small bottle of locally grown honey. The lady only charged us $1 for the honey. We had our first flat tire of our trip today on Sam's rear wheel. Stopped for lunch in Hauser. We agreed that the honey is a nice addition to our peanut butter banana sandwiches.

Probably the highlight of the ride was crossing this narrow bridge coming into North Bend. It was 1 mile long and you have to walk your bike across it on a walkway that has a guardrail on the water side but none on the side next to the traffic. We also got hit with big gusts of wind as we were crossing. It was pretty scary. As we were crossing, a guy was riding on the path coming the opposite direction. We all managed to fit. But he didn't even stop to walk around. Crazy.

At the other end of the bridge we ran into Ron. He was ready to ride his bike across and was waiting for us to finish crossing. To say his bike was all loaded up would be an understatement. His bike was loaded with gear plus he was pulling a fully loaded trailer. He easily had over 200 lbs of gear. It was difficult to even hold upright. He said he planned on riding 600 miles on his trip. It was his first day out and his rig had already tipped over twice. Included in his gear was fishing tackle and a metal detector. I asked him how he handles climbing. He said he gets off and walks his bike up hills. The whole thing didn't make much sense to us but we had to admire his positive attitude and enthusiasm. Good luck, Ron.

For dinner we cooked up our remaining pasta noodles and combined with a jar of white pasta sauce, can of sliced olives, 4 oz of chopped chicken lunch meat and those chanterelle mushrooms. Finished the rest of the pumpkin bread.

Day 18, 9/1/08

Rode from South Beach State Park to Honeyman State Park which is just south of Florence for a total of 54miles. Skies were sunny during the first half of the ride, we were even able to ride without leg & arm warmers, no base layer either. It became partly cloudy and cooler later on, but the ride was all along the coast with some gorgeous views.

Stopped for lunch in Yachats. Had espresso drinks with our peanut butter, banana sandwiches. Bought some locally grown chanterelle mushrooms from the market. When we got to Florence, we found a laundromat and did a load of laundry. The laundromat didn't have a bathroom, so we changed in a corner by the soda machine, out of view. Dinner was fried rice and chicken chow mein from the Safeway deli. We ate in the laundromat while waiting for our clothes to dry. Fine dining.

Our campground was very nice. They even had gate attendants working the front gate at around 8:30 pm. The hiker/biker sites were secluded and in the middle of a forest with tall trees. $8 for the both of us for the night including unlimited showers. Hot showers and to bed by 11 pm. Slept sound.

Day 17, 8/31/08

We covered 60 miles today, riding from Pacific City to just south of Newport, Oregon, camping at South Beach State Park. The weather was very nice. It was raining lightly as we ate breakfast in Pacific City but it cleared up and we rode under partly sunny skies and cool to warm temperatures. The first part of the ride was memorable, the breakfast was not. The main route left 101, traveling up and over a good size hill along the Old Scenic Highway 101, which was stunningly beautiful - like riding through a lush rainforest. One of our favorite rides so far. Just after the Old Scenic Hwy 101, we rolled into Otis, population 25 (based on the population, I assumed that we would not find the headquarters of the elevator company). We rode up to a roadside seafood market to "window shop". A load of oysters had just arrived, but it was too early to pack a load of those (in the past 3 days, we have eaten 5 1/2 dozen oysters betwen us). The next thing we knew, we were eating a fresh cooked, chilled dungenous crab for a mid-day snack.

A local who stopped by our picnic table and asked about our trip told us that we must try some pie from the Otis Cafe just across the street. She said it was to die for and that the cafe had been written up in national newspapers and magazines. She also advised trying their homemade bread. Sounding like advice not to be ignored, we rode across the street to the Otis Cafe, a small homey place and ate one of the best slices of pie we have ever had. We opted for the marion berry pie, a berry that is supposedly only grown in Oregon. It was served warm with 2 very large scoops of vanilla ice cream. Absolutely delicious. We left with a loaf of pumkin bread which must have weighed about 3 pounds. With the bread packed safely in my front panier, we moved on.

We found ourselves in Lincoln City at 4:30 with only 30 miles under out belt. The stops along the way so far today were well spent and enjoyable. But we needed to get crackin. We hammered the next 30 miles (as much as you can hammer bikes that weigh as much as ours do), stopping for groceries in Newport. The campground at South Beach was very nice. With it being a holiday weekend, it was no surprise the signs said "campground full". But the hiker/biker sites were empty except for 1 other site. Total fee for the both of us was $8 which included unlimited hot showers. No cooking tonight. Dined on hot fried chicken and wedge fries from the deli. Merlot pairs nicely with pumpkin bread.

Day 16, 8/30/08

The first part of our ride today took us around the Three Capes Scenic Route. There was a bit of traffic since it was labor day weekend, but not that bad. We stopped at Cape Meares State Park and checked out the views, including seeing the octopus tree. Sunny skies and cool to warm temperatures the rest of the day. We ate lunch in Netarts (home of those delicious oysters we have been eating). Not long after that, we climbed what our map says is the tallest hill on our Oregon route at over 800 feet. Gradual grade though, so not that bad. The scenery was gorgeous and the descent down the other side was incredible.




We ended the day in Pacific City, 40 miles for the day. We found a small community park - Woods campground. It was full, but the camp host said that they are directed not to turn away hiker/biker campers. He found room for us to pitch our tent. Ten bucks for the night. No shower (or sink in the bathroom which was weird), but we were grateful to have a place to camp.


After we pitched out tent, we rode down a few blocks to the store and bought some beer and 1 dozen oyters some as big as your fist. Across the street from the market we found another tiny park that had picnic tables and bathrooms, with sinks, even. We feasted on oysters and beer, changed into our off-bike clothes, washed up a bit and headed over to a mexican restaurant for dinner. Early to bed. Rained hard a couple times durring the night but we stayed dry and warm.

Day 15, 8/29/08

We decided that since we have been at it for 14 days without a rest day, today would be a good time for one. We cleaned our drive trains then headed to Tillamook and did a load of laundry. Stopped by the library for a few minutes to check email. We needed a rag to wipe down our chains and apply chain lube tomorrow. I figured I would find something cheap that would work at a thrift store. Sure enough, I bought a rag at The Wild Flower thrift store on main street for $0.49. Conveniently located right across the street was The Timeout Tavern. We were heading to the fish market, but had time before they closed so we stopped by the Timeout for a cold one where they were serving drafts for 50 cents! Boy, this rest day keeps getting better all the time.

After a few beers, we stopped by the Pearl Point Oyster Company and bought 3 dozen oysters for only $5/dozen. Stopped by Safeway on the way back to camp. We feasted on the oysters which were incredible. Some of them we heated up on a skillet then dipped them in some scampi sauce we bought, the rest we ate raw. The giant blue-cheese stuffed burgers were great too. On helluva rest day. The storms were back during dinner. Light rain and strong winds. But nothing like we had been seeing over the past 2 weeks.