Lars’ Notes: 

As I got my coffee from the Motel, the woman at the desk noted that this has been one of the coldest and rainiest years she could remember. Well, we must have brought good luck from Connecticut, because we woke up to sunny skies and nice cool temperatures. Perfect for riding. We had our longest ride to date ahead of us, 74 miles. What a day! As we exited Tillamook, we rode on Rt 131for about 30 miles. This was surreal, a two lane road that meandered through farmland and forest for the 6 miles or so and led us to the coast. We almost had the road to ourselves for close to 25 miles. Kirsten and I kept up a steady pace and felt strong. We hit our first big climb of the day, climbing to just over 800 feet with some fairly steep grades. We are both clearly getting stronger because we kept up a strong and steady pace. What’s best is that after a close to two mile climb, you get a 2 or more mile downhill grade that rests the legs and is exciting and fun. We stopped for our break after about 25 miles in Pacific City. We ate half a sandwich and watched beachgoers and surfers at a wonderful beach with one of the Oregon Coast’s iconic rock formations in our view. The rest of the day was filled with outstanding views of the beautiful Oregon Coast. Around every bend we were offered stunning views. Gray whales, sea otters and bald eagles were bonus sightings. Despite our 74+ miles on the bike, we couldn’t help stopping at almost every overlook, we couldn’t pass up pausing to soak up the sheer beauty. One road that climbed up to 800 ft of elevation was off the main Rt. 101; several miles of a single, one way car lane along with a bike lane. Along this stretch, we spent several minutes watching a bald eagle sitting in a large Sitca Spruce looking out over the Pacific Ocean. Moments later, we stopped to watch a large pod of gray whales feeding between a kelp field and a large rock outcrop. As we cruised to our final location, we were again treated to a stiff tailwind that made the last leg a breeze. What a day!