The cycling has now continued and we left Artic on a soggy morning with high hopes of fresh legs and smooth riding. The first few kms went well and with a few saddle height adjustments it seemed the sore knee would make it, but other obstacles lay ahead. A rusty nail, not 15 minutes into the ride, resulted in a punctured tire. Two other cyclists stopped to check and see whether we had everything we needed to make the repair and as we were chatting about the trip, they kindly offered us a place to stay in Astoria, Oregon, where we were also planning to bike to that day. Our spirits were lifted with the offer of lodging for the night and we peddled on down the coast through the small seaside towns of Washington. As we approached Astoria the mouth of the Columbia river came in to view. The river boarders Washington and Oregon with the 2 states connected by a 3 mile long bridge that towered the horizon. Once in Astoria we met up with our new friends and were both very impressed with our accommodation for the night. The place we had been invited to was an old warehouse and fishing pier called Alderbrook Station - an unique and historic stop along the way. After the grand tour of the place by our host, Darren, we headed not too far down the river to a brewpub and to watch game six over a few beers. The next morning we set out for the Oregon coast and as we arrived we soon realized we were in for a real scenic treat. In our first day we biked through rugged coast line, huge old growth forest, a tunnel that went right through a mountain and a 200 foot high bridge. What a ride! We ended our day in a small crab fishing comunity watching the tide roll out. We consumed the largerst oyesters any of us had ever seen and sat around a fire listening to the tales and conversation between some old salty crab fisherman and a badass biker guy who was also camping for the night.
The next morning we got a bit of an early start with 120km of road ahead of us and the urgency of being in Lincoln City, OR to watch the Stanley Cup. The day went by rather smooth with only one slight mishap that tacked on another 5 miles of riding, but all in all a great day... until the second period of the game of course, when hopes for Vancouver bringing The Cup home had dwindled greatly. The rest of the bar didn't seem as heartbroken, not many people even knew who was playing making us feel very Canadian indeed.
Alex's knee is has not yet fully resolved itself so we are just taking it one day at a time. We are greatful to everyone for the support and look forward to reading some of your comments. Hope to get some more pictures up soon!
Later
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