The Pacific Proper

I left Portland midday Tuesday to make the short hop down to the coast. Turned out though that the short hop wasn't short by any means and included a big mountain range to cross. Oops! Added to this the headwind and showers were back with a vengeance so I rolled into the quiet little town of Tillamook that evening after 100 odd km. Tillamook had all the facilities I needed. Would have been great if any of them were still open! Perhaps I've just got too used to big city living, but it was a little odd to find every restaurant and cafe in the town closed at 8pm. The Tillamook area is very big on dairy farms and produce and it's known for the production of that bright orange plastic cheese the Americans know as cheddar. Strangely they seem proud of this.

I set off the next blustery morning with the distinct impression that the weather gods had it in for me and clearly favoured Kris "Kannonball" Kumar who rode with me from Seattle to Portland and was treated to beautiful conditions. The self-importance of this was happily dispelled when the sun burst through and the wind switched to the north making for fantastic riding conditions. It's been this way since. I got down to the coast and had my first sight of the uninterrupted Pacific Ocean, stretching blue to the horizon without any islands or headlands between me and Asia. Since then I've had this every time I look to the right.

This is a fantastic place to be riding. Check out some of the pictures to see just how stunning the Oregon coastline is, with it's mix of rocky headlands and vast stretching golden sand beaches. All along here are state campsites, just moments from the beach and charging four or five dollars to stay the night. The people of Oregon have also continued the friendly gregariousness I came to expect in Washington with many drivers even pulling over at the side of the road just to find out what I'm doing and where I'm going.

From here my route continues straight down the coast. In about 250 miles it goes from being the Oregon coast to the California coast, but not until San Francisco is there another big city so plenty of time to make the most of it.