                                                After catching the Amtrack train from Portland back to Longview, we collected our bike from Steve and Bonnie’s house and we were off again. Not only was Bee feeling miserable with a cold, the weather was the same way. We cycled on the Oregon side of the Columbia River to Astoria, which is on the coast. There was a really cool Glass Blowing place that had people working away while we were there. They were making heaps of pumpkins in preparation for Halloween. We fortunately had a place to stay with Robin, who is a Couch Surfing host. While Bee convalesced in the comforts of a house with two rag doll cats, Roland and Robin took in a local band and a pub meal. Robin loves to play scrabble and has connections to Burnaby (Roland’s home town) so we got on well. The next day was stunning so we made the most of what Astoria has to offer: the Goonies house, Astoria is also the location used where Kindergarten Cop and Short Circuit was filmed, very noisy sea lions on the fisherman’s wharf, the Astoria Column which overlooks the town, port and a crazy several mile long bridge that connects Washington and Oregon. Only about six miles south of Astoria is Fort Clatsop where the famous American explorers (Lewis and Clark) spent a winter after traveling over from the east. Unfortunately the video quality of our “take” on how Fort Clatsop life was is poor, however Roland got camera shy after the first take! Plus, he was drawing a crowd! That night we stayed only 20 miles from Astoria in Seaside and was once again able to stay with Couch Surfing hosts, Lindsey, Mark, and Becky’s home. We drooled over all of Becky’s intricately made clay jewelry. We got to stay in a caravan (much like the one my Mum and Dad use to own) and Roland enjoyed some local Dungeness crab in his pasta. The next day we were kindly made an omlette by Mark and had brandy in our hot chocolate to “keep us warm” on our cycle ride. Although the weather wasn’t brilliant we enjoyed cycling next to the coastline, with the highlight being Cannon Beach (a funky coastal holiday town) where you could see monoliths coming out of the water. We also met another pair of cyclists there (Meredith and Alex), they had heard about ‘Big Bird’ and recognized him parked out front of the bakery we where in! We also had a quick look through the Tillamook Cheese Factory that makes all sorts of dairy products and enjoyed the free samples and tour. That night we tented on the lawn of a house we were passing. We were trying to get to Pacific City but got dark on us and so we had to improvise. The two older ladies were really lovely about it and said that many other cyclists have also stayed on their lawn. So they went about suggesting which tree was better to pitch our tent under! It rained super heavy that night and we woke up to a little lake under our feet but considering our soggy state we both had a really good night sleep. The rain continued on into the day and by the time we reached Lincoln City, we need to take towels into the restaurant we stopped at for lunch to keep mopping up the puddles. We had a great lunch at McMenamens, with our waitress (Aura) sitting down with us to have a coffee. We ate at this pub because we had a’ two for one’ voucher or so we thought. When Roland pulled the voucher out I glanced at the name and it was for Mulligans not McMenamens. I alerted Roland to this and his argument was that they both started with ‘M’! We ended up giving the voucher to our lovely waitress to use! Fortunately, the rain eased up and so we headed back out on the road. We had just taken a picture of the statues you see in the picture above and had only just got started again and we suddenly came to a crashing holt. We found ourselves in a water drainage grill that had no cross bars and our front wheel got totally jammed in it. At first it looked like our front panniers had come loose as they were sitting at a 45-degree angle but then it became apparent the problem was more serious. Our front fork was bent! After repairing the flat tire and with Roland’s brunt strength, he straightened the fork to a satisfactory state (dude, my husband’s strong) and we were able to keep riding, albeit conservatively – boy were we lucky. Once in Newport (another funky beach town), we stayed with another super awesome Couch Surfing host, Peggy. Although she was super busy she still was able to have us and her kind daughter and her partner where waiting for us. We had a studio all to ourselves and was able to dry off, warm up and relax a little bit. We had a really great ride that day, cycling inland to Corvallis. The only stinker of the day was the tortilla’s we had for lunch (just because they were a bargain doesn’t guarantee they’re gonna taste any good) and Belinda still not getting any better so started a course of antibiotics. That night we stayed with Bee’s sister Emily’s old boss, Bettina and her husband Jeff. It was so great to again spend time with people that had a connection to New Zealand and family. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening with this couple and had very contented bellies as we were filled up with a delicious meal carefully prepared by Jeff. The next day we made it to Eugene, where we spent a couple of days resting, volunteering and getting our bike seen to. We stayed with some Warm Shower hosts, Shane, Missy and their six-month-old daughter, Isadora. Once again, we were showered with wonderful hospitality and found it very hard to leave. Highlights of our time with Shane and Missy were sharing wonderful meals with them, sharing cycle touring stories, carving pumpkins and being included in the craft evening, watching a DVD (Away we go) and generally just hanging out. Thank you so much to the MacRhodes family for having us to stay! Eugene happens to be where our bike was made so we made a beeline for Co-Motion on arrival. We got to meet the great bunch of guys and even got a tour of the place. They were so good to us and we couldn’t be more impressed with the service they provide to their customers. They fitted our bike out with a brand new fork and also gave Big Bird a necessary tune up. We would really like to thank Dwann and the rest of his dedicated team for being so kind to us and enthusiastic about our trip. Crib score: Belinda 35 Roland 49 What have we seen on the road:
What is Belinda grateful for?
What is Roland grateful for? The sun! CommentsHelen Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:30:39 Youse becomin a good kiwi joker Ro Bro! Sue in Manurewa R.P.S. Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:35:39 So good to see your latest entries. You are really amazing. I thought you would be over it all by now. But no you just keep on going. Well done you two kiwi.It has been the coldest October since 1945, aren't you lucky you are not here. Seven more weeks till the holls-.bet you need a holiday more than us. You must be sooooo tired. Think of you often Love and God continue to be with you both. em Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:19:36 Having a cold stinks eh. Pleased to hear you are on the mend Bee. We have finally been antibiotic, cough, cold, etc etc free for a whole week. So I whipped George into get his vaccinations, poor mite, had two in one thigh and one in the other. He was so brave. I'm grateful for having good health generally. What a variety of photo's and activities in just one week! Will show Leo the pumpkin carving....today he bought some $3 pumpkin glasses, even though halloween is finished, he was so pleased with himself walking around the mall with pumpkins where his eyes should be. Laughed at your movie Roland. How lucky were you to be so close to the bike shop. Hope the weather sorts for you. See ya. Emma Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:01:34 You guys crack me up. I love your crazy antics! And that silver fern pumpkin was awesome! Leave a Reply |  Roland and Belinda
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