The Oregon Coast

October 15th to 25th

We leave Portland over the St John's Bridge and ride through freezing rain - reminding us of the need to head south.

The Oregon coast is a 370 mile ride along spectacular highway 101 beginning in Astoria and is famously part of the bi-centennial west coast cycling route. An excellent route map is available detailing places of interest, terrain detail and camp sites.

The ride is best done north-south for 2 reasons. 1) The wind follows you and I get my first tail winds since before South America. 2) You are on the right side of the road to use the pull outs... and you will be stopping regularly. There's not a lot to say that isn't said better in pictures.

Exit Astoria East on the Oregon Coast Highway bridge....



Sue enjoys the lazy hazy breakers just South of Cannon Beach....



Some parts of the route are fairly challenging, but then that just affords better vistas....



I take a day out and enjoy a sunset; thoughtfully provided for my birthday at Rockaway Beach.... The view from my tent pitch....



Cape Mears; with it's historic lighthouse, "stack and arch" rock formations and mighty spruce trees. This one bizarrely sprouts 6 huge horizontal limbs each 12 feet around....



Exclusive lunch spots....



Herons that chase the sunset....

Portland, Oregon

October 15th to October 20th

Portland is a fine city! It has a reputation for being a cyclist's town and it's a reputation well deserved. Everybody rides! 2 wheel commuters abound, seemingly outnumbering their car bound brethren and they have taken back the roads!! Ubiquitous cycle lanes criss-cross the city, are well signed and serve many destinations. Heaven!

The skyline from across the Columbia river....



We locate the world's largest neon motel sign outside "The Palms" and settle in to see if the electricity grid can take the strain....



Downtown, Portland impresses further with green spaces all along the river and for several blocks through town. City buildings seem to burst up from more natural foundations....



The river promenade supplies a steady stream of joggers, skaters and cyclists to satisfy the most demanding people watcher....

But we need more and find it in the shape of the USS Blueback; a decommisioned Dallas class submarine which you can check out below deck. It's the one that burst out of the water in the "Hunt for Red October" film. Continuing the tourist theme we hit the planetarium for a 360 degree, surround sound whistle stop tour of the cosmos. And the fascinating museum chronicling the frontiers men who trail-blazed The West including Lewis and Clark. These guys blasted their way though hundreds of miles of impenetrable forest, sometimes resorting to dynamite and fire to clear the way. In doing so they opened up the west and helped usher in great gold rush eras that helped spawn some of the mighty West coast cities of today.... Our little trip by bike on paved roads seems a breeze by comparison....

True to form we fail in our mission to head South and set out East of Portland along the Columbia River Gorge. People rave about the scenery and we'd be fools to miss it.... They are right!

There's the original "scenic route" paralleling the newer more efficient I-84 that passes a series of beautiful waterfalls, by way of views of the "Vista House" overlooking the gorge....



The ride culminates in the famous, "Multnomah Falls". True; it's touristy, but then I can see why. The 620 foot drop is rather photogenically bisected by a Victorian style bridge built in 1914 to replace the wooden one that collapsed....



We return to Portland along the busy I-84 for a lower level view of the river and stop with a really great couple we met riding out of town. Bill and Tracy, many thanks for your hospitality.... any cyclist will tell you how nice it is to get a proper bed and clean clothes after days on the road. Much appreciated. When in England - you know where we are....

North America and Mexico Route Map

North America and Mexico (Click Map to Enlarge.....)

Click to Go Back....

Mount St. Helens

October 11th to 15th

Past Mt Rainier, we head through national forest land on little used route 25. This is definitely tree country....



The road traffic changes....



Campgrounds are absent and we rough camp at the roadside and get a fire going.



Ascending we hit the snow line and the air is a tad chilly....



Route 99 leads directly towards the blasted, flattened cone of Mount St Helens, but floods last winter have left the last 10 miles impassable where the road was washed away. This is a view from 14 miles away and we wonder just how massive this bohemouth would look from up close....



Miles of valley below recover from the massive 1980 eruption that left 57 people dead. 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles (24 km) of railways, and 185 miles (298 km) of highway were also destroyed. The eruption caused a massive debris avalanche, reducing the elevation of the mountain's summit from 9,677 feet (2,950 m) to 8,365 feet (2,550 m). Stumps of trees toasted in the catastrophy still stand sentinel over lush new growth....



Descending, the air grows damp and ghostly trees emerge eerily from the gloom...



A real contrast to the autumnal colour as we near Battle Ground near the Oregon border....



Oregon's reputation for cycle frienliness gets off to a great start with a purpose built cycle lane splitting a 6 lane highway on the I-205 bridge.

Washington - Mount Rainier

October 9th to 11th

Leaving the Seattle cityscape behind, we head inland... and uphill.

We also hit our first snag - Interstates with no cycle friendly shoulder, and roadworks. Bikes become passengers, we the beasts of burden as we carry bikes and luggage over the debris....



Late in the season, campgrounds are now closed, ensuring we get the best pitch in the place....



This is bear country and panniers are hoisted aloft overnight. I worry that making food harder to reach, just makes us look more likely snack material...



The terrain begins to grow huge in scale....



As we get a glimpse of the distant snow capped peak of the volcano Mount Rainier, majestic at 14,411 feet (4,392 m)....



My rookie earns her stripes on her first pass and is promoted to "junior", a proud moment for both of us....



The descent is a blur of speeding trees and sweeping bends, before we earn the reward of motel bed for the night. Room with a view...

Washington State

October 2nd to 8th

Entering the US by ferry is a breeze. You still have to leave your fingerprints, but at least the customs officials behave like human beings and actually made us feel welcome entering the country. Contrast airport immigration... I need to investigate ferry crossings from the UK when I next visit.

We leave Anacortes via "Deception Pass" - a bridge to Whidbey Island - second largest island in the lower 48 states. Captain Vancouver exploring the region by ship in 1792 assumed the island to be a peninsula to the mainland. Upon discovering his mistake, he named the body of water separating the 2 lands Deception Pass. Conveniently, a bridge has been built since then...



We cycle south through moistly forested terrain which undulates sufficiently to keep the legs warm... It's all very picturesque and a good choice of routes to Seattle.



We cross back to the mainland on the Mukilteo ferry amidst a swarm of sea birds no doubt attracted to the feast churned up in the ferry propeller's wake. On other occasions whale and dolphin accompany crossings, sadly not today.

Time presses as we hit busy I99 heading south into downtown Seattle. We have a date to meet my brother and amazingly we manage to arrive within 3 hours of the appointed hour. I argue that 3 hours behind schedule out of 18 days by bike is close enough to be considered "on time". My brother struggles with these new definitions of time keeping, but he'll catch on....

Tourist time!! We hit the sights.... Brother Matthew and Sue....



Pike place market replete with artisans producing a range of souvenirs, and fish throwing sea food vendors....



We take an underground tour of the old city, constructed when Seattle was a supply town to miners struck by gold fever. Lacking adequate sanitation, town planners decided to construct a new city above the old one, a process taking a number of years and leading to such anomalies as roads being temporarily 30 feet above sidewalks, making crossings slightly hazardous - even resulting in several deaths. Present day buildings bizarrely show former windows and door ways scythed in half by the current street level. It's an excellent and irreverent tour run with a comedy slant - well worth a look.

We visit the Seattle's signature space needle building constructed for the 1962 World trade fair for stunning city views and impressive exhibition....



Underwater at the aquarium....



Of course we drink the obligatory coffee at Starbucks... Seattle is a great city and it's great to see my brother again for a few days....