Anne's Bicycle Journal: Manzanita to Astoria, OR

Miles: 47.0
Total Miles: 1388.2
Climbing: 2960’

Today started out fairly nicely and the sun actually peeked through enough to get a nice beach shot.

Early morning, only sun of the day, from Manzanita Beach

The only sun we saw today!

Our route took us out onto the treacherous 101 where we had an early morning climb out of Manzanita, but some beautiful views. The climb was up the western shoulder of Neahkahnie Mt, 1661 feet high. It was one of the highest points on the Oregon Coast.

View of Manzanita from Highway 101

Later, we passed through a tunnel where cyclists push a button to activate flashing lights so that motorists know that there are cyclists in the tunnel. I also had the flashing lights on my bike and on my helmet. Fortunately we had no traffic come in behind us.

We entered Cannon Beach, named for the ship “Shark” which was captained by Lt. Howison, USN. It was shipwrecked in 1846 and the cannon washed ashore, thus the name of the town. This was a very touristy, quaint little town, but we enjoyed seeing the Haystack Rock. It was 235’ above the low tide line and was the 3rd largest coastal monolith in the world. It was quite impressive on this misty morning. Many birds make their homes on this rock, including two kinds of cormorants, murres, guillemots, oyster catchers, and puffins.

Haystack Rock

We wove our way slowly through the to a glass shop which just HAPPENED to have a quilt shop next door which just opened! Several of us went into each place. I must say that it was one of the nicest shops I have ever been in, with lots of samples, patterns and books. The fabrics were bright and arranged so well. It was a delightful place to visit as well as having friendly women working there. I guess that is true for most quilt shops I have visited in my life! Of course, they were very interested in our ride and warned us of the Hood to Coast Relay which we will ride through tomorrow! That should be interesting!

Back on to 101, we headed to Seaside OR which was a very popular ocean destination. It was absolutely hopping with activity.

Bright flowers on a dreary day in Seaside, OR

I was delighted to get off 101 and onto a bike path to go the length of the town. The homes were lovely and the bike path separated the homes from the dunes and beach which were a long walk from the path.

Bike path in Seaside

The flowers were gorgeous everywhere we looked. In the middle of town was a statue to Lewis and Clark who had their winter camp nearby. There was also a monument to their Saltworks operation in Seaside. The men worked around the clock for nearly two months during the winter of 1805 to turn 1400 gallons of sea water into 4 bushels of salt for the return trip to the Missouri River where they had supplies cached. They also used it to season meat that was spoiling before they could eat it during the long winter at Fort Clatsop, their western location prior to their return East.

Lewis and Clark Expedition, Saltworks operation

Lewis and Clark Statue in Seaside

That statue was the end of a WT bike trip, the Lewis and Clark ACA bike route, a few years ago and several of the women who rode that trip were on this one. Funny that they said, "oh we should take a picture of this because we will never be here again!" ...and here they were, back at this same place!

At that location, a huge tent city was being erected, as well as bands' platforms, food stalls, massage tents, and the finish line for the Hood to Sea Relay race, to finish tomorrow at this location.

Poster for the Hood to Coast Relay which starts tomorrow

Finish line for the Relay

It was a ZOO in town and it was just starting to mist so we rode on after a nice stop at a little bakery for a snack. The ride was nice, on rolling hills and with much less traffic for a while. We made a stop at Fort Clatsop, the camp where Lewis and Clark lived in 1805-1806 during the winter. The visitor’s center was very nice and we watched two twenty minute movies, hoping the rain, which had begun in earnest, would decrease so that we could enjoy the fort itself. Since that did not happen, Kathie and I decided to ride on in to Astoria, about 9 more miles. We suited up in rain gear for the last bit of riding.

Those nine miles were tough with mist and rain and a bridge where we had to press a button to warn motorists of bicycles on the bridge (same thing as the earlier tunnel). The roads were busy but we had a good shoulder/bike lane. The last two miles were very difficult in the rain and traffic and we were very glad to see the Holiday Inn on the river!

After checking in, the rain stopped and I decided that the bike path right outside our window would be a great way to go to downtown Astoria to see the sights, so I ate my trusty PB&J in the room and started out for a ride to downtown. Kathie decided to take a shower and relax, later taking the trolley to town. I should have done that, too. The trolley crossed the same bridge as the bike path and you had to look for it before crossing the bridge, which I did. I knew the wooden bridge was wet and slippery so I did not even clip into my pedals. At the end of the bridge, I had to cross one of the tracks onto the paved bike path. It was then that my rear wheel went out from under me and I found myself on the ground. There was a young boy right there asking if I was ok, and I was, mostly. I did not get knocked out, but hit my head (helmet on) and my cycling glasses broke and that was what cut my head. I bruised my hip and elbow but was otherwise ok, until I looked at my left thumb! How it got injured I will never know but I lost part of the nail right out of the middle of it. My head had a large knot on it!

So, I walked my bike back to the hotel, which was about 100 yards away and got ice from the cooler in our van. I went back to the room, and was immediately taken care of by my wonderful roommate, Vickie V. who called one of the nurses in the group to come take a look and see if I needed an ER trip! No way I was going to the ER!! They would say I hit my head and needed all kinds of tests. Besides, I knew that the date was 1968 and the president was George Washington! So, with no clean margins to stitch up on my head, Mary, another nurse in the group went to the drug store to get some first aid I could have with me for the rest of the trip. WT had lots of supplies but not wanting to clean out their box, Mary fixed me right up. Thanks to all those angels of the day, especially Mary and Karen, a former hospice nurse!! My thumb seemed to be the biggest issue for me. But, I am fine and god-willing, will ride tomorrow.

So, I never got to see any of Astoria, much to my chagrin! I guess I will have to do a Transamerica ride sometime in the future, because that is where the route starts!