Portland to San Francisco Bike Trip - Day 2

Day 2 Stats - August 20, 2006

• Tillamook to Lincoln City
• 58.32 miles, 2979 ft. elevation gain, 139.81 miles total (5650 elev)
• Ride time 4h 36m, trip time 7h 09m, start time 7:55am
• Average speed 12.6 mph, max 33.9
• Cities visited: Tillamook, Netarts, Pacific City, Lincoln City
• Total flats to date: Aimee:0, Pam:0, Preston:1

Woke up 6:30am. Good night's sleep. Ate free breakfast at hotel.

On the road by 8:30am. Weather very cold (55 deg F) and foggy. Had to bundle up with arm/leg warmers, jackets, etc. Pretty low traffic on roads. Arrived in Netarts and saw the exact place that Eric and I dipped our wheels into the ocean to kick off our 2003 bike trip. Saw about 100 seals sleeping on the beach, as well as some herons.

Nice bike lane for the first major climb of the day, just south of Netarts. Very serene and peaceful, heavily forested (and damp!).

Saw dune buggies tearing it up on the mini-sand dunes north of Sandlake then spun our way to Pacific City where we ate lunch at a restaurant on the beach while watching surfers, kite flyers, and people climbing the giant sand dune north of the beach.

Progress was a little slower after lunch due to a full belly of food. Traffic picked up quite a bit as well, although generally an ample shoulder.

Best part of the day for me was the 10-mile side loop on Old Highway 101. Almost zero traffic, the sun had come out, beautiful views.

Unfortunately, the worst part of the day was the next (and final) hour biking from Otis through Lincoln City. Tons of cars (probably Sunday night rush hour, folks heading home from the beach), semi-decent shoulders but lots of debris. Lincoln City sucks for bikers, no bike lane and 5+ miles of strip malls.

Made it to our hotel (Looking Glass Inn), overlooking the water and an island full of harbor seals. Great hotel, full suite with two bedrooms, kitchen, living room, etc. $136.

Rested up, read, did some Internet and bike repairs in the afternoon, then ate dinner at Mo's Restaurant across the parking lot. Went to bed around 10pm after a little talking back at the hotel.

Ran into about 10 fellow Pacific Coast cyclists today, including a few poor souls going northbound. The northbound route always has worse shoulders (often none!) than the southbound route, and the winds usually blow from the north.