Bad math

1+76+1+1=2

1 limit of clams + 76 miles + 1 flat + 1 rainy day = 2 states. (via cell, photos and more details to follow)

I dug a limit of razor clams this morning, cleaned them, then hopped on the bike. My brother-in-law, Dave, who had joined me yesterday had a bit of a cold and sat today out so I was on my own. It had been raining lightly most of the morning but was dry as I took off mid afternoon. It didn't last long. By the time I got to Hammond, just a few miles into the ride, it began to rain and did so for the remainder of the ride. Last year Dave and I rode across the Youngs Bay bridge on Hwy 101 and found it to be not the nicest section of road, despite having the designation of the "Oregon Coast Bike Route" Yesterday we took Business Hwy 101, likely an older version of Hwy 101. We crossed the Old Bay Bridge just a way upstream from the Hwy 101 bridge. The bridge is no wider but is considerably shorter than the newer version. What saves the day is that even on a holiday weekend the traffic was practically non-existent and the speed limit is 25 mph. I took this new found way (for me anyway) to Astoria again today. I highly recommend this alternative for those that may be riding the Oregon Coast.



I continued on toward the Astoria-Megler Bridge but had a small delay when I had to repair a flat just before rejoining Hwy 101.

After getting the tire rolling again I made my way up and over the bridge and entered Washington. I was unsure of how bike friendly the bridge would be but found it to not be all that bad. There was evidence of the lanes being slightly narrowed and the fog line moved inward a bit. What that amounted to was that there was just about 2 ft beyond the fog line instead of what evidently was about 8-10" before the re striping. That's not a lot of space, but it was enough. The traffic was courteous as well.

I crossed the bridge into Washington and made a loop on Hwys 401 and 101. It was scenic and a nice change of pace.

I made good time heading northward and took advantage of the tailwind. I knew that it would be a headwind on the return and wanted to be back before it got too dark. I had lights along, but just don't like riding on dark roads unless I have to.

It was indeed a bit of headwind coming back southward. Along with that fun was the additional excitement of nonstop rain.

I had my full raingear on and it wasn't cold so it wasn't too bad. I managed to get the ride wrapped up about 8:15, still plenty light, even on a rainy evening.


............BIKE............LIFECYCLE.....ROLLERS....TOTAL
Today.......76................0.............0..........76
Jan........618...............0..............0.........618
Feb........692...............0..............0.........692
March......940...............0..............5.........940
April......934...............0..............0.........934
May........852...............0..............0.........852
_________________________________________
TOTAL.....4050...............0..............5.........4055