TransAm Day #66 Cape Lookout, OR - Nehalem Bay State Park, OR
TransAm Day #66
August 1, 2018
Cape Lookout, OR - Nehalem Bay State Park, OR
45 Miles
Ride Time 3:32 Hours
Tour Total Miles 4550
I spent the night in a Tsunami Hazard Zone. Ever since the movie ‘The Impossible’, tsunamis have freaked me out. Fortunately there were no natural disasters last night. I slept in a grove of Salal bushes alongside the beach at Camp Lookout. I could hear waves crashing all night long. The mosquitos were bad, so I got into my tent as soon as I could. My companions sought and found the shower. They’re worried I’ve slipped back into my Idaho self. This morning they were throwing objects at my tent for me to get up. It was the first time I wasn’t doing the throwing. Eileen performed Hot Chocolate’s ‘I Believe in Miracles’ on top of the picnic table. Everyone then played air guitar to ‘Every 1’s a Winner’, except for Scotty. He had never heard of Hot Chocolate.
The ride began alongside salt marshes and more rock formation islands. Oystermen were out on the beach reaping their harvest. This area is so different from any other on the trip. It’s going to take some time to acclimate.
I went to the Upstairs Bar & Grill where I had an oyster burger and a Hefe Weitzen. There were still animal heads on the wall, and men were playing slot machines. I rode past piles of oyster shells on the beach, and there were clouds hanging low over the mountains. In Tillamook I saw quilt square paintings all over town, but my favorites are still in Kentucky. I saw my first Astoria sign. It was so weird for it to no longer be an abstraction. The end was now in sight. I stopped at Tillamook Creamery, which is a huge tourist attraction. I got an ice cream cone with three scoops; Tillamook Mudslide, Mountain Huckleberry, and Oregon Hazelnut Salted Caramel. I met three westbound TransAm cyclists whom had left Yorktown May 9th. They were taking their time getting to Astoria.
I rode past Rockaway Beach, Brighton Beach, and Manhattan Beach. What the hell? Oregon copied all their beach names from New York. Even the name Astoria was copied from Queens. Why can’t Oregon come up with their own original names?
The plan was to go to Manzanita (the Little Apple) for seafood. I went to the San Dune Pub where I had two dozen Willapa Bay oyster shooters, an order of fish tacos, two huckleberry lemon drops, and several Mac and Jack Ales.
When I was leaving, I met a cyclist from Long Beach with fancy bike lights and various switches to activate them. I later saw his tent in the campground, which also had different colored lights that stayed on all night long.
There were bike lanes everywhere, and it was a delight pedaling to the campground. Oregon is the future of transportation. It’s so humid that my gloves are perpetually wet, and my iPhone fingerprint sensor doesn’t work. Kyle finished yesterday in Florence and Jay finished in San Francisco.
I am going to miss reading these! it has been so fun to follow you all summer.
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