Climb Every Cape

 There are two types of hills on this route: those that roll steeply, and those that rise gently.  The San Juans introduced me to the former; the Oregon Coast is all about the latter. Steeply rolling hills may be mentally exhausting (just as you push over one peak, you see the road ahead climbing right back up at 80 degrees), but they have the advantage of momentum. The speed built from the previous descent propels you halfway up, at which point its often just a quick push to the top.

Gently rising hills require considerably more patience. The incline is gradual but never-ending, forcing you to settle into granny gear for the long haul. Often the grade is so slight as to be imperceptible, making you think that you've just suddenly become really slow. Discouraging to say the least.

View from Ecola State Park near Cannon Beach

My initiation to the slow-and-steady climb came on my second day of Oregon Coast riding. After catching the bus from Portland back to Astoria early Monday morning, I took my first day on the coast pretty easy, arriving in the resort town of Cannon Beach with plenty of time to explore the sandy shoreline. (I did actually climb a pretty serious hill at the end of the day to get to Ecola State Park, but I had already dropped my gear at the campground, and the view was more than worth the work- one of the most breathtaking spots on the coast, in my humble opinion).

I woke up the following morning rearing to go. By mid-morning I found myself moving down the highway at a slow crawl. The road seemed practically level, yet my legs resisted. I counseled myself to have patience - it was probably just a slight incline that would soon pass. Twenty minutes later, having sweat my weight's worth in water without gaining any speed, I became a little frustrated. Why was I so slow today, and whose idea was this bike touring thing anyways? Just as I was about to really lose it, I saw a viewpoint turnout. I rolled in to find people taking pictures and admiring the view. There were informational placards which described the construction of the "Neahkahnie Mountain Trail Road."  The name sounded familiar, and I vaguely recalled that it was mentioned in my guidebook, along with something about a long slow climb. Soon the pieces came together. I had just climbed a mountain. Go figure. Suddenly I didn't feel so pathetic.

Ecola State Park

Long climbs, of course, are rewarded by exhilirating descents. One word of advice: no matter how hot and sweaty you are at the top of that mountain, throw on a few layers before heading down. Learned from cold experience.

By mid-afternoon, I hit the town of Tillamook, renowned for its cheese factory turned tourist trap. This "attraction" was mostly a giant store, but it was fun to watch the factory workers process and package enormous chunks of cheese from the observation area. The samples were also enjoyable :) I even debated sending home a "cheesemail" - a video email message about my cheese factory experience sent via a cleverly placed machine. But the gimmickry was too much. I decided to blog about it instead. One purchase of smoked swiss and I was out of there.

By the time I grabbed groceries in town it was getting on 5pm, and I still had 20 miles to go according to my guidebook route. I debated staying at a campground in town, but finally decided to take the less scenic but more direct route to Camp Lookout State Park instead, bypassing the trip to Cape Meares (I figured there would be plenty more where that came from).

This turned out to be my favourite park of the entire trip. The hiker biker sites was set well apart from RV town in a whimsically foggy forest, just steps away from the beach. All for a whopping $6! Oregon knows how to treat cyclists right. I soon encountered a motley crew of cyclists from Seattle, who shared a beer with me as we watched the sunset on the sand. Sometimes life is sweet.

Once again I have run out of time - the library is about to close :(  Stay tuned for Climb Every Cape, Part II!

Achingly yours, 

Dana