Hello ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys! We know this post has taken again some days but we have been literally having a ball on the Pacific Coast! While we were still in Canada, we were told several times Oregon was very beautiful and we would enjoy it a lot. We do not mean any disrespect because we have not seen it yet… but the Pacific Coast in Washington is simply JAW-DROPPING!

 

 

After the nice rest in Sequim with Bonnie and Hans, we resumed the pedalling on 8 October and followed David’s suggestions and cycled up to an amazing spot by Lyre river and Lake Crescent. We rolled on the ODT to Port Angeles and then on Elwha River road until we joined the #112 to Joyce. We stopped at the local store there and then continued on the Joyce-Piedmont road. As David had told us, it was a beautiful spot to pitch the tent.

 

 

The day after we followed the Spruce trail around Lake Crescent. It’s a nice trail in the beginning, with a mild climb followed by a steep downhill, which happened to be a bit slippery with the damp morning and leaves on the ground. Unfortunately, that caused Anacleta to slip and Tere fell on her side and hit the ground with her elbow and hip. She also hit her ribs but luckily she was not cycling very fast and had no problem to continue during that day and those that followed –as the tough girl she is.

 

 

The trail got a bit rougher and gained a bit of a dropped on the lake, which forced us to walk along pushing our bicycles. However, it was a short stretch and we could enjoy a nice paved trail until we got back again to the #101. We then continued to Forks, where we had seen a camping spot in Tillicum Park. Unfortunately, we soon noticed we could not camp there as soon as we saw the office of the US Forestry Department. On top of that, we could not ask anyone in there since we just missed the closing time by just some minutes!

 

 

Fortunately, Kimberly appeared and we could ask her some directions. Because she was somehow new in town, she was not too sure about where to send but she was very quick to offer us to pitch the tent at her place. however, it was unfortunately several miles back on the way we just came from, so she ended up calling a friend of hers. She could finally send us to an RV park where we might camp for the night and also gave us her phone number just in case. Thanks to that we could also get in touch later and she send us a picture with her beautiful girl.

 

 

We had no problem to camp at the Forks 101 RV Park, which was very convenient –also because they are just opposite the local supermarket. Besides, we were extremely lucky and Andrea gave us some nice suggestions of places we had not heard about, like La Push and Rialto Beach. Since we were already in Forks, she told us it would be a pity to miss the beaches and tidepools in that area of the Olympic Peninsula.

 

 

We therefore requested to leave part of our gear at the campground and the next two days we cycled to La Push and Rialto Beach. Andrea was nice enough to offer us some storage area and on 10 October we reached the Pacific Coast. We camped just a few minutes walking from First Beach in La Push and we enjoyed a beautiful first walk on our first beach on the Pacific Ocean.

 

 

The day after we woke up early and cycled directly to Second Beach, so we could hike the less-than-a-mile-long trail and reach it during the low tide. It really sounds tougher than it really was… and on top of that it was worth it a thousand times –as you can see from the pictures we posted on our flickr page! As we could not make a selection of them, we posted the whole lot of the pictures from the beaches we visited in several albums:

 

La Push: First, Second and Third beaches

 

Rialto Beach

 

Ruby Beach

 

Olympic Peninsula in Black and White

 

After our walk on Second Beach we went back to La Push and packed up. We then headed to Mora and camped at the campground so we could repeat the same operation the day after and visit Rialto Beach.

 

After a couple of days enjoying the back and forth rides and strolls on the beaches. We went back to Forks on 12 October. We went back to the Forks 101 RV Park and spent a second night there, so we could reorganise our gear and put it back on Anacleta and FU.LA.NA. We also took the chance to thank Andrea for the suggestions and Jennifer –the owner– for storing our gear while we went to the beach. Besides, the weather was very nice for fall standards, not only those days but also the ones that followed.

 

 

After Forks, we continued on the #101 to Kalaloch Beach –on 13 October– and the day after we reached Humptulips. We asked at a gas station for a place to pitch our tent and we ended up camping near a boat launch next to the river. We had been told by a couple of locals we could have some privacy and we would not be bothered by anyone over there, so we gave it a try. Everything went quite alright until some fishermen got there and started launching their boats… around 5 am more or less!

 

 

Even if we were fully awake, we stayed awake on the tent and did not start ‘moving’ until the sun started to rise around 7 am. The morning of 15 October was again a very cold and particularly damp morning, which reminded us of the last time we camped by a river in Canada. Luckily, as soon as we packed up and started cycling, we finally enjoy the beautiful sunlight and finally warm up a bit. A second coffee in a road store helped even more. The manager was so impressed with our load and adventure, he took a couple of pictures of the four of us!

 

 

The rest of the day was just fantastic. We left the #101 behind and took the Wishkah road to Aberdeen. We enjoyed a beautiful ride under a nice sunny day and we got to the Kurt Cobain memorial by lunch time –for Spanish standards. Thanks again to the warmshowers community we were later hosted by Katie and Ralph –and also met their children Eva and Wesley. We were allowed to set our tent to dry, which was completely soaked after the wet morning that day. We could later cook some pasta for them and enjoyed some corn and regional ‘refreshments’.

 

 

After the nice rest, on 16 October we were very lucky and had the privilege to get a ride on Ralphs tandem, which is recumbent on the front! What a treat! Pak went first and then Tere could have a go as well. What an experience! We had such a ball!

 

 

On top of that, Ralph took Wesley on the tandem and they showed us the way out of Aberdeen on a nice cycling path we might have missed if they had not the chance to be hosted at their place. Thanks again to Ralph and his family and thanks to warmshowers! After an extremely nice ride and morning with Ralph and Wesley, we waved them goodbye and we continue our on the #105 to Westport, where we visited the marina and listened to the seals before stopping for lunch.

 

 

We later resumed the pedalling for some miles/kilometres and decided to stop at the campground on Grayland Beach State Park. We managed to get there before sunset and could have a walk to the beach before cooking supper and finally call it a day.

 

 

On 17 October we managed to pack up and get rolling before 9 am and enjoyed yet again a beautiful ride on the Pacific Coast under a sunny morning –along the #105. We had some amazing views of Willapa Bay until –very unfortunately and almost simultaneously– Anacleta’s chain broke and FU.LA.NA. had a flat tyre. We were under the sun for about an hour for the repairing but we managed to get to Raymond by 1 pm. We stopped for lunch and then resumed our journey along a nice cycling path that links Raymond with South Bend.

 

 

By the end of the path, a fellow cyclist stopped to talk to us and enquiry about our trip and nationality. He happened to have travelled to Spain and North Africa –amongst other countries– and when he learnt our trip was self supported he took out his wallet out of his pocket and gave us $10. What a nice gesture! He told us were to find a grocery store with a deli department where we could order some food. We felt so lucky! We went to the store and then continued on the #105 up to the campground on Bruceport County Park. After a steep climb up the hill to the park entrance, we decided to call it a day and pitch the tent.

 

The day after, we waved at a couple of girls who were also cycling and had camped just next to our site at the campground. We took again the #101 and about an hour later the two girls caught us and we all stopped to have a little chat. They were Hunter and Charly, from the UK. They had also started cycling in Halifax and were heading south like us. After the short chat, they continued their way –as they rode faster and lighter than us– and we had to stop shortly after since Anacleta had another flat tyre.

 

 

While we were having the tyre issue sorted out, another couple of cyclists stopped to ask whether we were alright. We were almost done with the repairing but we had the time to shortly introduce ourselves. They were Pascale and Johnny; they had started in Vancouver and were also heading south to the border with Mexico. They continued their way and –funny enough– we saw them again on the road when they stopped for lunch. We just waved at them and –even funnier– they waved at us later on when we had stopped to have our lunch. Pascale waved her hand and Johnny just said ‘See you in a bit’… and like that we watched them go.

 

After lunch we rode all the way down to Chinook and Fort Columbia State Park. We then continued along a short tunnel and ended up crossing the Astoria-Megler bridge, which meant we left Washington behind and entered Oregon, which was not at all fun. The bridge has no bicycle lane –just a narrow shoulder– and there are cars passing you continuously and very closely. If that was not enough, before getting down to Astoria you need to face a ‘short’ 1km and 6% climb that goes to an 8% in the last stretch.

 

 

We nevertheless made it quite decently and we had no complains from any drivers… so fair enough! We were rewarded by the nice trail along the rail tracks besides the river and in no time we found the first brewery –out of the eight that are in town– and we indulged ourselves with a local refreshment. That evening we were supposed to meet Steve –another warmshowers’ member,– at his place. We got to his address and knocked at the door. We had no reply and Pak texted him… and guess what?! Pascale opened the door for us! Johnny was actually right and we saw them after a bit indeed. We then met Steve as well as Adriana –a young woman who worked nearby his place. We helped our host with dinner and had some interesting and fun conversations during the evening. On top of that, he gave us some directions to get to Forest Grove –where 11 kg of gear were waiting for us.

 

 

We wanted to resume the pedalling today but after breakfast we just felt like visiting Astoria rather than leave it behind us. We received some very useful information and maps at the Astoria Warrenton Chamber of Commerce and then walked around the city: we saw some film locations, went back to the nice river area and made it to Pier 39. We could even see the sea lions and have some local brew at Rogue and some pie at the Coffee Girl! We walked all the way back to Steve’s place and two more cyclists had just arrived! We found Jakoba and Matthijs‘ recumbent bikes parked outside, which is something to take a look at indeed!

 

 

So tonight we had dinner together with 2 couples of fellow cyclists and Steve. Full house at Mr Bronstein’s! Tomorrow we will start heading towards Forest Grove… but first we had to take it easy tonight and enjoy the company and experiences in this cyclists haven. ‘Til next time! Cheerio!

 

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