29 September 2011
At breakfast, the hostel manager, Trung, told us about her adventures in civic engagement, including lobbying to turn Seaside into a car-free city. I thought this was awesome, and I wished her the best of luck.
Taking my bike out of storage, I found that a slow leak had deflated one of the tires. The patch job I had done on Youngs Bay bridge the other day must have been bad. I swapped out the tube for a fresh one; that would be the last tire trouble for the rest of the trip, fortunately.
The morning started with a climb from Seaside over the hill and down to Cannon Beach. The stretch between Cannon Beach and Neahkahnie Mountain (just before Manzanita) had beautiful beaches, and I stopped for many a scenic photo opportunity.
Just after Cape Arch one crosses the first of two tunnels on the Oregon coast route. Cyclists can push a button before entering, which activates flashers that warn cars to slow down.
Then the beach views resumed, including a great vista over Manzanita and Nehalem Bay.
Near Nehalem, I picked up a good tailwind. I rode past Nehalem Bay and Tillamook Bay to get to Tillamook.
Tillamook is the site of the cheese factory! I didn't stop there, but I did eat a very late lunch in Tillamook (yes, at Subway).
Past Tillamook I found that I would not be able to continue along the usual scenic route around Cape Meares, because they had been having trouble with the ocean washing away the road (hmm, sounds like this spring's tour). Instead I took the shortcut along Hwy 131 to Netarts.
Netarts is a tiny town. I checked into the Sea Lion Motel, which looked rather run-down from the outside but was actually quite nicely furnished.
Dinner was a delicious dish of pork and potatoes at Schooner, which was, I am told, the only restaurant in town.
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