Day 4
After another good breakfast, this time at a vegetarian restaurant in Canon City, I headed down 101 towards Seaside. The route instructions say "at T turn right onto Lewis and Clark Rd". But there is no T and, a mile or so past where it was supposed to be, I turned back to find Lewis and Clark right where it was supposed to be, but without the T. I think the cue should read "After bridge, turn right."

After getting on to Lewis and Clark road, I discover that it is very hilly and, in a few miles it got very rough. It seemed almost to be a dirt road that had been poorly paved. There were frost heaves(?) and other major irregularities in the pavement This, in combination with the steep hills made it hard to control the bike with a broken collar bone! Things improved after ten miles or so, but I wished I had stayed on 101. The AC route goes into Astoria on Bus 101 and then around Astoria. I stopped at a convenience store in Astoria and, after visiting with a motorcyclist who lives there, decided to ride up to the Astoria Monument and then down to the other side of town. Astoria roads are steep, but the column (and the view from the highest point in town) made the climb worthwhile. I was glad for a good front brake - I couldn't use the back - going down the other side.

Looking back the way I'd come from near the Astoria Monument

Highway 30 going up the Oregon side of the Columbia river was not fun. Too much traffic and too little shoulder. It was also hilly and, by local standards, hot. I stopped for a good lunch at Kanappa Junction where there were two places on opposite sides of the road. I picked the one on the right side of the road because it seemed less 'trucker'. It turned out to be 'logger' with some interesting old photos of logging camps on the walls.

Shortly before Westport, I had a bad encounter with an RV driver. On an empty, straight, road, he came so close that I was nearly blown off the shoulder. Jerk! Everyone warned me about logging truck drivers out here, but most of them have been very polite. RV drivers have been much less polite. Since RV drivers are also usually much less competent drivers than logging truck drivers, I think they are a bigger danger to bicyclists. There are exceptions, bad truck drivers, and I encountered a few of them as well, but they were a small minority.

The ferry from Westport to Puget Island was fun. I met some neat folks driving a 1959 Mercedes 220 and had a good visit while we waited and during the crossing. The terrain changed dramatically from Oregon to Washington. Since this was my first state line crossing on this trip, it was nice to have such a dramatic change. It was also the first time I had been in the state where I was born since I was a baby. After crossing the island and the bridge to Cathlamet, I looked for a place to eat. I found a restaurant and ordered coffee and desert. Then the folks in the old Mercedes showed up and I joined them while they had supper.

I'd only ridden about 65 miles, but it was too late to ride on to Castle Rock that evening, so I spent the night at the old hotel in Cathlamet. It has been redecorated and was quite nice. At $42, it was also cheap compared to my first two nights. I had time to do some grocery shopping and walk essentially the whole town before dark. I also had a nice talk with the lady that owns and runs the hotel. A good day, but my collar bone was still very sore from the rough roads earlier in the day and I had a hard time sleeping even using ibuprophen. Some of AC routes are not good for us injured riders!

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