Day 56 - 0 miles

     I invited Kera to an Oktoberfest in the countryside.  Bo, Amanda, Kera, and I went and we had a great time.

     We went out for Pho soup and I invited Kera to come meet me on the Oregon coast to camp.

     Back at Amanda’s house, we all watched a movie and went to bed.

Kera, me, Bo, and Amanda at Oktoberfest in Oregon.

Day 55 - 0 miles

     I went to the store in the morning and got the ingredients to make chocolate chip cookies.  I went to the bike shop and got new brake pads and pumped up my tires.  During the day I hung out with Amanda and worked on my English class.  Bo had another football game at night and I invited Kera to go to it with me.  Kera and I went for a drink before the football game and we had a great time together at the game.

     After the game we joined Bo and his coaching buddies at a dive bar then Kera went home and I met Amanda at another bar.  We stayed out late and got to bed at 3am.

Dawn in Lake Oswego.

Kera and I at a football game.

Day 54 - 53 miles

     In general, I enjoyed waking up in a new place everyday.  I would have to figure out where I was and where I was going each day.  Upon waking there was usually a few seconds when I didn’t know where I was and discovering the answer was always exciting.

     The weather was nice as I rode toward Lake Oswego, a suburb of Portland.  Traffic picked up a lot as I came closer to the city.  I used my iPhone Maps app to find my way.  I arrived in Lake Oswego and met my brother-in-law, Bo.  I followed him to the apartment where he and my sister, Amanda live.  I left my gear there and went with Bo to a high school football game where Bo coached.  It was fun to watch the game and I got to sit on the sidelines.

     After the game Bo and I went to a Bar called Maher’s.  I met a girl named Kera there and I took her phone number.  

     Bo and I went back to the house and met Amanda.  We had steak dinner with potatoes and asparagus.

     We watched a movie and went to bed.

Breaking camp.

I camped here.

Cruising in the hills.

A narrow tunnel.

Farmland.

Watching a football game.

Bo made dinner.

Amanda's cat.

Day 53 - 32 miles

     I slept on a futon and when I got up Sarah and her son Damon were gone.  I ate breakfast, packed up, and went to explore Cannon Beach.  I bought a bottle of wine and drank it before I started riding inland towards Portland.

     Unfortunately I had a long steady climb ahead of me.  It was brutal to climb the big hill after drinking the whole bottle of wine.  I finished the 6th Harry Potter audio book. 

     It started to get dark and I found a rest area that looked good for camping.  I set up my tent next to a picnic table.  I made chicken tortilla rice for dinner and went to sleep.

My gear at Sarah's house.

At the beach.

Cannon Beach.

Watching the waves.

Me at Cannon Beach.

Haystack Rock.

My bottle of wine with a naked girl and a bicycle on it.

Wine at the beach

Riding inland.

Going to Portland.

Day 52 - 68 miles

     In the morning I lubricated my chain and drive train.  I noticed some rust on my chain and I brushed it off.  I rode through a forest filled with mist in the morning that gave the impression of a fantasy world.

     When I broke out of the forest and I was at the mouth of the Colombia River.  I stopped at Dismal Point and talked to some travelers and we had a view of the Astoria Bridge.  I crossed the Astoria bridge and I was in Oregon.  I stopped in Warrenton and bought food at Fred Meyer and Costco.

     I met two cyclists in Seaside named Chris and Marie.  I rode with them to Cannon Beach.  Chris and Marie went to find a campsite and I went to the house of a CouchSurfing host named Sarah.  

     Sarah made me a steak, stuffing, sesame noodles, garlic bread, and a beer.  The home-cooked food was great.  Sarah was active in the CouchSurfing community an we enjoyed chatting together.  

A view of the ocean.

I camped under this pavilion because it was raining.

Inside my tent.

I hung my bike to lubricate and clean it.

Riding on the west coast.

Funny sign.

I found these sunglasses on the road.

A Washington Highway sign.

Pilings in the water.

Me at the mouth of the Colombia River.

The Colombia River.

An old boat floating.

I met these travelers.

On the Astoria Bridge.

The Astoria Bridge.

Crossing the Astoria Bridge.

Astoria's harbor.

The Astoria Bridge.

In Oregon.

Day 51 - 37 miles

     When I woke up it was pouring rain.  I got up and had a pop tart for breakfast and I packed up and went to McDonalds to get out of the rain.  I worked on my online english class, sent some CouchSurfing requests, and looked at maps.

     I bought rain pants at Big5 sporting goods because I accidentally left mine in Lake Stevens.  The wind was blowing 30 - 50 mph and it was raining hard.

     I left Aberdeen at 3pm and soon I was completely soaked.  The combination of headwinds, rain, and hills made for rough riding conditions.  

     I made it to South Bend and talked to two men and a woman who were smoking outside a bar.  They told me there was a campground called Bruceport Park 5 miles down the road.  I headed there and found that the park was closed and no one was there.  I pushed my bike under a gate, found a pavilion, and set up my tent under it out of the rain.

     I laid out my clothes to dry under the pavilion, made dinner, and went to sleep.

I took this picture to show to my friends who eat pho soup.

Day 50 - 81 miles

     I was on the road at 8:30am.  I stopped at Safeway in Lacey and then rode to Olympia.  I tried to take an indirect route but I ran into an air force base and I had to take I5.

     I bought some snack food in Olympia and then I went on a highway through the forest to Aberdeen.  

     I reached Aberdeen in the evening and went to Wal-Mart to buy food.  I decided to camp in a park called Sam Benn Memorial Park in the middle of town.  It was not an ideal place to camp because it was visible from the road but it had started raining and I wasn’t keen on relocating.      

     I added eggs to my pasta for dinner.  It made my meal a lot bigger but it made the pot more difficult to clean.

Airplane on display.

The capitol of the State of Washington.

Olympia.

Front bag full of supplies.

Riding on a bridge in Olympia.

My bike in Olympia.

Riding to the coast.

Big clouds.

Reflection on a river.