Day 5: Astoria to Seaside (25 miles)

There's an All Hail the Black Market sticker on my track bike that reads “Too tough to die, too dumb to stop trying.” Pretty certain that this above else is the motto my life follows.

After surviving the bridge crossing from Hell yesterday and waking up to tornado alarms early this morning, I headed out to try and make as much headway as I could before the winds picked up even more. Winds were supposed to be up to 90mph on Saturday, so I knew I wasn't going to be going anywhere until Sunday.

That headway amounted to 25 miles (10 of which because I went the wrong way in Astoria. Not all bad though as I got to explore the town while quoting Kindergarten Cop to myself. I know The Goonies was also filmed here, but Kindergarten Cop is clearly the superior film.)

Astoria after the rain

Could hear these guys all the way from the bike path.

By 8am, I already had a 30mph headwind and I was slogging along at a pace only slightly faster than a slow jog. While that was soul crushing, what made me decide that I needed to hole up somewhere until the major storm passed was that when the side of the road cleared up and the wind became a cross head wind and I could barely keep my bike straight.

Seaside seemed like a good place to stop because as a major tourist area, I figured they'd have  multiple RV parks so I could hopefully find one that could shelter my tent from the wind.

The Visitor's Center was super helpful. I pulled in there asking about places to camp and they not only gave me half a dozen names, they called them up and asked about prices.

The RV parks wanted $25 to pitch my tent there, so the Visitor's Center directed me to Seaside's hostel, which, based on the weather, is a way better option.

Look, I like camping. And I don't even mind camping in the rain. But, camping in a thunderstorm during a high winds warning, is not my idea of a great time.

Hanging behind the front desk was a handwritten ”Word of the Day” sign that read: Coddiwomple-To travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination..

I mentioned to the man behind the desk that the word seemed fitting for my current endeavor and that I appreciated his sign as in my other life , I teach English and history.

The man then looked me straight in the eyes and very seriously said, “English, huh? So how do you feel about the Oxford comma?”

“Oh, I'm a big fan. Always use the Oxford comma.”

“Alright, then you can stay. We're Oxford comma people here.”

He then gave me a bike map of the Oregon coast and knocked $5 off the price of the room because I was riding a bike.

So I'm holed up here for a couple days, taking advantage of kitchen privileges and wifi until I can go ride again. Which means I have some time to explore the town before the rain started in earnest.

Obviously, I found the local brewery and had my first pint of this endeavor.

Seaside Brewery had twelve beers on tap and only one was an IPA, so I liked them immediately. The brewery is housed in the old jail, so the atmosphere was also pretty cool.

Posted up at the bar and soon found myself drawn into conversation with a trio of locals. As one of them read the weather report for Saturday--winds approaching 100mph with waves over 45ft--he grinned and offered me his advice for the rest of my trip:

Embrace the suck.

Total Miles:372

Best Sight of the Day: Someone spray painted salmon riding bikes on the Astoria bike path.room

Good Guy Driver of the Day: Oregon State Patrol Officer pulled me over and gave me a run down of the upcoming road conditions and weather.