Day 64 - Sunday, August 11, 2002

Newport to Tillamook, OR (Pacific Campground)

Ride length: 68.9 miles (110.9 km)
Total to date: 4205.26 miles (6767.7 km)
Moving time: 5 hr 31 min.
Average Speed: 12.4 mph (20.1 km/hr)
Total ascent: 2614 ft. (796.7 m)
Minimum elevation: 2 ft. (0.6 m)
Maximum elevation: 719
ft. (219.2 m)
Ending elevation: 26 ft. (7.9 m)
Wind: Lt. var. winds in morning. 15-20mph headwind for last 15 miles.
Weather: 53°F (12°C) in the morning; got up to 72°F (22°C) by end of ride at 3:00pm. Clear skies.

I had a much nicer day of riding today as compared to yesterday. I got up early in the morning and was on the road by 7:00am to try and beat the prevailing northerly wind. It worked! The wind did pick up in the afternoon as expected. Tomorrow I'll do the same.

The climate along the coast is perfect for riding. It's not very cold at night and the daytime highs are moderate at best. The tent had dew on it for the first time since Missouri this morning.

The picture at the top of the page was taken early this morning from Cape Foulweather just south of Depoe Bay.

Since I made good time I figured that I'd take a short side trip to the Tillamook Air Museum. It is housed in the world's largest free span wooden building in the world. The buliding was constructed as a World War II blimp hanger, just one of 17 that were built to house K-class airships used for anti-submarine coast patrol and convoy escort. The floor of the hangar is seven acres in area and the ceiling reaches 192 feet in the air. The doors are 120 feet high and are made up of six 30 ton segments that roll on railroad tracks. This entire building was erected in just 30 days!

They have a large collection of airworthy vintage military planes, aircraft engines, flight simulators, and military vehicles. Most of the planes in the collection are WWII navy planes and most are currently airworthy. One plane in the collection, a PBY-5A Catalina, is similar to the one my grandfather flew in in WWII. Another intersting plane is a "Guppy" cargo aircraft. I have never seen either plane before so this was a unique experience.

I visited the Tillamook Cheese Factory in Tillamook, Oregon just before reaching my campground. It is a very famous place along Route 101 that sees a phenomenal number of visitors each year. There is a glass–enclosed gallery where I watched them make and package cheese. They also produce ice cream here at the plant. I bought a small container of cheese spread to enjoy with the crackers I bought earlier in the day and a few ice cream scoops.

Again, I'm the only moron headed north as far as I can tell. I saw seven southbound riders during my travels and stopped to talk with four of them. The first two I met early in the day. They are riding a Rans tandem recumbent with panniers. The second two I met very late in the day at the Tillamook Cheese Factory. They were at the bike rack when I came out of the building and we talked for a while. They are both elementary teachers from California and are heading south along the coast for a few weeks.

There's another thing that's unusual about Oregon. Like New Jersey, there are no self–service gas stations here. An attendant has to do all the fuel dispensing.

I saw a fourth Honda Insight today. This one has Oregon plates which means they have to pay the hybrid vehicle registration fee. This fee is higher than the regular fee. Legislators here in Oregon figure that since the hybrids don't generate as much gas tax revenue they need to make up the difference with higher registration fees. What backward thinking!

I wish I could count the number of Ford Explorers, Expeditions and Excursions on the road. It would be great if just 1% of these drivers would switch to the Honda Insight or another hybrid.

Food: Wheat Thins (1260 Cal.), Tillamook sharp cheddar spread (350 Cal.), fresh plum, chocolate chip cookie, pint chocolate milk (380 Cal.), cream filled chocolate frosted donut, glazed donut stick, 12 oz. cappuchino, hamburger in garden, fries, 20 oz. orange Slice, a dozen dried apricots, pt. grapefruit juice (260 Cal.), package of ramen noodles (360 Cal.), 2 scoops Tillamook marionberry pie ice cream in a waffle cone, trail mix (300 Cal.)

Camping: $12.00