Cannon beach to Tillamook

Day 2. 40ish miles. Fun in the sun!

Last night I camped next to 2 Canadians, Missy, a nurse, and Kyle, a garbage man. They are on their way down to California for some mountain biking and relaxation. It was good to have friends at the end of the day to chat with.

Today was awesome! The weather was perfect, and by mid day I was in a t shirt and a vest. I got to work on my tan a bit, so now my tan lines are looking funny. Loving it.

After I got beyond Manzanita, the terrain became much flatter and closer to sea level. The miles preceeding had been much hillier and way high above the ocean.

After a long break in Manzanita, I cruised on to Tillamook, but not without a stop at DQ for some soft serve first. A girl has got to eat her ice cream! Of course I was a spectacle, that seems to be the trend. I'm on a popular route, aren't the locals used to traveling cyclists yet?

I took a tour of the Tillamook cheese factory and stuffed my face on cheese samples; my favorite was the smoked one. I may have taken more than a few cubes.

Once I left the scene of my cheese binge, I passed a gas station where the "Strawberry Ladies" were selling the first pick of the season. I chatted them up and then asked how much a pint was, and they said, "For you, free for being brave!" Ha! Grandmas love me. The berries are a bit tart, but are so fresh and delicious. They go great with my dark chocolate peanut butter.

I'm at a super lame campground of rv's and I'm the only cyclist. There's some resident cats, and a toothless caretaker. The showers are 50 cents for 3 minutes, so I spent a buck. To quietly give the middle finger to this lame place, I did my laundry in the sink. I should be in corvallis in 2 days and can wash clothes then. Hooray! And boo for all of this paid camping. The only thing good about this place are the intersting birds flying about. One has been hanging out by me for a while now, bedding down in the gravel and singing his chirps.

Tomorrow I am heading out early so I can get in 60 miles. I want a short day into Corvallis the next day. Let's hope tomorrow isn't a major challenge, I will start to head away from the coast, which probably means hills. Lactic acid, here I come!