Day 6 From the Road

This is our first update since actually starting to pedal down the road. Day 6 finds us holed up in a cheap motel in Astoria Oregon, with the rain coming down, down, down. As it did all day yesterday while we pedaled from Knappa, OR, a distance of 15 miles. So far we have stayed on private property through the kindness of strangers 3 times. The first was on our first night out in a pasture owned by Dorothy, not far from Castle Rock, WA. The second was on our third night out, which turned out to be a very nice floathouse on Puget Island. The third was in a grass covered lot next to Loggers Restaurant in Knappa, OR. on our fifth night. A nice lady in a restaurant overheard us asking about a place to camp and volunteered her property.

Today in Astoria is the first time we have used a motel. We felt we needed to get dryed out after arriving in town soaking wet, plus we needed to get an internet connection to update the blog. The other nights we stayed in a publicly operated campground (County Line) and then in a private camp in Cathlamet.

Riding in the rain yesterday, my rainsuit failed miserably. It was an old one though, so I feel justified in purchasing a new one today in Astoria. Plus, I need to look at ways to try to keep the water from splashing up from my front wheels when I hit a puddle... Maybe I can zip-tie some plastic panels to deflect water... We will be here in Astoria for at least one more night, as Candy's daughter Kem and grandaughter Kristiina want us to attend church with them on Sunday, for some kind of special event.

To all of our friends and family reading our blog, we are in good spirits in spite of the necessity of riding in the rain. We plan to push on down the Oregon Coast no matter the weather. What we are finding out is that riding in the rain is actually less stressful heat-wise than riding in warm sunny weather. We will try to post some pictures later today or tomorrow. Ron.