Day 7

Castle Rock, WA to Portland, OR
Distance 68.2 miles -- Cumulative 355.3
Time 5:21:21 -- Cumulative 28:10:01
Elevation Gain 1522 -- Cumulative 10,726

This morning picked up where yesterday afternoon left off, only cooler. Hi 50s and sunny skies. This afternoon topped out in the mid 70s. The first 12 miles also followed yesterday's terrain pattern.

I stopped for breakfast in Longview and then the ride got a little interesting. Longview is where I crossed the Columbia river into Oregon. The Lewis and Clark Bridge is two lanes with heavy traffic including lots of trucks. It does, however, have a shoulder three to four feet wide. In theory this is fine. In actuality, the shoulder is covered with wood chips and bark, presumably from the logging concern off to the right side of the bridge. I felt like I was riding through a kid's playground for the mile plus over the bridge. At points I had to stop and kick larger chunks of wood, and a really large McDonald's bag, off to the side. I stopped mid-span to take this picture, and to regroup.

After the bridge I followed State Route 30 all the way to Portland. It was two lanes for 20 miles then four lanes for the rest. It was busy but had a nice wide shoulder all the way so low stress riding. That is until I had to cross the St. John's Bridge into Portland--another adventure. It was not as long but had four lanes with a constant stream of traffic. It did have a sidewalk about three feet wide that was raised up about 18 inches. Imagine riding on a three foot wide ledge with a solid barrier to your right and a drop off to your left with cars going by at 55mph. Again I stopped for the photo.

I don't mean to be dramatic, but this was the only excitement of the day. Except for the giant inflatable spider on top of the Goodwill building outside of Scappoose. 

I think it's for Halloween.

At dinner I met Jean and her husband from Wisconsin. He is here for a Mason's convention. She told me that his grandparents were Norwegian immigrants who settled in Wisconsin and worked in the logging industry until it went bust. The fellow who owned the logging company was named Garland and had moved to Washington and started over in a town named Bucoda. She spelled it for me. She is working on a book about the grandparents and wanted a picture of Mr. Garland but couldn't find one in Wisconsin. She thought perhaps someone in Bucoda might have one. With my new found expertise in all things about the Pacific NW I told her I had ridden through Bucoda yesterday and had noticed signs for things named Garland. It's only an hour and a half away by car. She was nice; I hope she goes up while she is here. 

Tomorrow is a bit up in the air. I head east along the Columbia river. I want to do a little site seeing, particularly Multnomah Falls. I will probably only ride about 50 miles which will put me around Cascade Locks. We will see.