Big Ride - Day 4

Today was an amazing coastal ride from Nehalem to Lincoln City. The ride was only about 88 miles, but since it was over several coastal mountains, it felt more like 125!

After leaving Nehalem, we cruised south along the Three Capes coastal bike route past Girabaldi and Tillamook Bay. At about mile 26 we arrived at the Tillamook cheese factory. We spent about 40 minutes sampling cheese curds (squeeky cheese) and indulging in yogurt and other delicious dairy foods. It was much needed protein since our breakfasts to date have consisted of donut holes, bagels and oatmeal. Not a lot of protein to keep a body going on long riding days.

We continued on back along the water and did our first huge climb of the day - 11% grade in some places - and then had a scary descent on poorly maintained road.

One more climb took us to the top of Cape Lookout. I missed Nick at the top because he had turned off to see the view (which he never found) and cut his foot on his fender. By the time he finished patching it up, I zoomed over the top and was on my way down. He didn’t catch up to me until Pacific City.

On the way down from Cape Lookout though, we passed some amazing sand dunes that were held in place by pine forests. They were so big that most of us did a double take before realizing we were actually looking at sand, not just some open landscape.

Once out of Pacific City, it wasn’t too long before we hit our final big climb of the day - 2.3 miles on a road with a very narrow shoulder. The pavement was awesome on the descent. Most of us saw 40+ mph as we fearlessly peddled our hearts out just to stay warm.

A rolling few miles took us past the 45th parallel (halfway between the north pole and the equator) and into Lincoln City.

We had dinner at a little diner called Maxwells. I think I ate enough for three people! The pecan pie at the end was definitely worth it though

Tomorrow is a rest day - a much needed one at that!

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