Weather was mostly cloudy, high's in the low 60's, with occasional drizzle.
In Astoria we stayed with our friend Cassandra (thanks Cassandra)who is a journalist at the local paper, The Daily Astorian. She showed us around town, took us out for beers, and regaled us with tales of crooked port directors. Astoria was as darling as you would expect a little town on the Columbia River Estuary to be, and maybe then some.
The day started with a minor disaster when Silas broke a pedal just outside of Astoria. Instead of turning around, he decided to be stubborn and pedal on a broken pedal for the remainder of the day. However, the minor disaster was followed by a wonderful omen as a bald eagle circled overhead during our first break of the trip near Gnat Creek Fish Hatchery.
The rest of the day was ups and downs...and ups and downs...and ups, ups, ups. Our final eight miles was gradual ascent into St. Helens that just wouldn't quit. We'd been feeling good and confident all day, but at the top of that hill the 70 miles caught up pretty quick. We stumbled (it's hard to stumble on a bike, but I assure you it can be done) around the corner and collapsed in a Mexican restaurant to celebrate our first day with burritos, margaritas, and beer. Then we rolled down the road to the city park and crashed for the night.
Thanks to Elizabeth for these pictures.
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