May 13, day 10 Garibaldi to Pacific City

May 13, day 10 Garibaldi to Pacific City

Starting odo 6548

It's supposed to be nice today, and it's starting off very nice. The
coastline is very scenic as I go through Garibaldi and along the
coast.

I camped at the county park last night. It was pretty nice except that
I don't like coin showers. The camping fee is only $5 for
hiker/bikers. You could hear the roar from the beach waves.

When I get to Tillamook, you can really tell that this is a dairy
town, I can smell it as I come out of the Fred Meyers mega store.
Across the street is the Tillamook Cheese factory.

Heading out of Tillamook, I elect to do the longer scenic loop. It is
scenic, but not as much as I expected, or maybe it's simply that the
hills are just too much to justify the scenery - I have seen? just as
good with less climbing.

And just how much climbing was that?  I have to confess that looking
at the contour map is disappointing, as it says the first hill was
only about 450 feet over (I'd guess) a mile and a half. Near the end
of the day, the last hill of note was about 840 feet over two+ miles.
So ya know, it just doesn't sound like such a big deal. There were
perhaps five hills of that size. (actually two, it just felt like 5)
Still, these hills put me solidly into first gear, 36x28. Coming down
I was not able to go full speed because the road was too rough, and
some of the corners were too tight - and rough to boot.

On the last hill, about half way up I came upon a scenic overlook
where two hang gliders were getting ready to launch off the cliff. It
really seems a breathtaking act to me. Some people say to me that
riding my bike from Canada to Mexico is crazy, but it seems ordinary
compared to what these guys are doing.

Finally, I get to Pacific City, and the Pelican Pub and Brewery. Since
I haven't eaten since breakfast, and its now about five, I am ready to
stop. I get the sampler tray, but I'm not gung-ho about them except
for the IPA and stout, and maybe the mead. They  are well made but not
as intense as I expect. Too refined, perhaps?

I spend a lot of time checking out the camping options on the map.
Most of them are one mile north of Pacific City, so that means I'll
have to backtrack. I don't like that, so I decide to do the county
park a bit farther down the road. As I leave, I notice that some of
those places I thought were going to require backtracking are right
across the street!  I end up at a county park across the street for
$5.  Later, after showering, I go back to Pelican for a stout,
chowder, and dessert... And dessert. Hey, they have good desserts!

Tomorrow, it is supposed to rain, so I might be staying over here in
Pacific City.