As is to be expected, I missed a turn coming out of Tillamook, so did not ride the full Three Capes route, but did cover quite a bit of the area (i.e., hills). Had an early lunch in Oceanside ... what an incredibly beautiful beach town area.
The ride up and over the Cape Lookout area was extreme, but I felt pretty good upon reaching the summit. Funny that it is only about an 800' elevation gain (minor when compared with the weekly rides up Mt. Lemmon), but quite the workout. Throw in the game of proper attire ... put on the rain gear/take off the rain gear/put on the rain gear/take off ... and so it went.
Very exhilarating ride down the back side and a comfortable finish into Pacific City ... about 35 miles for the day.
Met two young ladies in Pacific City who are on a cross-country trek riding the TransAm route. What an adventure they are on. This is their first outing, and they seemed to have the common emotions of excitement and uncertainty. I told them I would try to connect them via email with Patrice ... Patrice rode the TransAm last summer along with McKinley. Patrice had put together a video of her trek, and I thought Haylee and Hayden (the two young ladies I met) might get some insight into what is out there in front of them.
Later in the afternoon I received a phone call from Kim ... was oh so good to hear her voice. We shared memories and laughs about last summer's ride. The conversation really brightened my day.
Speaking of brightening ... the sun is out.
In addition to gears being good ... the sun is also good.
Randy, Nice to see you are out on the road again - I wish you the best. Gary just started his tour from Jacksonville this morning, so those of us stuck in AZ for the summer can now follow you both. Your writing is excellent, as usual.
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