Day 2 – The Lone RiderS?

Starting the day in Woodland, the plan was to have breakfast, get into cycling clothes and drive south to Vancouver, WA. Once there, we would park a few miles from where a bike trail would lead us to where we would ride our bicycles between the North and Southbound lanes of I 205 that connects Vancouver across the Columbia river to Portland, OR. (Click to view our route).

By 9:45 am, we were on the bikes, ready to cross the Columbia river to Portland. Mike had done this about 40 years ago and kept commenting that it was not what he remembered. I remembered that it would be mostly downhill on the way and uphill on the return.

It was an easy glide across the river, with views of Mt. Hood, the Columbia river, and the incoming planes to PDX. When we made it across, we turned back North to ride along the Columbia River and the airport.

Our experience along the river.

After going along the river past the airport, we explored the beach, then doubled back the way we came, except it was now uphill and against the wind. Besides Mt Hood, we found another hood.

After our return to Vancouver, we were ready for lunch. Mike chose Burger King, so I had a Whopper.

We packed up the bikes and started our drive to Tillamook. Along the way, I asked Mike to make a stop at what I thought would be a trip down memory lane as well as OR 6. On my 2019 ride from Canada to Mexico, we had been Warm Showers hosts to an Italian traveler named Marco Peccatori. Through a strange turn of events that started with me breaking a spoke on my front wheel outside Tillamook, I met Marco again at the Trask Mountain Cycle and General Store. (Click on the links for the back story). I was heartbroken to find that it had been converted to Lee’s Camp Store and had completely bit the dust. In this remote area you can’t get a cell signal. Mike found an old phone booth. To our amazement, it still gave a dial tone!