Day 32 - Bay City to Seaside

43 miles

We kept today’s ride short in anticipation of some big hills. Maybe we’re just getting stronger, but the hills weren’t nearly as tough as we thought they would be, and we finished the ride before noon. That gave us plenty of time to explore the town of Seaside and reflect on our first month of riding.

Some of our reflections:

• The one good thing about going north is that you start out climbing big hills in California, ride medium hills in Oregon, and cruise rolling hills in Washington.
• Headwinds are demoralizing and they suck.
• Logging trucks will run you over.
• Our bodies don’t hurt as much as we thought they would.
• We still don’t look like Lance Armstrong (yet).
• We definitely don’t have as much free time as we thought we would.
• The routine of cycling and camping is getting easier and more fun every day.

Day 31 - Rest in Bay City

We decided it was time for another rest day and wanted to treat ourselves with a nice breakfast in downtown Bay City. We rode into town only to find a post office, convenience store, and one open cafe. We weren’t expecting much, but as we sat down, one of the locals reassured us that we made a good choice. The food did not disappoint. It was made with love.

We all have been camping plenty of times before, but never in RV parks. RV parks are funny places. This one, in Bay City, has black life-sized plywood silhouettes scattered all over the park. They range from little girls playing, animals, and a headless horseman. They even have some in the shower stalls so that it looks like there’s someone peeking over the wall. Weird. We never know what to expect at RV parks.

Day 30 - Pacific City to Bay City

40 miles

We made today a short riding day in order to spend some time sightseeing. We stopped at the Tillamook Cheese Factory visitor’s center to sample cheese and watch part of the cheese packaging process. We like cheese.