Pacific Coast Bike Tour Day 4: Longview to Astoria

Surprisingly enough, we woke up all warm and cozy even though we had slept outside overnight here at our hosts house in Longview, WA. The temperatures dropped into the low 40’s overnight but our sleeping bags stayed true to their word and helped us sleep through the night.

We woke up early, had breakfast and packed up our gear for yet another day of riding. The fourth day straight to be exact. Our first three days were 50 miles, 62 miles, and 52 miles. We knew today’s ride was going to be a little tougher than the last few but we really had no idea what Oregon had in store for us.

Exiting Washington – Entering Oregon!

We left the Carroll’s house around 9:30AM and headed towards the Lewis & Clark bridge. The initial climb for the bridge was pretty tough but by the time we got to the middle, it was all down hill from there.

As soon as we made it to the other side of the Lewis & Clark Bridge, we looked to our right and realized that we had outrageously long hill ahead of us. It wasn’t until we started the ascent that we realized this hill was at least a mile and a half long. We pedaled on and took a few breaks along the way.

By the time we hit the top we were really relieved. That was until we hit the next hill, and the next hill and the next. Once we reached Clatskanie, we made a pit stop and ate our lunch on the side of the Safeway Grocery store in town.

The can return area on the side of the grocery store was quite popular today. An old lady pulled up with four dogs in the cab of her old pickup and proceeded to return giant bags of cans while the dogs secured the vehicle.

On to Astoria!

The minute we hopped back on our bikes, the inner areas of my knees were aching. We were facing 10-15mph headwinds so even in a easier gear, we were still pushing hard towards our next stop along Rt. 30 (Westport, OR).

By the time we arrived in Westport the pain in my knees had worsened. My left knee was now experiencing pain on both the inner and the outer edge (IT Band). I wasn’t sure what to do about the pain because there was nowhere we could setup camp for the night and I really wanted to try my best to make it to Astoria by the evening. We were taking breaks along the way but the high wind and the hills were killing us.

We had a little over 27 miles to go in order to get to Astoria. I knew I could do it, but at what cost? I told myself that I would walk my bike up the hills to relieve the pain in my knees. Once we started to climb Bradley, I was grimacing in pain. I stopped to take a 10 minute break, and told Will to pedal on past me. While he headed up Bradley, I resorted to pushing my bike. It was a long, heavy hike with logging trucks passing me at 70mph. I was tired, frustrated and hurting.

It probably took us an hour and a half to climb Bradley and once we arrived at the top we took a nice long break. Will took off up a trail to catch a glimpse of the view while I attempted to stretch out my legs and stay hydrated.

We pushed on another 18 miles through Svensen and finally down into Astoria. We were met with at least another 4 or 5 long hills along the way. I was in pain and we had no idea where we were going to be staying for the night as our attempts at finding a WarmShowers host didn’t work out. The ocean breeze was blowing and it was starting to get really cold.

We pedaled around the waterfront area and ended up at Hazel’s Tavern for $1 Taco Tuesday.

After finishing up a few tacos we headed down the shore and came across the Rivershore Motel for $55/night. We grabbed a room and called it a night. Yes, another night in a hotel that we didn’t really plan on but again it was worth every penny.

I plan on taking a day off tomorrow in order to rest up my knees as much as possible before hopping back on the bike.

If you have any tips for me when it comes to knee issues and long distance bicycle touring, please leave a comment below!

Today’s Mileage: 51 mi