Bicycling the Lewis & Clark Trail
Seaside, OR to Ilwaco, WA

Thursday, May 20, 2004
Distance Cycled: 42 miles
Vertically Climbed: 1,140 feet
Average Speed: 11.4 mph

We left Seaside in what looked like we could have rain and traveled north on Hwy 101. The road was flat and had good shoulders. The only problem was a headwind, which kept our speed down. We reached Astoria and stopped at a Dairy Queen for a snack before starting on the ride across the Columbia River via the Astoria Bridge. This is a high bridge and the grade on the approach to the bridge was between 5% and 6%. We also were fighting a headwind that was making white caps on the water. We were cycling about 10 miles per hour or slower for most of the 6.5 mile length of the bridge.

We reached the motel, took our panniers off the bicycle and headed to the Ilwaco museum. After the museum we rode our bicycles to Fort Canby. The road from Ilwaco to Fort Canby had several short hills with a grade of more than 10%. We worked hard to reach our destination, but enjoyed learning more about Lewis and Clark.

We bicycled back to Ilwaco, changed clothes quickly and walked to supper. While walking, George expressed the thought that he did not think that his rear wheel would last much longer and he and Jane would need to figure out some other way to get back to their auto. After much discussion during supper and an examination of the rear bicycle wheel, it was decided to ride the bicycle 7 miles to Chinook for breakfast to see if the wheel was going to last. If it gets worse then they could catch a bus to Astoria where they could purchase a new wheel and then figure out how to catch up with us or return to Troutdale where their auto is parked.