Our first night in the tent was far from pleasant although we learned a lot from our mistakes.

The first mistake was not preparing ourselves when it came to creating a makeshift pillow for the night. The second mistake was the fact that we didn’t prepare for the temperature to drop to the mid 30′s overnight. We tossed and turned through out the night and by the time the sun came up we were ready to pack up and hit the road.

To Cannon Beach!

My plan was to take it easy and see what the first 25 miles felt like on my knees. As it turned out, the ride was super flat and we we’re cruising at a good 15mph the entire first half of the day.

Lunch at Angelina’s

We stopped for lunch at Angelina’s in Seaside, OR and enjoyed every last bite of our sandwiches.

If you’re heading down the 101 past Seaside, be sure to stop into Angelina’s. I highly recommend the Chicken Parm!

Ecola Park

After lunch we pedaled on down the 101 to Cannon Beach and checked out Ecola Park. We stopped to ask two young women for directions to Ecola Park and they told us that we had just passed the road to get to it. They also told us that the road out to Ecola was smooth and flat. We laughed and joked about the fact that we were pushing our heavy bikes up the extremely hilly road out to Ecola Park. Straight? Flat? It was the complete opposite!

By the time we reached Ecola Park our legs were exhausted from pushing our bikes uphill. My bike felt a little weird and it wasn’t until I looked down that I noticed I had a flat tire. My first official flat tire of the trip and it has to happen as soon as we get all the way out to Ecola Park?

After inspecting the tire I found a tiny hole which I ended up patching up. I must say I did a damn good job considering it was my first time ever patching a tire. Thank you very much!

We rolled down the hill to catch a glimpse of what we hoped would be a beautiful view and a beautiful view it was.

While exploring Ecola I got a text from my friend Jaime who has a beach house out in Rockaway Beach, OR. She wanted to know if we were planning on heading down to Rockaway which was at this point about 30 miles away from where we were. We thought about it and after the smooth day we had so far we decided to give it a shot and pedal our way out to Rockaway Beach.

On our way we experienced our first tunnel of the trip. The coolest part about the tunnel is that there is a button for bikers to press at the beginning of the tunnel that turns on a set of caution lights for oncoming motorists letting them know that cyclists are riding in the tunnel.

A few miles after the tunnel we stopped off at this viewpoint right along the edge of the Oregon coastline.

We arrived in Rockaway around 7pm and waited for our friends Jaime and Tommy to arrive home. Once they arrived they showed us to our room, cooked up some pizzas and before we knew it was time for bed.

Day 6 was a really short day for us and a great test for my knees after taking a full day off of riding. Today our plan was to ride from Astoria, OR to Fort Stevens State Park.

This would be officially the first time our tires touched down on the Oregon Coast Hwy (Rt 101). The 101 is going to be a road we’re going to have to get mighty familiar with as it’s literally the one and only road that we’ll be cruising on for all of Oregon and even parts of Northern California.

We crossed the bridge from Astoria to Warrenton and stopped off at a Walgreens to pick up some knee braces to keep my knees in line for future rides. From there we cruised an easy 9 miles to the entrance of Fort Stevens State Park.

Fort Stevens State Park

I ran into the registration office and registered a hiker/biker campsite for us for the night. At $6/per person, you really can’t beat the value.

Right around the corner from the front office is the hiker/biker camp area of the park. We unloaded our bikes and slapped our tent up for the first time this tour.

After we secured all of our gear we headed out on the bikes to grab some food down at a local restaurant called Buoy 9. I made sure to ask around before going there and everyone seemed to say the same thing. Go to Buoy 9!

I ordered the Grilled Chicken & Ham Sandwich served on garlic bread and it was absolutely delicious.

The Peter Iredale Wreck

After lunch we spun back around and did some sightseeing inside of Fort Stevens. One of the coolest parts of Fort Stevens State Park is the Peter Iredale Wreck.

The Peter Iredale ran ashore on October 25, 1906 en route to the Columbia River and was abandoned on Clatsop Spit on the beach of Fort Stevens.

We spent some time snapping photos of the wreck and even shot some cool jump photos. Here’s my favorite one of Will jumping next to the wreck.

Once the sun set we headed back to camp and got some much needed rest. It wasn’t the most comfortable night of the tour, but it was definitely manageable. Tomorrow we plan on riding from Fort Stevens to Rockaway Beach, OR where we’ll spend a nice day off with our friends Jaime & Tommy.

We shacked up for the night in the Rivershore Motel, the cheapest of it’s kind in Astoria at $55/night.

I spent the night and most of day 5 heating, icing, and stretching the muscles in and around my knees. They started to feel a little better but I still didn’t know what they would feel like once I started to mash my pedals again. Then again, anything was better than the way they felt the night before. Imagine not being able to completely stretch your leg out without feeling like the IT band on the side of your leg was going to snap. I even had trouble walking. Yes, it was that bad.

Exploring Astoria

Knowing I had to stretch my legs and keep them moving so that they wouldn’t tighten up on me, Will and I headed out to grab lunch and explore Astoria. After an hour or so I headed back to the motel to rest up while Will headed up to take a closer look at the Astoria Column, Oregon’s highest point and a beacon which has served the Pacific Northwest for more than 80 years.

Afterwards, he headed to the house that was used in the filming of the Goonies. Mikey’s house to be exact!

Mikey's House from the Goonies

On the way back to the motel he stopped by yet another iconic movie location. The school that was used to film the movie Kindergarten Cop.

Astoria Elementary School

Tomorrow we plan on riding a short 10 miles to Fort Stevens State Park. It will be a good test to see how my knees are feeling on my first ride since injuring them. Stay tuned!

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.

Hello from Oregon!

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.

They see me rollin', they hatin'...

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.

View from Bradley

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.

Chicken & Beef Tacos for $1!

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!

Packing up the bikes and hitting the road!

We headed over to McDonalds and scarfed down the breakfast of champions before starting our long day of riding.

Centralia to Castle Rock, WA

Our plans for the day was to get from Centralia to Castle Rock, WA. The ride was a little less than 40 miles but considering we weren’t sure how many hills we would encounter along the way we thought that Castle Rock might be the perfect place to plop down our tent and spend the night.

As it turned out, the scenery, weather and the ride was the best we’ve had to date. The sun was shining, and the roads were relatively flat for most of the ride. We chatted as we rode side by side past old farms and endless fields in the distance.

Farms, fields and Llamas

At one point during the ride we rode past this really interesting looking dome shaped home in the middle of nowhere.

The last 15 miles of our ride to Castle Rock we cruised along winding roads through a forest that we cannot seem to find the name of on a map.

Tall trees, winding roads and waterfalls

After cruising through the forest we stumbled upon this big opening in the trees to our left. No trespassing signs were posted but there was no way we were going to miss out on snapping a few photos of Mt St. Helens in the distance.

Will snapping a few photos of Mt St. Helens

Horses were grazing at the edge of the road as we pedaled on to Castle Rock, WA

Photos courtesy of Will!

Welcome to Castle Rock!

When we arrived in Castle Rock, WA all we wanted to do was eat. We figured we would stop into the town hall before lunch and ask them if there was any place to camp in the area. I walked into the office and chatted with a few of the secretaries about places to throw down our tent but nothing really came of it. The end of the conversation was more about where we were from, where we were headed and so on. I headed upstairs to the police station to ask but they were closed. Closed?

We jumped back on our bikes and headed south until we came across Lions Den Park. We parked our bikes and enjoyed a few sandwiches along the edge of the river.

Since there was nowhere to really camp in Castle Rock, we decided to push on towards Long View (12 miles). We contacted a few hosts in Long View on WarmShowers before taking off and within 5 minutes, we had ourselves a host!

Castle Rock to Long View

The ride from Castle Rock to our hosts house in Long View wasn’t too bad. It was relatively flat up until the end of the ride. I started to feel a very light aching sensation on the inner part of my knee caps but I didn’t feel as if it was something I should worry about.

By the time we reached our WarmShowers host, we were exhausted. As soon as we pulled in the driveway we were immediately greeted by Laura and shown to our bed for the night.

Laura’s husband Clark arrived home from work about 30 minutes after we had settled in. We spent a few hours chatting about bicycle touring over some pizza and drinks.

Before we knew it, it was time for bed again. Tomorrow our goal is to cross the Lewis and Clark bridge into Oregon and make our way west to Astoria, OR

As usual, wish us luck!

—

Note:  We would like to send out a BIG THANKS to the Carroll family for hosting us and feeding us. You guys rock!

We spent an hour or so chatting over breakfast before Alan had to hit the road. We managed to squeeze in one last photo with Alan before we took off.

Before he left he peeked back in the door and said “Don’t forget… you guys can stay an extra night if you’re feeling too tired today!” As much as we would have loved to stay, we had a full day of riding ahead of us so it was time to hit the road. By the time we headed out it was around 11:00AM.

Today our mission was to get to Centralia, WA. It was a big feat at just over 60 miles and our biggest day of the trip so far.

Once we hit 20 miles on the day we pulled over to the side of Route 8 East and ate a really nice bagel sandwich that Alan, our Warmshowers host made for us in the morning.

After lunch we headed down Route 8 East to Route 12 East towards Centralia. Once we hit 50 miles, I started to feel like a zombie. I’m not sure why though because I did my best to stay hydrated as much as possible. The only thing I can think of is that I didn’t eat enough during the day.

We pushed on the next 12 miles to Centralia and I couldn’t have been more relieved to have hit our goal for the day. My ass was so bruised from the ride that I was having trouble sitting down. I stumbled into Subway and pounded down a 12″ meatball sub followed by a large chocolate milkshake from McDonalds. Later, we found out that we had burned right around 3500 calories on the day thanks to MapMyRide stats.

After we ate, our next goal was to find a place to sleep. We thought that we could whip out our tent but the area was a little too populated. Our option was to either sneak into the woods behind the Safeway grocery store in Centralia or grab a Motel 6 for the night. With a rate of $43/night incl taxes, we simply couldn’t pass up a night in a comfy bed at the local Motel 6.

Turns out, our decision to stay at the Motel 6 was one of the best decisions we’ve made thus far. Well, other than our decision to visit Castle Staudinger, that is. A nice comfy bed and a hot shower was the perfect solution to our pain.

The next morning we woke up and felt so energized. Our next goal is to get to Castle Rock, WA! Only a few more days and we’ll be crossing the border of Washington and Oregon! Wish us luck…

• First ever bicycle tour
• First day of riding
• First crash
• First host using WarmShowers
• First 50 mile day

Saying our Goodbyes

We started our first day on tour bright and early. By 7:00AM we were just about ready to roll. Loading up the bikes only took a few minutes and before we knew it we were hitting the road.

Ready to rock our first day on tour...

Chris & Tawny sent us off in perfect fashion by waving goodbye and actually following us up the road with video camera in hand. How could you not love these guys?

The First Ten

The first ten miles of our trip was a mixed bag of downhills, straightaways and what seemed like never ending uphill battles. After the first couple of miles we pulled over quickly to throw on some gloves. We’re so glad we packed our gloves because our hands were frozen from the wind on the downhills.

As soon as we hit the 10 mile mark, we pulled over to refuel our bodies with an apple and some much needed water. We thought to ourselves… “only four more of these ten mile stretches to go!” Before taking off, we scarfed down a SOYJOY bar for some much needed protein.

There's only ONE WAY and it's the hard way!

Mile 20, 25…

After our 10 mile pitstop, mile 20 came pretty quickly. We stopped for lunch around mile 25. Our legs were feeling the pain so we decided to pull over and slap together a few peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on the side of Route 3 South.

The Crash

Somewhere around mile 30 is when Will took his first real crash. I was quite a ways ahead at the time and as I was pushing up the last part of a hill, I heard Will shout to me. By the time I could pull over on the side of the road and look back, he had already gathered his bike and pulled along the edge of the road.

I ran down to him to make sure he was alright, thankfully he was. His leg was scraped and his shoulder was in some pain but other than that he had no real injuries. Considering he went over the handlebars, he’s lucky to have not seriously injured himself. Thankfully no cars were coming up behind him at the time because he spilled into the one lane road during the crash.

The bad part was that the clips that run along the back of one of his pannier saddlebags broke completely off during the crash.

Left clip snapped off!

I was able to rig up the pannier with a bungee cord so that it would hold the weight but I’m not too sure how long he will be able to ride with it like that.

Will's bike is on the left. The bungees are holding up surprisingly well...

The problem is that the stores most likely won’t stock parts for his Ortlieb Panniers, so he has two options at this point. One option would be to order a clip from Ortlieb directly and have it shipped to a future destination or attach the pannier permanently to the rack with some cable ties. We’re thinking he will go with the latter but we’ll see what happens.

The Final Stretch

By mile 40 we were hitting some seriously long hills. Each pedal stroke was another stroke closer to our final destination. We whipped through downtown Shelton and headed straight for our first ever WarmShowers host of the trip.

What is WarmShowers?

For those who don’t know what WarmShowers is all about, imagine CouchSurfing for cyclists. It’s a community of bicycle tourists who host cyclers that need a warm shower and maybe even some hot food or a roof over their heads. It’s not just a way to score free accommodation but it’s also a way to meet like minded people from around the world who enjoy bicycle touring.

Our First WarmShowers Host

Our first host of the trip is Alan from Shelton, WA.

As soon as we arrived at Alan’s house we jumped in the car and headed down to the local grocery store to grab some food for dinner. We settled on hamburgers and after a short afternoon nap, we threw the burgers on the grill and chatted about the best routes for us to take in order to get us out to the coast of Washington.

After dinner, Will and I spent 45 minutes soaking in the hot tub in Alan’s yard.

It was everything we needed and more after a long day of riding. We’re totally spoiled here at Alan’s. Imagine if we could plop ourselves into a hot tub every evening after our ride?

Conclusion

Overall, I’d say we had a great first day (minus Will’s crash) and a few minor issues along the way. The weather was cooler in the morning but the sun is still shining as we speak. We couldn’t ask for better weather out here in Washington this time of year, that’s for sure. I was surprised at the mileage we put in for our first day considering we didn’t train for the tour. Our legs were really feeling it but the hot tub eased some of our pain.

Tomorrow morning we will chow down on some blueberry pancakes courtesy of Alan and then pack up and hit the road for another 40-50 mile day. Well, at least we hope…

Good morrow ladies and gentlemen!

We spent day and night mastering our weapons training during our recent visit to Castle Staudinger. Follow along with us as we learn to arch, throw spears and perfect the art of throwing hatchets at our enemies.

Credits: Captain & Clark

Join me as I take a behind the scenes tour of Castle Staudinger with host Captain Chris Staudinger.

This modern day 15th century castle boasts two spiral staircases imported from Europe, a library full of hand written books, an armory of 14 weapons which are accessible when ever the realm requires them.

During our stay at Castle Staudinger, we learned to play our first ever game of The Settlers of Catan. The fire was blazing as we sipped our mead and held down the fort.

NEXT: You’ll get an insiders look at the intense medieval weapons training that went down during our stay at Castle Staudinger. Stay tuned my friends.

Big thanks to Captain & Clark for hosting us in Washington!

Hitting the road…

Our morning started off with a delicious home cooked omelet that really set the tone for the day.

We packed up the car and headed East on a six hour road trip out to Spokane, WA.

Crossing the Narrows Bridge

Along the way Chris told us stories about all of the topless coffee shops in the area. Believe it or not, there are actual topless coffee shops all over the place here in Washington. With names like Sexpresso, and Brewlesque and  Cowgirls Espresso – How can you go wrong?

Throughout the ride we shared stories of our travels and laughed like never before. Will and I are so glad we decided to come hang out with Chris and Tawny. These guys have been outrageously accommodating and we all happen to share the same personality traits so we feel as if we have all been best friends when in reality I just knew of Captain and Clark from the travel blogging world prior to flying out here.

Cruising through the Cascades

We made a few stops along our journey. Our first stop was in Vantage, WA at the Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park. The park itself wasn’t anything spectacular to look at but the views overlooking the Columbia River were incredible to say the least.

Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park

Our next stop just across the bridge from the Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park was the Wild Horse Monument. After a quick hike up some fairly rocky terrain, we arrived at the top and found fifteen lifelike horse sculptures made out of welded steel plates.

Hiking up to Wild Horse Monument

As soon as we arrived at the top we were all running around like little kids trying to find the best horse for a photo op.

Steel horses run wild...

Since I couldn’t choose just one, I’m going to show you some of my favorite photos from Wild Horse Monument below.

Chris

Ryan

Will

After going wild at Wild Horse Monument, we jumped back in the car and drove the last two hour stretch to Spokane. A lot of the ride was filled with fields and puffy clouds and one big blue sky.

Approximately two hours later, we arrived at the home of the Staudingers (aka Chris’s House) and boy were we in for a surprise. What ever you do, DO NOT miss out on my next post…