Warrenton, OR to Manzanita, OR - 40 miles
On Monday evening, we bought the boys each a Camelback. We discovered early on in the trip that Tanner does better if he can dedicate all of his attention to riding and not accessory activities like taking a drink of water. His water bottles are conveniently located inside his frame, but we try to stop every 2 miles so that he can get a drink of water without taking his focus off of riding in a straight line. Stopping every 2 miles makes for a long day, so we thought that the Camelback might speed up our progress. Backfire! He can now safely take a drink while riding, but consequently he drinks too much. Now, with 2 liters of water on his back, we have to stop every 2 miles so that he can relieve himself.
Today we crossed through our first tunnel. Now that we are on the official Oregon Coast Bike Route, there are typically wider shoulders and more signs warning drivers of cyclists on the roadways. Another perk is the tunnel button. Before entering the tunnel, a cyclist pushes a button on the side of the road that turns on flashing lights above the tunnel entrance. The lights illuminate a sign that warns of cyclist in the tunnel and requiring vehicles to slow to 30 mph. Very nice! I wondered how long the lights flash? As the tunnel was uphill and we were going as slow as we were, I hoped that we wouldn't still be in the tunnel when the lights decided that we should be done. We made it through without incident and took a picture on the other side with the lights still flashing in the background.
I have now been to the Oregon coast 3 times in my life - twice in early spring and this time in the fall. I'm sure it's probably sunny and warm in the summer time, but my opinion of its foggy, chilliness is nearly solidified. Washington was warm during the day, but cold over night, while Oregon is a steady cool temperature. Even with all the moisture, we have been blessed to not have to ride in the rain or loose any riding days to rain. We have had rain twice, but only over night.
