Day 55, Astoria at last!

Day 55, Cape Lookout State Park, OR – Astoria, OR 77 miles (4250 total)

August 4, 2008

Time on bike: 7:19:04

Avg: 10.5

Daily Ascent: 3566 ft (46 ft/mi)

Elevation at days end: 0 ft

Max: 34.5 mph

Astoria at last! The last day of the trip. 77 miles to Astoria. The day was tough. 2 flat tires. A total of 6 flat tires in the past 4 days. There was a great deal of traffic along highway 101 and a lot of glass in the shoulder. I ran over nails and staples in the road. On a positive note, I did run into my friends Melody and Morgan who were driving the support car for John and Little John, the 12 year old boy and his father who were biking the trip. I hadn’t seen them since Baker City, OR and hadn’t talked to them since Wyoming. John and John were 15 miles ahead of me.

I was going to stop for lunch but I was just 25 miles from Astoria and I couldn’t bring myself to stop with just over 2 hours of biking to go, so I pushed ahead. I thought I’d be ok but about 10 miles out I started to crash from lack of energy. I came around the last turn and saw the bridge that was going to take me into Astoria. Just as I reached the foot of the long bridge I stopped. Another flat tire! I debated for a moment whether to fix the flat or just walk the bike in. I opted to walk. I limped into Astoria like a wounded soldier returning from battle. Hungry and tired, I looked for a place to eat. I had hoped for a nice big order of baby back ribs. Instead, I walked my injured bike to Diary Queen and ordered a double cheese burger, chicken sandwich, fries, a coke and a hot fudge Sunday.

My friend, Amber Smith, drove down from Washington with her mom and aunt to meet me in Astoria. We went to the Astoria sign to take some pictures as well as to the beach. It was really incredible to have someone in Astoria to meet me upon my finish. It was a great ending to a really great trip.

In my last blog I’ll touch on the highlights of the past 55 days of the trip.