"The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain." - Dolly Parton

Thursday, June 7, 2012 (Day 1)
Comfort Inn, Beaverton, OR
Miles:  17   MPH:  12  Max:  29 

OMG!  Whose idea was this trip!!!  It was a torrential down pour and gusty winds all night.  We woke up in the middle of a swamp!!  After a few tears, we got a hold of ourselves and made a plan.  We ran with all our gear (took 5 trips!) up to a covered pavilion!  There we tried to dry off and pack things up.  We checked the weather and it looked like the rain wasn't going to quit for days!  We thought about staying put at the campground but decided to at least bike to the town of Tillamook!

Tire dip in the Pacific!

Dipped our rear tire in the Pacific and we took off in the pouring rain.  Pedaled up some hills of the Oregon Coastal Range as we headed along the Wilson River Highway.

Once in Tillamook, we met several homeless folks who thought we were homeless!  Bill gave us advice on how to find free hot showers and free meals!!  Jack bought him and his friend coffee and made a friend for life :-)  Bill has lived in a tent for 2 years now......he forgot to shut his flap last night, so he woke up in a pool of water.....Felt like a wimp after talking to him!!  

Deciding that we needed a hotel we set off for a Comfort Inn. Loaded our bikes on the Tillamook bus!  UGH!  First day and we are on a bus!  Very skimpy bike day, so we are already planning how to take a short cut to catch up :-)

The Comfort Inn is heavenly............. a looooooong hot shower, hair dryer, bed equipped with several pillows, laundry to dry all our wet things........we are so happy!!

Dinner at the Black Bear Diner

Looks like we'll be riding in the rain again tomorrow, but at least we'll start off dry.  We'll be heading through Portland on a bike trail!

Almost 11:00pm and I still need to make some updates to our rain covers for our bike bags! 

Love and miss you all at home!! xoxoxoxoxox