Update: Finally added some photos

Jane and I spent the weekend in Washington’s Mexico. We dropped of Chibi Friday morning and hit the road with our bikes in tow towards Portland.

We started things off right with a “Maximum Fun Tour” that had us hoping from one location to another (mostly involving food and drinks) on our bikes. There were some old favorites and some new to us joints that we ended up at. Jane made up a super ambitious list of 8 or 9 spots that we couldn’t quite finish. Considering we didn’t get in to town until 2pm (and the fact that it was raining all day), we did quite well. The list was as follows:

1. Kenny and Zuke’s – split a pastrami Reuben – amazing as usual
2. Powell’s Books – I don’t usually buy many books, but they get me here every time
3. Voodoo Donuts – Top Pot is still much better. Sorry kids.
4. Stumptown – Gotta let the donuts settle
5. Ping – Meat on a stick and some of the best ramen I’ve had in a while
6. Apex – Belgian beer and Giro on the TV. Not too shabby. The interior needs some work though.
7. Apizza Scholls… or not. Sold out of dough an hour and a half before they close. Lame. Probably didn’t need to eat more anyways. I’ve heard this is common for them. Here is an idea: MAKE MORE DOUGH EVERY NIGHT. You can have that one for free.

We drove out to see my mom’s new place in Tillamook from there. The drive was a little more annoying than I imagined it would be thanks to tight lanes and some fussy drivers over the Wilson River Highway. The trouble was worth it though. Their new house was a real stunner and located perfect for some killer bike riding. There was a fire trail literally out of their driveway up into the hills and a loop of the Oregon Coast 5 miles away. If only the weather would hold up.

We spent Saturday with the family doing a bit of this and that. We grabbed some ice cream at the Tillamook Cheese Factory just because we could. My mom drove us around a bit to some of her favorite towns and we ended up at the Pelican Brewery in Pacific City. I picked up a 32oz growler of one of their Belgian style beers. I’m finally starting to save up some bottles for my upcoming beer brewing project.

That night I went for a short solo ride up the fire trail to see where I would end up. I knew cell coverage was spotty, so I only planned on being out for an hour or so. I wasn’t able to get too far in, but I figured out that it goes quite far indeed. The trail went up and over a hill maybe 800 feet or so and bombs down into a valley with a river running nearby. It was stunning and peaceful. I don’t do enough of that kind of riding. It all felt a little sketchy on my rando bike with relatively slick tires, but I managed to keep the rubber side down. Bombing back down the hill into town was a butt clincher though. There were pot holes and large loose gravel threatening to push me over the edge towards a good sized drop. If only I had some reason to buy a mountain or cross bike…

Sunday morning, Jane and I suited up in our dolphin costumes and hit the road to ride along the Oregon Coast. We weren’t out as early as I would have liked (are we ever?), but it was soon enough to enjoy the long day anyways. Jane hasn’t had a ton of riding in for the year, so I knew this would be a challenge. There are at least 2 awesome climbs going up the Capes in the area.

She exceeded my expectations. On the first climb to Cape Meares, she was cursing my name (or so I imagine… I kept my distance). Once that first descent hit though, it all made sense. She was literally in tears from the beauty of it all. That loop is beyond amazing. I promised myself I wouldn’t use epic… (too late).

We took a stop in Oceanside to have some killer chowder at Roseanna’s Cafe. I’m sure we looked a little silly in the tap shoes while sweating all over the restaurant, but neither of us cared. It was nice to get some hot food.

We got back on the move shortly towards the largest climb of the day, Cape Lookout. If you check out the “Summary” tab here, it is that giant spike on the second half of the graph. Somewhere midway through, we stopped at a look-out point and Jane noticed that she had cell phone reception (for the first time on the ride). She used it as an excuse to drag out the stop and check her Facebook and Twitter. The kids these days, I swear.

Eventually we finished the climb and were treated to even more bad ass downhill action. The descending on this ride is just too fun.

We got back home around 5pm, just in time for me to cook up some dinner for the family as a thanks for putting up with us for the weekend.

Upcoming:

1. SIR 4 Pass 600K – It has been a while since I’ve climbed our local mountain passes. So excited!
2. Cascade 1240K – Holy moly…
3. SSCXWC10 – Why the hell am I signed up for this? I’ve never raced a day in my life. I don’t even have a bike for it yet. Peer Pressure. I need to start putting together a costume soon.