Where's the Ocean?

Not sure if this is an elongated pool or creek but I thought it looked quite pretty 

This is the kind of road we have been on most of the day. The shoulder on this one isn't rideable but a vehicle only came along very occasionally anyway 

There seems to be a trend to have agricultural machinery relics out front of properties. Usually its old land wheel driven sit on mowers but these folks have really gone to town - I think the one behind the tractor might be a muck spreader?

A highway with a rideable shoulder - they work well, except when people leave their wheely bins in them and there's an 18 wheeler bearing down behind!

This must be our biggest room ever in all the trips Steve and I have done together. Steve could fit his whole fleet of tandems in here and there would still be plenty of room for cat swinging 😉

No ocean views today, or saltwater of any kind – we have come a way inland. We should be alongside a tidal inlet again tomorrow afternoon. I did notice that the guidebook we are carrying mentions an alternative which is closer to the coast but that finishes on a long bridge with a very narrow bike lane into Astoria. I’m not sorry that we will miss that by flowing the official Adventure Cycling route and coming down the banks of the Columbia River, which we will cross on a short ferry ride tomorrow (please don’t let the ferry break down tomorrow afternoon!).

Anyhow, back to today – although we have not seen the coast the route has been very pleasant along tandem friendly roads. The land use has changed (quite abruptly) from mostly coniferous forests of yesterday, to a mix of farmland and deciduous woodland with the odd coniferous bit for good measure. The weather has been a bit slow to get going – it has been overcast and occasionally slightly misly for most of our ride and only after we have arrived has the sun put in an appearance! No complaints though, conditions have been good for riding. We have seen just two other bikes today - someone, presumably going to the shops, coming towards us on the 'wrong side' shoulder and a bike (not touring) heading the other way.

126km with 720m of ascent has brought us to Castle Rock (we are actually on a junction of interstate 5 – the motel and other services here have sprung up to serve people coming off the interstate).  I’ll walk into the town of Castle Rock for breakfast shopping later.

Don't forget our Justgiving page folks - it's a very worthy cause. 

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/graham-dore

Thanks for the contributions so far.

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