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Day 2 complete! It was a long day of 70 miles. After leaving Manzanita the miles flew by: I felt good, the bike felt good, the shoulders were wide and traffic respectful. The night before I’d talked with some other riders about camping spots and many of them suggested Cape Lookout as a beautiful spot for the evening, so that was my immediate target. After the fastest 20 or so miles of my life I arrived in Tillamook, yes, the place where the cheese was from. Sure enough I passed a massive cheese factory/tasting room. The line was already out the door by the time I passed at 9:30 so I skipped it and headed into town. I found a farm supply and… cheese store (?) and bought some pepper jack and summer sausage. Pictures of this segment:

After Tillamook the ride really began. I left the major roads and joined a number of small back roads, including gravel roads:

This was likely the prettiest part of the ride so far, from the wild flowers to the clamming pools. The weather was perfect and the ride shaded. Minus one very steep gravel climb the riding was mostly flat. Like I said: perfect. 
At this point I reached Cape Lookout and had the aforementioned cheese and summer sausage. I was so hungry I just kind of ate them in giant bites, mashing them together in my mouth. I’m sorry to the family behind me that had to watch🤮. I also had a decision to make: stop for the day or try and push for farther. Cape Lookout was beautiful and had cheap $8 hiker biker camping. But it was only noon or so, and I felt good enough to keep going. Only problem was I had no idea where else I would spend the night. I spent some time researching and found cyclist only camping in Neskowin, about 25 miles further. I called and they were available, so I decided to push on.
The next part of the ride was tough. There was a gorgeous but difficult 900 foot climb through a  prehistoric looking forest:

After that there was a fantastic descent down into Sand Lake:

More flat, increasingly warm riding followed. I started feeling a sore butt around this time, which is a side effect of deciding to push onwards. 
There was one bright spot through the suffering, the Pelican Bar which emerged after a beautiful descent. I stopped and sat by the water as I ate a bbq burger. I’ll need to come back here and climb the sand dunes.

Feeling reinvigorated, but still with a sore butt (to the point that I rode the last several miles mostly standing up) I pushed on towards Neskowin. 
Arriving felt good after the rough day, particularly when I saw the house I was staying with. It was a beautiful beach house right on the water. The owner (hi Nancy!) allows cyclists to camp in the yard. I went swimming in the ocean and climbed a massive rock that was sitting right in front of the beach (Proposal Rock). A sandwich from the nearby trading post, some ice cream and some wonderful conversation with the owner and the tenants later and it was time for bed. See you tomorrow!

Miles: 70 or so

Consumption:

  • 2 cliff bars
  • Some trail mix
  • Chai tea
  • Muffin
  • Summer sausage
  • Pepper jack cheese
  • Bbq burger
  • Fries
  • MnMs
  • Turkey sandwich
  • Marion berry ice cream
  • 2 shot blocks
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