Fire Station > Willapa Bay KOA: 93 Miles
View Bicycling directions to Bay Center/Willapa Bay KOA, Bay Center Road, Bay Center, WA in a larger map
Actual Distance Ridden: 94.92 miles
Ride Time: 8 Hours, 24 mins.
Average Speed: 11.2 mph
As I noted before in Day1, I was woken up at the fire house to all number of fire drills and other firefighter activities. I got up, planned the route, packed and headed on without much pomp and circumstance at all. Basically a wave goodbye to and from the firefighters as I hopped on my bike...
Ride Time: 8 Hours, 24 mins.
Average Speed: 11.2 mph
As I noted before in Day1, I was woken up at the fire house to all number of fire drills and other firefighter activities. I got up, planned the route, packed and headed on without much pomp and circumstance at all. Basically a wave goodbye to and from the firefighters as I hopped on my bike...
According to the original map, the route was going to be about 87 miles, but what I didn't do (again) was look at a topo map or elevation profile (I also missed a couple turns that added miles). I encountered a pretty stiff head-wind too for about 25 miles which killed my average speed, much like the bike paths leaving Seattle, except more demoralizing. I wound up riding into the night for the second day in a row and I'm pretty resolute that I don't want to do that anymore, at least not on this trip. Night riding is fun and relaxing in general when you know your way around but you start being your own worst enemy when you can't see beyond 5 feet on either side of the road and don't know the area. You can't see anything and it's extremely difficult to judge distance or place. Repeatedly I thought I was lost, but I really just hadn't gone far enough. That is depressing beyond explanation…
A public reading of Huck Finn. So after leaving the firehouse, I made my way about 7 miles to the next little town, Tumwater. It was big enough to have a Starbucks though and I stopped in for about 45 mins to charge my phone, solidify the route, and for breakfast #2. This is also where I met Mark Twain.
Oink. From there, I jumped on the 101 and then to the 8 and this is where that horrendous headwind began. It was an onshore wind headed due East and I was going just about due West. Along Hwy 8, I started getting hungry and just happened to pass Ranch House BBQ, a BBQ place about that time. (INSERT PIC OF BBQ) The lesson learned here was that I shouldn't eat acidic foods and then try to continue riding decently hard immediately after. I wound up with some heartburn that would last for the next two days. The pork sandwich was great though, and stopping was a terrific idea because I didn't see another food stop for another like 20+ miles.
I continued along the 101 and this is the part that got bad. Before this point, the scenery was mainly farmland, much like you'd see around middle TN. From this point on, I was amidst pine tree logging grounds which sounds picturesque (and may be in retrospect) but it looked like it had been leveled by a gigantic tornado earlier in the year. And it was HILLY! Holy cow was it hilly. I probably averaged 5-6mph through this section in my easiest gear. This hilly part couldn't have come at a more inopportune time, after the hours-long headwind and after 65 miles. Ouch.
I finally start descending for a while into the town of Raymond which was cute in the "yeah, this town is small and deserted" kind of way. I stopped at a convenience store for a chocolate milk to hopefully sooth my heartburn and just because it sounded good. It was also dinner time. I did a not-so-quick Google search for good pizza places in-town (not-so-quick due to the terrible internet coverage) and headed toward one that shared my name, Patrizzio's. It was closed. Figured. But next door was a Mexican place! The burrito I got was gigantic and I took the rest to go for later.
The last leg of the journey was not the most difficult, but maybe the most annoying. The next little settlement of a town was South Bend, about three miles from Raymond. I stopped for about 20 mins for some picture taking along the Willapa river since it was dusk, but that just delayed my progress as much as the hills of Pre-Raymond did. I chose to stick to the straighter main road, instead of taking the twisty scenic route. I couldn't see anything anyway at this point so it really didn't matter and I knew I wouldn't get lost following the 101. And like I said before, every time I thought I was lost or unsure of my route, I simply hadn't gone far enough. The darkness seems to make distance grow, which stinks because the weight of the bike makes progress slow enough.
I finally start descending for a while into the town of Raymond which was cute in the "yeah, this town is small and deserted" kind of way. I stopped at a convenience store for a chocolate milk to hopefully sooth my heartburn and just because it sounded good. It was also dinner time. I did a not-so-quick Google search for good pizza places in-town (not-so-quick due to the terrible internet coverage) and headed toward one that shared my name, Patrizzio's. It was closed. Figured. But next door was a Mexican place! The burrito I got was gigantic and I took the rest to go for later.
The last leg of the journey was not the most difficult, but maybe the most annoying. The next little settlement of a town was South Bend, about three miles from Raymond. I stopped for about 20 mins for some picture taking along the Willapa river since it was dusk, but that just delayed my progress as much as the hills of Pre-Raymond did. I chose to stick to the straighter main road, instead of taking the twisty scenic route. I couldn't see anything anyway at this point so it really didn't matter and I knew I wouldn't get lost following the 101. And like I said before, every time I thought I was lost or unsure of my route, I simply hadn't gone far enough. The darkness seems to make distance grow, which stinks because the weight of the bike makes progress slow enough.
I finally made it to the KOA campground around 11:30pm, which was 2.5 hours later than anticipated. What was funny (to me) about the last stretch of riding was that I told myself, "oh, I'll get to the campground by the time it's actually dark." This eventually turned into, "Well, maybe I'll get there by the time the Moon sets." I said that to myself jokingly, but in actuality, I barely made it before the moon did set. At camp, I did the whole late-night registration thing, showered to clean and warm up, pitched camp and went to bed… after eating more of my Mexican left overs.
Another hard day in the bag and I was finally out on the coast! But boy, I didn't really enjoy that ride…
Things learned this day:
Currently tunes: Pretty Little Angel Eyes by Curtis Lee
Another hard day in the bag and I was finally out on the coast! But boy, I didn't really enjoy that ride…
Things learned this day:
- Trust that gut feeling when it tells you to stop, like at the BBQ place. So far this hasn't steered me wrong.
Currently tunes: Pretty Little Angel Eyes by Curtis Lee
Figuring out the night registration at the KOA campsite
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