And, then we went off for a 3-day bike tour! On a tandem, even!! Although we had a great time on this massive, borrowed bike, I don't think we're going to actively look for a touring tandem any time soon. As the stoker I got to look around at all the marvelous sights, including Steve's back.

Climbing mountains on a tandem was a slow, arduous task. Ira repeatedly climbed out of sight in front of us, then waited patiently at the summit for us to lumber through. The payoff, though, was a fast-paced descent. At times Ira was working his ass off in the big ring to keep pace with our rig. "Express elevator to hell" is how Steve described it. I had vague memories of a roller coaster ride.
















The first night we spent in the Tillamook State Park. It was beautifully mossy and moist. So moist we couldn't get a fire going that night, but the next morning Steve & I awoke to find Ira successful in an attempt at a blaze. Best Tuesday ever! We had a wholesome breakfast of oatmeal and coffee and regained our heat around the fire. Just down the hill was a creek that we were happy to access for cooking and washing water.







The second night was a total reversal in terms of comfort. Steve & I had decided to go soft and rent a cabin, and, oh my, it was great. Even though there was zero hot water when we each had our showers, the three of us were still giddy with delight to have a hot plate on which we fried some garlic bread. We took said bread down to the beach with some wine and walked in bliss.





























The third and final day of our trip started well with more oatmeal and coffee in the cabin. It was misty for the first couple hours, then the sky made way for some sunshine. We stopped for second breakfast at Alice's Restaurant (yeah, it's over the top) and ate soooo much food. Try putting eggs and hash browns in your gas tank!






















We made one more snack stop before the final push home and devoured some funky "performance" "food." When we got back to PDX Mary & Mike fed us well, and we slept like kitties.