No subject

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 Saturday morning delivered the promised weather - rain.  None the
less, I left the Grand Lodge in Forest Grove just a few minutes after
6:00 am on the Three Capes Brevet Pre-Ride.  Passing through the still
sleeping town of Forest Grove, it seemed that each and every stop
light was red for me causing me to have a slow start for this brevet,
and they did serve as an indication of what was to come.

The back roads to the Wilson River Highway were quite in terms of
traffic, but busy at the dairies that I passed.  Farm workers do start
early!  The shrot section the  Wilson River Highway to Timber Road was
OK, but for me the rain moved from light to medium strength.  The
Timber Road climb is not difficult, until the last half mile, then it
becomes worthy.  Back on the Wilson River Highway, I slowly climbed up
to about 1,600 at the summit.  The warming of constuction on my
tentative queue sheet was not to be found.  Descending, the rain
became very heavy and water soon covered the road.  Cars were
splashing me as they passed and I was a bit unnerved.  However, as I
gained the plains nearing Tillamook, the rain stopped and the roads
were dry.

There is road construction on the long, straight stretch of road from
the truck scales all of the way into Tillamook.  Traffic barrels are
placed between the traffic lane and the shoulder separating you from
traffic.  However, there were several construction =91Caution=92 signs
that I had to maneuver around.  This could be an issue if you are in a
fast group.

In Tillamook, I stopped at the Safeway and a helpful worker directed
me to a cycling shop so I could pick up an item I had forgotten.  This
is Trash Mountain Cycle and is two blocks north of the Safeway on
First St.  It was there that I learned the the Three Capes Loop road
was closed due to hillside slippage.

It was true, just after crossing the Wilson River Bridge, there two
dogs came out after me, the signs began.  I soldiered forward knowing
that I had ridden many closed roads before.  After turning up the hill
toward Cape Mears I came upon the barriers blocking the road.  Beyond
them, I could see where the road had slipped down toward the ocean.
This section was now about 50 feet of gravel with cracks that
indicated the earth movement..  It looked to be momentary stable, so I
walked my bike around the barriers and across the gravel.  Back on the
bike, I soon came to a second but shorter section of gravel.  I passed
and continued up the hill and found more barriers just short of the
Cape Mears Lighthouse road.

The descent to Netarts with the rather larger rollers were fun,
especially because the roads were dry and there was no rain falling.
I did not stop in Netarts but set my sights on Pacific City.

However, between Pacific City and myself was the Cape Lookout climb.
This climb is steep but there is a wide bike lane available.  I did
take advantage of it whenever what little traffic I came came pass.
As to the descent, the queue sheet warns =93caution on descent, very
rough with erosion=94.  Please heed this warning as it is valid.  In
several areas, the road is slip, sliding away.

After fighting the Oregon Coast south wind, I stopped at Stimulus
Coffee in Pacific City enjoyed an latte and one half of a turkey club
sandwich.  The other half was wrapped in plastic by the helpful folks
so I could enjoy later.

After a short ride through the rest of Pacific City, and for a short
distance along US 101, where the rain started again, I turned inland
and began the Little Nestucca climb, which is not as steep as Cape
Lookout, but is much longer.  Passing Sourgrass summit.  As I
descended I saw the sign =93Grooved Pavement Ahead=94 and sure enough I
encountered short sections of somewhat older, but still annoying
grooved payment.

I rode down into Grand Ronde, but I did not stop.  Looking at the two
opportunities for services, I would recommend the Casino Gas Station
Market as it looks much more well stocked.

SR 18 is very busy highway, with an adequate shoulder, but after the
Casino Market, you come to a very narrow bridge with no shoulder.
Checking traffic behind me, I decided to wait until the road was clear
rather than contest the bridge with much larger, and faster traffic.
After the bridge, I stayed on SR 18 all of the way to the freeway-like
exit bypassing the grassy route to the Yamhill River Road.  It was
much too muddy for me.

SR 18 coming into Willamina looked to be freshly repaved, but be aware
of several dangerous, recess water runoff drains.  They looked to be
very dangerous!

After passing through Willamina and Sheridan the back roads to Amity
were nice.  As I approached the Dayton control, darkness fell for me,
but the rain that started on US 101 continued (as it would all of the
way back to Forest Grove).

In Amity, I stopped at the Amity Chevron and ate my saved sandwich
from Pacific City and made my favorite =91this bottle will get me home=92
concoction - One scoop of Hammer Perpeteum and one scoop of Hammer
HEED, mixed with Red Bull.  Wait, don=92t have that reaction - it is
really quite good!  This helped concoction me to be awake as SR 99 and
SR 233 can be rough at times with some potholes.

I did stop at the market and Dayton and found it to be friendly and
well stocked.

Following the back roads to Forest Grove in the rain was without
issues, and even a bit of fun. Once back at the Grand Lodge, I arrived
early enough for a late night dinner of fish and chips.


--=20
John Henry Maurice