Cycled to Tillamook via the Three Capes Scenic Route - something that'd been recommended to me by the couple of cyclists I'd met yesterday. Nice, but I couldn't help feeling it looked a little bleak. High point was a cute little coffee shop in Oceanside, which had great views looking out over the bay. From the busy little town of Tillamook, I took a shuttle bus to Portland. A longish four hours or so spent gazing out of the window thinking how different it'd feel doing it by bike. It's amazing how fast the change from cyclist to passenger occurs after 3 months of pedaling: I'm no longer at one with the road I'm travelling on, I'm simply passing over it.
I arrived a day earlier than I'd planned with my friend Lori (I'm going to be crashing at her'n'Ted's place), so rather than turn up unannounced I booked into the Portland Hostel on NW Glisan and 18th. Amazing to be in a big city again. I wandered around the neighbourhood and had soba for lunch at a little Japanese café. Then in the evening, found a sushi place and had my favourite unagi (eel) nigiri, along with a cold beer. I know Lori, by the way, from meeting her in Prague where she came to visit one of my flatmates, Chris (I lived in Prague for a short time, a few years ago, but that's another story).
