thirtysixer

I reached Canon Beach, saw The Haystack and immediately ran down there for a picture. I had been waiting for the cloud to clear so I could get a picture on the pacific with some character. What better than this?

As I was attempting to find Mike’s Bicycle Shop to fill up my tire, I crossed paths with these two people on the longest, most elaborate tandem I had ever seen. We talked for a while, and they attempted to set me up with some people from Portland.

This momma bird was feedin’ her baby bird in the rafters above us.

Pizza a’fetta

I was seeking a good coffee shop in Cannon Beach and found more than that. I found Pizza a’fetta. Very well reviewed in many circles, I met the owner of the restaurant outside. He offered me a meal on the house and I of course accepted. The waitor was great; very personable and knowlegeable.

He offered a semi-sweet red called Troon, Drids Fluid which I hope to purchase a bottle of in the future.

I particularly favored that the menu posted the restaurant’s mission statement boldly on the front page.

The veggie pizza I was served was perfectly cooked. The crust was soft yet crisp and had a chewy crumb. There were whole roasted garlic cloves prepared in such a way that they were not as intense as I was expecting.

Bella Espresso was owned by the same man. It contained excellent furnishings and some brilliant sculptures. The owner insisted on making me a shot of espresso himself.

There it sits, I cross the floating bridge into Astoria, the city built on the peninsula where the Columbia River and Pacific Ocean meet. Astoria is home to a maritime museum and happens to mark the end of my ride.

No better way to mark the finish of my ride then with a latte from Columbia River Roasters. Excellent job.

I found a bus/gas station and proceeded to wait for my ride into Portland, OR.

I discarded my helmet and bike shorts into the trash receptacle. My bike shorts had a huge hole in the crotch and down my left leg after riding in them from Illinois.

My bus transported less than 10 people to Portland, and I had WiFi the whole way. So awesome.

I arrived in P-town late and was intending to meet up with a guy from couch surfing named Jimmy for a drink. I ended up getting lost and almost climbing over the cascades again. I ride across the city all over again and end up at my host’s house. I meet her roommates and get to know them over the next three days.

Ian homebrews beer at his house and was creating a particularly interesting brown ale for an upcoming wedding. He added an extract of white sage to the brew before conditioning it. It was very interesting indeed.

Stumptown Coffee Roasters

Something I had dreamed about for the last several years was visiting Stumptown. They are a coffee roasters in Portland that have become an institution in coffee. I was floored by the quality of their coffee, pastries and staff. My favorite part was their cups had stumptown written in gold around the rim. Wow.

They also had a storefront a couple shops down called the annex in which there was more seating and employees dedicated towards informing people about coffee brewing, origins, ect.. When I arrived they happened to be holding a cupping which I jumped in on.