January 15 - Experiencing a Wave of Gratitude but not a Tsunami Afterall
Well, I didn’t end up getting hit by a Tsunami, but I did experience a tremendous wave of gratitude for a restorative day on the bike. Plans were already in the works for a day trip to Astoria today. But this morning a Tsunami weather advisory was issued for the west coast because of a volcanic eruption in the Pacific. Fortunately, my riding buddies, Leo Guzman Fernandez and Grant Myers were still game to go anyway. Grant looked into the weather reports more closely and found that the danger was minimal, so we set off from Latus at 10:00 am.
The beginning of our trip was rather foggy. In fact, at one point I wasn’t sure if my goggles were fogged up or if the mist outside was really just that thick. But the nice thing is that the fog cleared for most of the ride once we got out of the Portland metro area.
One of my favorite parts of the ride today is that we spent so much of it following the Columbia River. We headed north on highway 30 past Sauvie Island and Scappoose and then west on highway 4 past Cathlamet. It was so incredibly invigorating to breath in the crips winter air, gaze at the beautiful blue water, lean into the curves, and feel the sun on my back. I was grateful that although there was snow on the side of the road, the lane itself was clear.
I especially loved the water views as we headed south on highway 401 over the Astoria- Megler Bridge with the Columbia on our left and the Pacific Ocean on our right. While we were crossing the bridge a seagull hung suspended in place above us, seemingly appreciating the relatively mild temperatures as well.
After a good lunch in Astoria with kind strangers who shared their table with us, we headed west towards the coast on the bridge across Young’s Bay and then south on highway 101 to Seaside. We couldn’t resist getting a few pictures at the beach, celebrating a great riding day despite what could have been nasty weather. I am so grateful for great days like this with friends on the bike.
