Hopscotch with showers down the coast

Day 8: Nehalem Bay to Cape Lookout State Park, 40 miles

There’s a rainbow as I head out from camp. A good sign? Rain soon returns, so I duck into a cafe in Nehalem for breakfast. I linger a long while over my coffee and David Whyte, waiting out the drizzle. I see a break in the clouds and head out.

South along the long wide Nehalem Bay, then crossing over and circling past Wheeler and then back out to the coast. I’m soon soaked and chilled. At Rockaway, another laundromat and temporary respite. Dry the raingear, then back on the road. Rain again. I resign myself to the playing hopscotch with these showers and the chill. So I keep riding, on past Garibaldi and along the Tillamook Bay.

Close to town, I duck into Fred Meyer for provisions. I’m planning to spend an extra day at the Cape Lookout, one fo the nicest hiker biker camps along the entire Pacific tour. Then on through Tillamook and out the Three Capes route. I arrive again just as the sun is setting, clouds breaking.

I pause to catch the breathtaking radiance, and see this a sign of an opening in the weather as well. Let’s modify the old sailor’s adage: “Red Sky at night, cyclist’s delight!” I set up camp, shower, and as I retire to my tent, see the moon has also appeared, with twinkling stars around. I doze off to the lull of the surf along this remote shore.