August 30th 2023 – Hillsboro, OR

We are still holed up in Hillsburrito (we have now stayed long enough to use that name without it being offensive). My new rear tire should arrive tomorrow. When it’s fitted we are ready to hit the road.

The extended stay has allowed us to explore and get a good feel for the area. Besides roaming around Hillsboro we have done a few excursions further afield. Saturday Gustavo and Lizbeth took us on a tour to the northwestern most corner of Oregon. We walked around and had lunch in Astoria, visited Fort Stevens State Park and finally went paddle boarding on Cullaby Lake.

Sunday we went on a full day’s ride with Gustavo. The weather forecast suggested unpleasantly warm temperatures in the valley so we headed for the coast.

We stopped for a short walk and morning coffee in Carlton.

The Nestucca River National Back Country Byway (really long name…) led us to Outpost On The River. Gustavo had passed the place a few times before but never stopped. He described it as a quiet place in the woods where we could have lunch…

It wasn’t all that quiet. The parking lot was packed with bikes and a crowd of rowdy bikers. We went to order food and were told there would be a long wait. We didn’t mind. There was plenty to look at and the talk flowed freely among fellow riders. As the last riders of the group departed, about an hour later, our food arrived. We were treated with free homemade cookies as compensation for the long wait.

Everything was obscured by low hanging clouds when we reached the coast. It robbed us of some views but added drama to the scenery.

It was early evening before we got back to Hillsboro. The riding had been extraordinarily good all day. Katrine judged it to be the best of the trip so far.

This morning we got picked up by Al @HellsAlien

He reached out to us the other day and offered a guided tour of The Columbia River Gorge. The delayed tire delivery allowed us to accept.

It was a great pleasure to spend time with him. The gorge was amazing and as a Portland Native he was the perfect tour guide with stories to spice up the experience. We are very grateful that he took the initiative and time to show us around!