Day 0 In Astoria

 

Looking out from our Holiday Inn at the Astoria Bridge, we see the mighty Columbia River which separates Oregon from Washington.  We are within  biking distance to the mouth of the river, where it empties into the Pacific.

Greg and Don as we near the Pacific, the Astoria Bridge a faint shadow between the two.

Greg, Holly and Don with one of the howitzers that defended our shores from the Japanese during WWII.  We are at Ft. Stevens, the only place in the continental US that was fired upon when a Japanese submarine fired 17 shells at the fort.  No damage - lucky for us and for the bike paths that lead us back through the park.

Drew Gardner, our fourth Portland rider, was riding an earlier loop than we were - sorry he is not in today's pics.  We three decided to make a stop at the Pig N Pancake first before this trip to the beach.

Tomorrow - all 44 in our group begin Day 1.  We have riders from all over the continental US, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Taiwan and Israel.