Three Capes Scenic Route

One of the nice things about our small group is the ability to pick a restaurant and drive to it. Last night we went nine miles back on your route to the Pirates Cove. The restaurant was right on Tillamook Bay. The tide was ebbing rapidly and the group was marveling at how quickly sand bars were appearing. I have been in this area six times now and still marvel at it. The first picture looks across the bay to the end of Cape Meares. We traveled along the water's edge before taking a hard two mile climb with grades up to 13 percent.

We had entered the Three Capes Scenic Route, one of my favorite rides. It is the third time I have done it. There is little traffic on the route and scenery abounds. There are two challenging climbs and two nice descents on the route. Cape Meares is the first of the Three Capes. After completing the climb, we went on a slight detour to the lighthouse. One of the highlights can be seen in the second photo. Three sea stack rocks have arches in them. They are protected from boats coming near them as they are home to nesting birds and seals. I have seen peregrine falcons, bald eagles, and more than 20,000 common murres in the water when visiting in June and July. Parts of the climb back to the designated route were an 18 percent grade.

After rolling for five miles after this descent, we came to Cape Lookout, the second of the three capes. We had a nice SAG next to the beach there. I love walking this beach when visiting at other times. I started riding after this point. In my 22 miles of riding yesterday, I had 730 feet of climbing. The 2.6 mile climb after leaving the SAG covered 750 feet of climbing. We were rewarded by the view seen in the third picture after one mile of climbing. It looks back toward Cape Meares and shows the beach I love to walk on.

The third cape is Cape Kiwanda. It is not as scenic nor as hilly as the first two. As we approached the cape, we saw a competition for personal watercraft (think jet skis). We rejoined Hwy 101 for nearly seven miles to the second SAG. The shoulder was very wide and traffic was much less in this area. Shortly after the SAG, we turned onto Slab Creek Road. My perceptions of this road have changed over the years. I remember the 1997 ride as being very difficult. The climb on this road is 5.8 miles and rises 800 feet through old growth forest of birch and pine trees. My 2007 recollection of the climb was that it was quite easy. Thr truth of it is a mixture of the two. The first 4 miles were quite easy, but the grade increases after that. There was a nice descent after. My descending skills have gotten better over the years and I was not fearful at all today after being very nervous in the two previous attempts. One of the nice things about this 10 mile road is that there were only 3 cars on it in either direction and one of them was Tracy in the SAG vehicle.

We had good weather today although it was 45 degrees at departure. Today's ride was 62 miles with 4,000 feet of climbing. Everyone is having a great time.