After a good night's sleep in the forest I felt a lot better and decided to ride down and visit both beaches in Ecola. It was the perfect time to go, the fog made everything look spooky and there were hardly any people there. And I forgot that the beach here was the location of the Fratelli's hideout in the old restaurant in The Goonies. Of course they built it just for the movie so it's not there anymore. Also apparently Kindergarten Cop used the parking lot there to film a scene of the school carnival. I rode back south through town past long queues of people at several places waiting for their morning coffee. Everyone was on foot, no cars at all, which was pretty cool. I found Haystack rock and an almost hidden beach access stairway between two houses, walked down and gazed up at it for a bit. I got going and climbed up and out of town on an interstate style interchange that was deserted early in the morning. I picked up a quarter on the shoulder here. I was really proud of myself, I didn't spend a dime in Cannon Beach but found a quarter. But a couple miles down the 101 and my luck ran out. I ran over something huge, which instantly flatted my tire and I heard a couple loud clangs as I ran over it a couple times before it flew off and I slowed down. I looked at my tire and found a large nail in the middle of the tread. It was the rear which was still set up tubeless. I was all ready to just hopefully plug it and pump it back up, but air and sealant was also coming out of a crack in my rim near a spoke hole. Great. Another rim ruined. So I pulled off away from the highway at the back of a large gravel parking lot. I pulled off the tire and got the majority of the sealant off the tire and rim with some paper towels I had. I discovered that my other spare butyl tube had two big holes from being in my saddle bag so long, and I managed to patch both, get it installed in the tire on the rim and pumped up. I rolled away and continued on to Seaside. I grabbed a Subway and also just around the corner was a bike shop so I got two spare tubes. Just next to the Subway was a Starbucks, and across the street from that was... another Starbucks.... I was able to ride side streets for a little bit after that, which was wonderful. But I had to go back soon enough. I tried an alternate parallel route I had thought might work but it turned out to dead end at a golf course. So I trudged back and made yet another left turn on the highway. I decided to shortcut to Astoria and I followed a couple highway like roads with decent shoulders and light traffic to Business 101, which was also comparatively deserted. I had to cross a narrow bridge into town but it was short and I didn't have a problem getting across. I did have a bit of a wait to cross the main coast highway to get to the riverwalk. But I was patient and after a few minutes traffic cleared enough. The riverwalk went right behind the city. It was packed with people out shopping, eating and enjoying the views. The river was enormous and there was a cruise ship docked in port that was unimaginably gargantuan. There were lots of empty container ships dotted all along the river upstream. I passed a brewpub or major brewery on every corner, and it was busy. I rode along an old rail line that ran down the middle of the path, mostly of wood, with some pretty scary gaps so I had to really pay attention. I ended up stopping to eat something at a trolley stop in front of the old depot which didn't look open. I had all sorts of stuff on the bench in disarray. I assumed that the trolley wasn't running. But a few minutes later a trolley rolled up with a load of masked tourists and a guide with a microphone pointing out the sights. I awkwardly tried to look busy and it let a few people off and pulled away after only a few seconds but it felt like years. I made a quick stop at the Safeway right by the path and went in my way. I rode by a pier with at least a hundred seals all making seal noises. I decided to take a more direct and easier route, so I took the path as far east as I could and then jumped on the Columbia river highway, US 30. Two lanes and almost as busy as the 101. But it had decent reliable shoulders and so it wasn't too bad. It helped that the traffic going into Astoria was way worse than the way towards Portland. It helped that it's a Friday. But after a few miles I ran over something big which popped my rear tube again, in a really bad spot. Tire went flat almost instantly and I was at a curve where the shoulder was a little narrow, with fast heavy traffic on the other side and lots coming behind. Thankfully the person behind slowed down and since there was nowhere to pull off I ended up dismounting for safety's sake and jogged me and the bike a bit and got off the shoulder. Just as I did a huge moving semi truck, essentially the biggest thing possible, went slowly by very close to me. I shook it off and looked around but the best I could do was about 5 feet from the edge of the shoulder. I was thrilled that I had the foresight to buy those spare tubes back in Seaside. I just swapped out for a new one which wasn't super fast but I got it done with minimal fuss. I must have had 1000 vehicles fly by while I was there. But I survived and got going again. And thankfully I found that the old highway was a good alternate so I got on a section. I was able to stay off for a good while but eventually I had to get back on the main. I climbed a surprisingly long climb up to a nice vista with a view and picnic tables and flush toilets. I felt pretty safe on the shoulder on the climb up. I mostly rode the gravel portion so I kept the traffic a good 15 feet away. I enjoyed the longish descent and picked up a really nice and wide shoulder. I should note that I did have a light tailwind today since I am heading east now. Hopefully this trend will continue. Several more miles of flatlands of the river valley brought me to Clatskanie. I stopped at my third Safeway of the day and began the long climb up Oregon 47. It was basically deserted, which gave me relief. I had no idea how busy it would be. It was paved and not too steep but all the same, it dragged on and on and took me probably too long to climb but I made it over. I really enjoyed the technical descent but once the road turned flat through some forgettable farmland I got tired fast. I rolled next to an old school or church and an old Grange building and decided I would just stop here. There is one house across the street but I think it'll be fine. They don't have an outside dog. I'm not visible from the road and traffic is extremely light. I'll be gone pretty early tomorrow.