Washington State and Oregon Coast Tour
Day 16, 120 Kms.
This was the day we had to depart the beautiful Oregon Coast and turn inland on Highway 126 to Eugene. I left the park early as I expected headwinds and also the prospect of much hotter weather even though there was a thick mist that morning.
I rode towards Florence and crossed the bridge, the bridge has some metal grating and it was pretty slick with the morning moisture. I was going a bit too fast and almost wiped out; the wet grating rode like ice! That woke me up in a hurry and I was fortunate to stay upright!
The rest of the ride into Eugene was fairly uneventful, although there was a headwind, not too strong luckily, but the temperature was rising and I craved for the cooler air of the coast. The road had no major hills and a good wide shoulder. I kept stopping to see if the other guys were anywhere in sight. But it didn't really matter as we had arranged to meet up at the Eugene railway station, where Larry had to pick up his ticket for the next day.
By the time I arrived in Eugene it was midday and boy was it a scorcher! The temperature was 96º F and I was feeling it. I found a nice shady area at the station and proceeded to wait. I got restless and hungry after about a half-hour of that so I set off to find the motel that we had previously booked for evening. Eugene is a great place to cycle around, lots of bike lanes and very bike friendly traffic patterns. I found the motel, not too far from the train station, and a McD's across the street! I ambled over there, scoffed a couple of fish burgers and was just starting into an ice-cream when all hell let loose... a couple of police cars pulled up, a few cops came running into the restaurant and grabbed a couple of young guys while other cops stood at the doorways, hands on guns! As they took the young guys outside, I thought this would be an opportune time to... leave! I went outside, jumped onto my bike and rode off to places less stimulating!
I returned to my vigil at the train station, sat in the shade, had some cold drinks, took some photos  and generally lounged around. It turned out to be a long hot wait as the guys decided to lollygag on this ride. But arrive they did eventually and by that time I was looking forward to an, hopefully, air-conditioned motel room!
The room was a reasonable price with three beds and air-conditioned, wonderful, after camping for so many days this was royal treat! Soft bed, TV, what else could one want for? Food of course! We wandered around downtown for a bit and visited a couple of bike shops, what else? Then we found a very pleasant Italian restaurant and had a great meal and a few beers.
Day 17, 30 Kms.
The only downside to the comfortable motel room was that we had to leave it and be up really early to make our way to the station for the 6:00 a.m. train departure to Seattle. The streets of Eugene were very quiet at 5:15 a.m.!
At the station, the train soon arrived and we loaded our bike into the baggage car where we had reserved spaces in the bike racks. It was only $5.00 for the rack space, but we had to remove all the panniers and load them as baggage. My BOB trailer also went into the car as regular baggage.
We spent most of the trip in the dining car and chatted with many of the other travellers that passed through. Everybody always seemed to have many questions for us, the non-cyclists were regularly astonished that we were riding bicycles - of all things - as far we were!
We arrived in Seattle at around 1:00 p.m. and had to hang around a short while as all other baggage was unloaded before our bikes. It was only a short ride from the station to the ferry pier at Seattle's waterfront. Just as well, as we didn't fancy riding very far through Seattle at lunchtime!
The Washington State Ferry to Bainbridge Island runs fairly regularly and without much delay we were bound for the island. We found a restaurant in Winslow, where the ferry docked, and fuelled up before setting out on Highway 305 north.
It was to be another hot ride, but only a short one to Kitsap Memorial State Park, with a quick stop in Poulsbo for groceries, an ice cream - and beer for later! Highway 305 joined Highway 3 not far past Poulsbo for the remainder of the ride to the park.
The beer didn't get too warm, as we rode hard in anticipation and the prospect of eventual shade. The park was quite adequate and had a decent hiker/biker area, very close to Puget Sound, so we profited from a pleasant ocean breeze for the remainder of the day. After dinner we discussed plans for the next day as it would be our last day of the tour, and decided to get up early and try for the earlier ferry back to Victoria, BC.
Day 18, 105 Kms.
We didn't need an alarm clock, as there was a proliferation of crows who's only ambition in life seemed to be to squawk as soon as there was hint of daylight! What a noisy bunch of birds and there were hundreds of them, it was like a scene from Hitchcock's "The Birds." As soon as we we up and mobile around the camp, they disappeared!
I was ready first again - must be that BOB trailer! - and set off towards the Hood Canal floating bridge where I would leave Highway 3 and turn west onto the bridge and Highway 104. It was nice to cross so early in the morning as there was hardly any traffic to contend with. This was a very pleasant day to ride, as the sun was staying behind some clouds, which kept the temperature at a very comfortable level. Highway 104 soon joined good old Highway 101 for the remainder of the ride to Port Angeles. The highway is in very good shape and lots of new pavement around Sequim. I had mountains for scenery now and could definitely tell that I was back in the Pacific Northwest once more.
I arrived in Port Angeles in plenty of time for the ferry and wondered if the other two guys would make it? Well, if not, there was a later ferry. I purchased my ticket and went to hunt for a large, late breakfast, brunch or whatever. Across the street from the ferry was a likely looking spot and I parked myself there for a while. Just as I was draining my last cup of coffee, Tim and Larry arrived and had time for food also. I just had to stay and had some more toast and jam!
The "MV Coho" is Black Ball Transport's vessel to Victoria and is a no-f rills operation. You have to walk your bike up the ramp with the passengers and, with a loaded bike, it can be quite a chore. There are bike racks at the bow, but after using them, I think if I had to do it again, that the bike would be safer leaning against the bulwarks. We used our bike lock cables to secure our front wheels to the racks as the racks are placed across the boat and if the vessel were to roll then the bikes would also roll; just as we saw a couple of bike do, then fall over!
After the 90 minute trip we cleared Canada Customs, who asked if I had bought anything? "Yes," I replied. "But everything I bought I ate!" They had a chuckle about that; then there we were... back in BC.
I parted company there with Tim and Larry, and set off on my 30 Km ride to my home in Sidney.
Summary
For the most part... Beautiful weather, beautiful roads and scenery. I can highly recommend the Oregon Coast as a touring cyclist's dream. Washington State also provides for some very nice cycling and scenery, barring loose dogs. Camping and parks abound, together with on the road friendships. Most hiker/biker campsites in Oregon were only US$4.00 per person, per night and averaged about the same in Washington State.
As for my first long tour with the BOB trailer... I really got used it and at times almost forgot it was there. I found it to be more aerodynamic than panniers, easier to pack and motorists seem to give me a wider berth. In a few places it was a bit more awkward to manoeuvre, but overall, not a bad rig!
Would I do this trip again, you betchya!
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