Washington State and Oregon Coast Tour

Lincoln City to Beachside SP
75km

 After a good night's rest we set out quite early. The mist wasn't as damp in the morning, but we had to put our tents away wet, so we hoped for better weather later in the day and we weren't disappointed.

 South of Lincoln City, the coast becomes even more picturesque than before and we were constantly stopping and taking in the breathtaking views. One particularly nice detour was the Otter Crest Loop, which was closed to vehicular traffic for bridge repairs, so very quiet to cycle on. The loop led to Cape Foulweather, where winds can reach 100 mph in the winter time; quite evident by the state of the surrounding foliage. Next we stopped for lunch in Newport and a quick look at the Yaquina Head Lighthouse - fogged in - then over a fair sized bridge before continuing on south past more parks and beaches. We passed Seal Rocks, but the place was jammed with tourists so we didn't stop. Another bridge at Waldport and then we arrived at Wakonda Beach and Beachside State Park for our night's stay. By this time the sun had come out in full force, so we took advantage of our short day and strolled and lounged on the beach.

 Just before we made dinner, the two young lady cyclists from the previous night showed up with the two young fellows close behind! Our tents and gear had dried out nicely in the afternoon sun and we found nothing to complain about, except Tim's noisy stove!

Beachside to Florence - Jessie Honeyman SP
65km.

 Another short day planned and the sun was shining first thing in the morning. So after a leisurely breakfast, we set out south again on Highway 101 riding past more spectacular scenery along the coast. We passed through Yachats and Searose Beach to Heceta Head, after which we had to negotiate another tunnel. This tunnel also had "cyclist activated" warning lights, which was just as well as it was uphill and slow going through this one.

 Quite soon we were in Florence, where we stopped for a while to buy lunch and groceries. Tim and Larry were on the lookout to buy some small containers of white gas for their stoves; all the cans we found were one gallon size, too big to pack around. Where were all the quart cans? They decided that they probably had enough for a while longer and would look in other stores as we travelled farther south. I, on the other hand, needed alcohol for my stove and found a convenient size in the first store I went into! Good ol' Trangia stove, quiet too!

 We headed south of Florence across the bridge to Honeyman State Park. A very nice facility with it's own ice cream shop! This park is just after the beginning of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area. After we set up camp, we went for a walk on the dunes and soon realised that the ocean was a long way away from the park, and that sand was murder to walk through up and down those dunes. There were all kinds of ATV's there and large dune buggies for tour groups, while there were also many people content to walk, just as we were.

 Back at camp, all through the afternoon, we were joined by more cyclists, who we soon befriended and chatted with. It was fun to hear where they all came from and other tales from their road travels. None of our previous "group" showed up at this site, so we figured that they were in one of the many other available parks. One older chap showed up with hardly any thing on his bike, an old 12 speed at that! He didn't even have a tent or sleeping bag, but slept on a towel and thin pad on the ground; tough old boot! We'd see him a couple more time on the road south and pass him, he pedalled ever so slow and looked as if he was asleep on the bike! Well, each to their own kind of travel; that's the diversity of the touring cyclist!

 After dinner, dessert and some brandy and hot chocolate, Tim and Larry went to the amphitheatre to hear all about owls from the park rangers. I elected to stay behind and read for a while before retiring, yawn, yawn.

Honeyman SP to Charleston - Sunset Bay SP
87km

 After breakfast we set off from Honeyman State Park as all our neighbours were still in the throes of waking up. I wonder what noisy gadget could have stirred them all? Anyway, on this day we were riding away from the ocean-side as Highway 101 follows alongside and through the dunes recreation area.

 Away from the ocean as we were, the weather was quite good for the morning and we seemed to be avoiding the wet mists that roll in most mornings. We rode on to Reedsport where there was a small bridge to cross, not much shoulder but it was only short, so no real problems. At Reedsport we topped up our fuel tanks (read... ate again!) and continued on by the dunes until we reached a truly serious bridge at North Bend.

 This bridge was really daunting as it is very long and busy with fast traffic. There is an excuse for a shoulder and an uphill grade all the way to the centre of the structure, hence riding would be slow going for quite a while. The sidewalk is very narrow and high from the roadway and didn't look too easy to cycle on with loaded bikes. Signage at the bridge entrance was not very encouraging either. The first sign was a yellow caution sign warning drivers of the possibility of bicycles on the bridge. The next sign, was probably put up by the town, stated that bicycles must not impede traffic, a contradiction and difficult proposition. Normally on a shorter bridge we would "take the lane," but this one was a different story! Tim and I started off on what little shoulder there was and soon we subjected to the traffic passing by us much too closely. The rule of "don't pass unless it's safe to do so" was totally ignored by the motorists - if they ever even heard of it! Feeling the back-draught and having passing trucks and motor homes skimming by us was distinctly unpleasant. Tim got off his bike as soon as there was a break in traffic and hauled it up on the sidewalk and began riding there. I tried the same thing, but with the BOB trailer, the height of the sidewalk and rapidly approaching traffic, I couldn't manage it, so I continued on the roadway. I crested the centre of the bridge and was glad to get some speed up going down the other half of the bridge deck, in fact I was going fast enough that very little traffic was passing me. Of course, you always get the redneck in the pick-up truck, there he was honking his horn at me and not giving me any room, what a wanker! The stupid part was that I was almost off the bridge and heading for the wider shoulder, impatient sod! Afterwards, Tim said that riding the sidewalk felt safer, but that it was still a white knuckle ride due to the buffeting from the back-draught of the passing vehicles and lack of space to manoeuvre. Larry was the only smart one, he elected to walk the length of the bridge!

 After that ordeal, we stopped very soon after and had an ice cream to settle our nerves!

 We left Highway 101 at North Bend and took the Cape Arago Highway to Charleston. Charleston is a small fishing village and by the time we arrived there the fog/mist was pretty thick; it made it quite chilly too. We shopped and headed out for Sunset Bay State Park, where the hiker/biker area was located conveniently next to a swamp!

 After a short while many of our southbound travelling companions showed up. It was cool enough that a some of the cyclists chipped in and bought some bundles of firewood, scrounged an axe and started a decent campfire. After dinner we had hot chocolate and brandy by the fire, very agreeable, and the smoke kept the bugs in the swamp, almost!

Charleston to Port Orford - Humbug Mountain SP
103km

 In the morning, after breakfast, we had to backtrack almost to Charleston before continuing south on Seven Devil's Road. Very aptly named, for I think there were seven devilish hills to contend with! A nice quiet back road though, with some decent scenery, but there were also areas that had been spoiled by the clear-cutting of trees and what seemed to be a recent forest fire, had taken its toll on another particularly large area as well. Nonetheless, we did see elk grazing in a distant field on one occasion. A quick rest stop in Bandon, just after we rejoined Highway 101, then we continued south.

 The scenery of the coast has subtle changes and evidence of more frequent and larger rock outcroppings, just offshore, were just one aspect of the changing landscape. With bright sunshine and still a tailwind we had a perfect riding day on some very nice stretches of the highway.

 We reached Port Orford around lunchtime and found a decent restaurant on the waterfront and proceeded to have a feast of fish and chips. Groceries next, before continuing on to Humbug Mountain State Park for our camping spot. It was very hot by the time we arrived and we quickly set up our tents and lounged around for the rest of day. Other travellers petered in over the course of the day and most of them we had met or seen before. The two young ladies that we first saw back in Lincoln City arrived also, but the two young fellows that were trailing them before were nowhere in sight. We learned later that day, that the two lads had been a bit slow for the girl's pace, so they were dropped! So much for machismo! I found Humbug Mountain Park to be one of the nicer parks that we visited; a beautiful sandy beach and some nice trails to explore.

Port Orford to Brookings - Harris Beach SP
113km

 The California border was our objective for this day and it would be the last stop on our journey south on the Pacific Coast. Another very pleasant day weather-wise and riding. The scenery seemed to be getting better and better, if that was possible. Even the traffic seemed lighter as we ventured south. After a few stops for snacks and sightseeing we arrived at Harris Beach State Park, the last park in Oregon on the Pacific Coast route. The town of Brookings lies about a mile south of the park.

 As usual, we arrived at the park fairly early and set up in an empty hiker/biker area. Although the weather was warm, there was a stiff cool breeze blowing in our area and we were quite high on a bluff and shaded from the warmth of the sun.

 The hiker/biker area in this park was quite sparse and not very appealing, probably the worst we camped at in Oregon. Walking a 100 yards from the site was like night and day, sunny, warm and even the breeze was not as noticeable. Well we didn't intend to hang around at the campsite anyway! We set up, and unloaded all our gear from our bikes and set off to ride the remaining 10km to the Oregon/California border. What a feeling, an empty bike, with a nice tailwind, I seemed to be flying! The border sign soon loomed in front of me and when I arrived I jumped off in glee, pulled out my camera and took photos of Tim and Larry as they approached. Then we left the obligatory message on the sign's post and took some more poses. Back to the campsite, but this way was not as easy, what was that headwind thing? It seemed that we had been spoiled for many days with the wind at our backs! A taste of things to come perhaps, as we would have to start riding northwards on the next day for our return trip.

 Back at Harris Beach they had a laundry facility, so we stripped off down to the bare essentials and washed everything we could, smelly bike gloves and all! There was a nice grassy area close-by, so we sunbathed and relaxed while the machines worked. It was pure pleasure to have clean, freshly laundered, nice smelling gear. Ah, the simple things in life!

 After that "ordeal," the hunger pains were getting to us. The cool, windy hiker/biker campsite was not very appealing for our repast, so we decided to venture into Brookings for dinner. We met our Swiss friends as we were leaving, and suggested that they get a "regular" campsite for the evening as it was not very much more of an expense for a much nicer site. They thanked us and said that they too were planning on eating in town. "Perhaps we would meet," they said their accented English. "Yes," we said, "that would be nice." Then, as we walked into town, we realised we didn't tell them where we were going, and to be honest we didn't know where we were going! We did find a nice restaurant though, albeit overpriced, but the food was good and we explored a bit of the town on our way there. On our way back, we did see the Swiss couple, through a window, sitting in another restaurant. We shrugged, they shrugged and then we all laughed. They probably thought we were daft!

 The hiker/biker area had not filled up when we returned and we found most of our travelling friends had opted for other campsites. We, on the other hand, braved it out. The hot chocolate and brandy helped though, just a bit!