getting there is more than half the fun (83.6% in fact!)
After a very short, flat bike ride, we arrived at the Avis counter at the airport to obtain our rental car. We retraced our route south through town to visit a bakery that was closed when we were in Crescent City about a month ago. We drove through all the towns from the CA portion …
Continue reading “Day #-4: Crescent City to Del Norte County Regional Airport (5 mi)”
We did it! We made it back to Crescent City, where several weeks ago we changed course and rented a car to drive up to Seattle. But, before we got here, we enjoyed some final Oregon coastal views. Our first stop was the southernmost city in Oregon on our route, Brookings. We unsuccessfully sought out …
Continue reading “Day #-5: Whaleshead Beach, OR to Crescent City, CA (34 mi)”
Before getting on our bikes, we spent a moment enjoying the view from our lodging. Loaded up with food for the entire day, we set out and were quickly greeted by a significant climb. After conquering the hill, we spent the rest of the day in the Scenic Corridor. The corridor did not disappoint! We’ll …
Continue reading “Day #-6: Gold Beach to Whaleshead Beach (20 mi)”
Today we alternated between being right along the coast and veering slightly inland into the forest. So, lots of gorgeous views. About 15 miles into our day’s ride, we slipped back in time, much to our dismay. Turned out, it was just a roadside attraction: Prehistoric Gardens. We wanted a brief break, so paid the …
Continue reading “Day #-7: Port Orford to Gold Beach (29 mi)”
We hadn’t been riding for half a mile when we spied an unassuming sign on the side of the road. In reality, the sign should have said We watched a pickup truck drive through the water and it was at least a foot deep. So, we turned around and got out to 101 a different …
Another day of cycling through gorgeous trees, but no spectacular coast vistas. We first encountered Charleston, where we saw Charlie the Tuna! The best part of our ride was that we were off 101 for all but 4 miles, so mostly had the road to ourselves. Before joining 101, we reached this very helpful intersection. …
Continue reading “Day #-9: Winchester Bay to Bandon (32 mi)”
The route out of town took us by the Umpqua River Lighthouse. We were as disappointed as these folks that we wouldn’t get to see gray whales. Like yesterday, no coast on today’s ride, but again many, many trees. This lovely map on the side of our road listed all the fun things we could …
Continue reading “Day #-10: Winchester Bay to North Bend (22 mi with cheating)”
Just as Punxsutawney has numerous colorful groundhog statues throughout the town, Florence is filled with decorated seals. So, as we were leaving, we passed one near the bridge across the Siuslaw River. We soon entered the Oregon Dunes. Miles and miles and miles of REALLY HIGH sandy hills that looked strikingly odd next to the …
Continue reading “Day #-11: Florence to Winchester Bay (26 mi)”
A short ride today because we had a mission we chose to accept: attending a 12:15 pm showing of Mission Impossible. But before we get to the highlights of the morning’s trip, we first have to wish a very happy 4th birthday to Hobie the wonder dog! Now back to the cycling. It was a …
As we were leaving our home for the night, we ran into a family that we met a few days ago at one of the vista point lookouts! We encouraged them to have a donut from the nearby coffee shop, which we had taste-tested (and gave 4 thumbs-up to) yesterday. To depart Newport, the first …
Happy World Bicycle Day! Despite the theme, we didn’t actually spend much time on our bikes today. Instead, we explored Newport. We started with the obligatory visit to the local bike shop, Bike Newport. Then we went to the tide pools in the Outstanding Natural Area (yes, that’s really what it’s called!) by the lighthouse. …
Unfortunately, we didn’t see any Northern Lights last night. But, according to posts online, it sounds like no-one else in Oregon saw anything either. We took a picture with long exposure just to check and this is what we got. We were less than half a mile into our journey today when we encountered the …
Continue reading “Day #-14: Lincoln City to Newport (26 mi)”
True to the pattern, no rain to start the day. So we took off and our first stop was the Grateful Bread Bakery where we got….sconed. We had one last glimpse of the ocean before heading inland. We then spent lots of time on Old Scenic Highway 101, which was great since we only saw …
Continue reading “Day #-15: Tierra del Mar to Lincoln City (33 mi)”