Days 11 & 12: Just the facts

Some days I feel like writing and some days, I don't. Today is a "don't feel like writing" day. Not that the riding has not been fantastic. I'm just tired and ready for bed. Today (Tuesday) was a tough ride.

Riding

Day 11: 47 miles, 2210 elevation (2 whees, a couple more maybes, but traffic was too heavy to truly enjoy)

Another beautiful day along the Oregon coastline. The riding had plenty of beauty and plenty of traffic. I thought that, being a Monday and further south, the traffic might lighten up, but it was still busy. I made slow progress as it seemed I was stopping every 5 miles to enjoy the views and take more pictures.

Day 12: 70 miles, 3241 elevation (two whees, no ughs)

This ride was different from the last few days. Yes, it was longer and featured a lot of climbing. It was also a bit more inland, so I was mostly riding in forested areas. Part of the reason for that is because the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area is along the ocean. You can see the dunes in my Relive video.

My SAG pulled the "safe riding" card twice today. First, when riding into North Bend, she saw the sign on the Coos Bay Bridge that said cyclists should walk their bikes on the sidewalk. I had read it was a 40" sidewalk and thought I could ride on it (there was no shoulder on the road), but I definitely wouldn't feel safe. So I put the bike on the back of the car and she drove me over the mile long span. Going into Bandon, the bridge also looked unsafe, no shoulder, no sidewalk, and a lot of traffic. Chris met me before that bridge and suggested we drive over and I agreed.

Right over that Coos Bay Bridge is Moe's Bike Shop, where I got a new set of rear brake pads put on. You may recall I had some issues with a flat and the rear brake pad spring back in Astoria. The bike shop technician there suggested I get new brake pads soon. He didn't have the right type, so I was on the lookout for another shop.

After North Bend/Coos Bay (about halfway through the ride), I veered off of Highway 101 and traffic died down considerably. In fact, it was pretty remote out there, but Chris was generally around and stopped to say "hi," a couple of times.

An interesting note about Bandon. It has some crazy good golf courses. In fact, 3 of the top 100 courses in the U.S. (according to Golf.com) are in Bandon.

Off the bike

Last night Chris and I both realized we needed a break. I was pushing to do more because I thought that we needed to make sure she got to do enough (with me on the bike). But we both figured out we needed to do less. So we did some quiet reading and resting.

This afternoon we enjoyed a great meal at Tony's Crab Shack. Our pattern lately has been for me to ride in the morning and into early afternoon (depending on how long the ride takes). When I get into town we get a big lunch and explore the town. After the late lunch we explored "Old Town" Bandon which has some nice galleries, gift shops, and candy stores.

Tonight we went to Face Rock Viewpoint here in Bandon to seek out that perfect sunset. We got a good but not great sunset photo (see below). That said, the coastline here in Bandon is really nice.

What's next?

Tomorrow we head to Gold Beach, about 60 miles down the road. The following day we cross the border into California. Our first night will be in Crescent City. After that we go to Trinidad, in the heart of the giant redwoods, where we will take a rest day and do some hiking among those big trees. We are still having fun on our good old fashioned road trip.