BETTER TIDINGS AHEAD?

DAY 47

FRIDAY 20 MAY 2016

COOS BAY - JM HONEYMAN STATE PARK

1110 - 1700

72.37 km (44.97 miles)
Av. Speed: 15.9 km/h (9.9 mph)
Max. Speed: 61.8 km/h (38.4 mph)
Time On Bike: 4h 32m 24s

Numerous things had been going through my mind over the prior 48 hours or so - most importantly the consideration of continuing on this route by bicycle.

The difference between Oregon and California that I am now experiencing first-hand is that California provides a good range of alternatives to the main 101 north-south route through the state.

In some sections, this is entirely necessary as it is illegal for bicycles and pedestrians to use 101 in the zones where it is designated freeway.

For the most part however, California has simply got its shit together over the years and now provides wonderful and (mostly) safe access for cyclists and pedestrians via the PCH (Pacific Coast Highway or Highway 1), various side roads and fabulous coastal trails in many areas that are either absent of traffic completely or at least reduce the volumes of it that the more vulnerable road users have to deal with.

It's not 100% but in comparison, Oregon is still in the dark ages.

101 is THE only route that can be used in Oregon (and Washington ahead, I suspect) for the greater distance and from my initial observations, a lot of it is a deathtrap at best.

I have certainly been making enquiries about bus services and measures that I can take to minimise my contact with it.

The Best Western I stayed at in Coos Bay had a hot tub (Bless!!) so I jumped straight in and unwound for about an hour.

A lot of stuff was swirling around in my head - the upcoming weekend being foremost and a rest day already locked in for Sunday in Newport.

In the positive, weekends are mostly absent of trucks on the road, which on such a busy route as the 101 is a huge consideration.

In the negative, this weekend is the celebration of Memorial Day across the U.S which translates to huge amounts of "day trippers" out and about, which was no doubt contingent of the huge volumes leading into Coos Bay last evening.

Either way, in my heart I knew that taking a bus was a nice consideration but not really in the spirit of what I am doing.

So my conclusion is this: man-up and get on with it but don't be stupid 'cos its just not worth it.

Leaving Coos Bay presented its first challenge of the day only 3 miles up the way - the notorious Coos Bay or North Bend bridge, which similar to many of the historic bridges I've encountered in Oregon so far are excruciatingly long and provide absolutely no quarter for bicycles. 

I cringe to imagine what these bridge crossings must be like in pouring rain and/or when Oregon's famous headwinds are at full tilt....

My choice for better or worse, was to take the narrow sidewalk across to minimise the impact on the traffic and the traffic's impact on me.

As it was, it was probably the worst choice I could have made.

I inched precariously across, willing myself to lean to the right - if I was going to fall off, fall into the BRIDGE, not the TRAFFIC!

Things were looking OK as I approached the crest until I reached the downside and encountered workers on the sidewalk doing what they needed to do and rendering it impassible.

So of course, I had to wait for the traffic to pass before dropping my laden rig off the 2-foot sidewalk and onto the roadway, at which point the whole thing tipped over and lay prone on the roadway in front of now approaching traffic.

Sensing my predicament, one of the bridge workers ran up to help and between us, we at least got the rig back upright and ready to move. 

The traffic also had at least had the courtesy to stop and wait for me to get mobile and other than the stress, embarrassment and losing a hub cap off the wheel of my trolley in the kerfuffle, got to the end of the bridge otherwise unscathed.

For the first time since Monday as well, the wind had backed right off and riding conditions were significantly more favourable.

The sun was out as well, so what to complain about??....

And it was in the scheme of things, the biggest drama in my day.

I made it through to the Jessie M. Honeyman State Park within the Oregon State Dune Recreational Area by 5 pm for another night of camping.

DAY 48

SATURDAY 21 MAY 2016

JM HONEYMAN STATE PARK - NEWPORT

1030 - 1740

85 km (52.82 miles)
Av. Speed: 17.5 km/h (10.9 mph)
Max. Speed: 56.8 km/h (35.3 mph)
Time On Bike: 4h 50m 15s


Without doubt JM Honeyman was one of the nicest campgrounds I have stayed in on this trip.

It rates up with Harris Beach just a few nights ago and Standish-Hickey in California in the top 3.

The hiker-biker site was really secluded and quiet and the campground itself was similar to Harris Beach in that it felt more like botanical gardens than a campsite.

It also backs onto a massive area of coastal dunes which are all included within a National Recreational Area.

Whilst I had no intention of hiring a dune buggy and hooning around, I made sure I went for a bit of an explore after dinner on Friday evening and found it to be a great place to roll about in the sand and enjoy another rare sunset, reflecting a little on the drama of the past few days.

SUNSET IN THE DUNES

Saturday was the day to head through to Newport and I was looking forward to travelling without the likelihood of being run over by a log truck.

Even the prospect of heavy Memorial Day traffic was not as bad as it might have been if one was to assume that anyone who was going anywhere had done so on either Thursday and Friday and was now parked up somewhere.

So, the sun was out. Tick.

The road surface was good with a wide shoulder, especially for the the first 20 km or so. Tick.

There was only one scheduled climb of about 400 feet through Cape Perpetua. Tick.

I even had a decent tailwind. Tick, tick, tick.

With so little to complain about, it was a good time to put the stresses of the past few days behind and start enjoying the ride again.

And knowing there was a hostel bed and rest day waiting for me in Newport when I got there was all the more reason to pump the pedals faster.

It did also happen to be the one section of the Oregon Coast so far that was best served by things to do and places to see, most of which were all close at hand.

By the time the road started gripping the edges of the coastline on the other side of Florence, I knew I would be budgeting for time throughout the day.

Prospectively, there was close to 60 miles to get through and stopping every 10 minutes or so was not going to be a good strategy for getting in early.

Realistically, I could have probably spent 3 days travelling through this section of coastline but its only ever in hindsight.....

HECETA HEAD LIGHTHOUSE

CAPE PERPETUA VISTA

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