The Restless Biker

Day 10 Monday, September 21 Washburne State park - Florence - Honeyman State Park. 33km by bike OK, so it's not exactly an epic day of cycling but I had already decided to do this trip in a much slower fashion than my previous one. Besides, Patti had signed up for a slow trip and I respect that. More sea lions along the way. From the top of our climb we could see them down on the rocks, lying on top of each other like some big nest of flabby worms squirming around. More easy tailwinds for the day and the hills became a bit easier for the day. More spectacular shoreline and then into Florence. Florence gave a bit of a run down impression. We were hoping for a night at the camp site in town and then a movie. But even the movie theatre had shut down. So off we went to the $6.95 all you can eat Pizza Hut buffet for lunch. Needless to say, we were all groggy and sluggish for the rest of the afternoon and huffed and puffed up the hill to the campsite. The rather small hike/bike site was ...

Day 9 South Beach (Newport) to Carl Washburne State Park. 57km by bike The kickass winds have finally arrived. Blowing us along the way from behind. The shoreline was simply stunning. Wide sandy beaches, high rocky headlands with roads clinging to their sides and relatively low volumes of traffic. The hills were become somewhat easier for me now that my legs were starting to remember how to ride. At one point the tailwind was so strong that I had to brake on a slight uphill in order to come to a full stop. We enjoyed a nice little blowhole along the way. It reminded me of a whale spouting away. I half jokingly tried to convince Patti to continue all the way to the California border. "I signed up for Astoria to Coos Bay" she firmly retorted. By now we were feeling quite dirty, smelly and a bit weary of camp food, dirty sleep wear and damp tents. I took a whiff of the tights I was using for sleeping and immediately agreed with Patti's earlier comments regarding foul smells....

Day 8 Day off in Newport 15km local cycling Today was simply another day off to actually enjoy the sights instead of just cycling, eating, sleeping, cycling. A really cool paved path leads from the South Beach State Park to almost the south end of the bridge leading into Newport. We had donned all our rain gear, including booties since the skies had opened up in some kind of deluge. Up we went past the Rogue Brewery, resisting the temptation of an early morning tasting spree. First a visit to the historic waterfront was in order since that's where the honking/barking of the sea lions was coming from. We followed the rude sounds in search of the infamous dogs of the sea. My finely honed tracker senses indicated that we needed to head onto the dock to our right. I called out to Patti and went up on the low sidewalk to walk my bike. Then a rather disheartening clatter emanated from behind me. I looked around to see my beloved Patti and her bike in a rather unatractive heap on the grou...

Finally on the road again. My second time cycling the Oregon Coast. This time with my sweetie Patti. Day 1 Saturday, September 12th, 2009 Victoria, BC to Astoria, OR by car. We were amazingly well organized and left with plenty of time to spare. It came as a bit of a surprise to me since I only started packing and checking over the bikes the afternoon before we left. The sun was shining and broad smiles were on our faces as we drove down the Trans Canada Highway to the Coho Ferry terminal to catch the 10:30am sailing to Port Angeles, Washington. "Do you have a reservation?" queried the toll booth attendant. "No we don't" I sheepishly replied. "You won't get on the 10:30" we were informed. "You're wasting your time hanging around" concurred the young man directing traffic. "You'll be on the 3:00pm sailing for sure" he went on to reassure us. "Please pull into lane 11". So off we went for breakfast and some last ...

Ok kids. Stay posted I'm on the move again. This time with my sweetie, Patti. We drove down to Astoria, Oregon and are cycling down to North Bend Oregon. There we will rent a one way car from Hertz and pick up our own vehicle in Astoria to head home. Stay tuned. Stories and pictures will magically appear on this site. ...Michelle and Patti