Day 17: A Leisurely Ride Down the Coast

We had planned to start the day with breakfast at Nonnie's Charleston, but it was closed when we rode by. Alas, breakfast and coffee had to wait until we had one of the most gorgeous rides of the day.

Our new friend, Carrie (from The Portside Charleston), recommended we ride Seven Devils Road to get to US Hwy 101. I turned onto the road, which came up sooner than expected. A light fog hung in the air, the sound of the bikes swallowed by the mist. For the longest time, we were the only vehicles on the road. When I did see a vehicle behind us, I pulled over to let them pass so we could enjoy the solitude of the road. What an awesome way to start the day.

When we finally turned onto US Hwy 101, the traffic was light. We had expected the temperatures to be a bit lower today, at least according to the weather guys, so we (at least I) dressed accordingly. We weren't expecting as much wind today as yesterday, but we were expecting the temperatures to be a few degrees cooler. I added a layer of silk under the rest of my clothes, and it made a difference. 

We stopped in a little town called Bandon, OR, for breakfast at The Station Restaurant, and found a very rare sight nearby. When was the last time you saw one of these?

After we left Bandon, the road took us inland a bit. I pulled us over at the first viewpoint on the right, partly to let the traffic behind us go by, and partly to get pictures of the coast and the fog.

A bonus of picking that spot: We got to see whales in the little bay. I tried to get pictures of them, but it was hard to get focused on them and get the shot before they were gone. 

We stayed and watched them for about 15 minutes before we finally headed south again. We stopped a few more times along the way, partly so we wouldn't get cold, and partly to stretch our legs, have a drink, and hit the little room. Sometimes we just stopped to take a picture.

We arrived at our resting spot for the night about an hour before the rain started. It gave us enough time to get the bikes unloaded and our stuff in the cabin. We did not, however, have time to go into town for dinner. 

We will be in this cabin for three nights. We haven't quite decided whether we are going to the Redwoods or back to Brookings tomorrow. Stay tuned! 


Mileage today: 133.6
Jae's trip total: 3018.6
Donna's trip total: 3019.1

Day 16: Dressed for Chill

I knew there was a reason I brought my heavy riding coat with me. I've been carting my TourMaster jacket (and the liner) with me for more than 2,500 miles. Today I found out why. 

We left Lincoln City at about 10:30 this morning. Fog hung in the air as we took to US Hwy 101 once again. Traffic was thicker than we had seen the previous days. Maybe because more people were out for Sunday drives. 

We were both pretty bundled up.

As long as we didn't have any air gaps, we were warm enough. But it was pretty chilly all day today. The fog clung to the coast all day. We stopped at one of the scenic viewpoints and took a picture of the fog and the road we had just ridden.

We stopped in Newport, Oregon for lunch and a view.

 

The ride today was challenging in a lot of ways. First, was the condition of road itself. The road surface was pitted and uneven in a lot of places. In some areas, the roads were patched. The road crews had laid parallel strips of asphalt where tire tracks had worn down the road, leaving a rut down the center of the lane. Lovely.

Second was the wind. It was relentless. For the most part, it came out of the north and pushed us along. Sometimes gusts from the sea tried to push us around. Finally, we faced the twisting and winding road that is US Hwy 101. Add to that, a fear of heights. 

A lot of the road today was right on the coast, complete with sheer cliffs on the sea side. We rode over a lot of bridges today, too. The winds were even more unpredictable over the bridges. 

We passed the Oregon Sand Dunes, but didn't get close enough to really see the dunes. We did see a little of them, though.

We reached our destination (Capt John's Motel) in Charleston, OR about 5:30-ish. From our motel room window, we saw a steak and seafood restaurant that was walking distance from where we are staying -- The Portside Charleston. We had an awesome meal and a great wait staff (hi Carrie!). 

Tomorrow looks to be a lot like today. We head to Crescent City, CA, from here. Can't wait to see what the road ahead brings us. 


Mileage today: 139.8
Jae's trip total: 2885.0
Donna's trip total: 2886.7

Day 15: An Afternoon at the Beach

We rode back up the coast to Tillamook today to meet up with Marsha and Kristi who live in Portland, OR. 

They met us at the Blue Heron French Cheese Company where Kristi and I went for the wine tasting, and Marsha and Donna found us a table. The wines were tasty, with the Honeywood Blackberry Mead being my personal favorite. Kristi liked the Borges Tawney Porto. The Porto was good, but potent!

When Kristi and I joined Marsh and Donna, they were drinking beer -- Fat Tire of all beers! Kristi had brought a menu, so we ordered lunch. We were in Tillamook, Oregon, so we had Tillamook cheese, of course. After lunch, we piled into Kristi's car and took a drive out to the beach. 

After we walked and talked on the beach for a while, we drove around to meet Kristi and Marsha's friend Nancy. By the time we got back to the Blue Heron French Cheese Company (where we left the bikes), it was getting late, so we put on our riding gear and said our goodbyes. 

The ride back to Lincoln City was pleasant, with practically no wind and very little traffic. As we rode through the trees, we could see clouds crown the crests of the coastal mountains. For the most part, we were able to float through the curves and not feel as though the traffic behind us was pushing us down the road.

We arrived back at our hotel before dark and settled in for the night. Tomorrow we head for Coos Bay and Captain John's Motel. This should be good.


Mileage today: 92.4
Jae's trip total: 2745.2
Donna's trip total: 2748.2

Day 14: A Chilly Day

The day started wet. 

We packed the bikes in a misty drizzle this morning. The first hour and a half or so, we rode on wet roads. By the time we got south of Shelton, WA, we had ridden out of the mist but the cloud cover stayed. For the rest of the day.

We reached Astoria, OR, about 2:30-ish and crossed a very long bridge. Someone at the rest area north of the bridge told Donna that the bridge is 3 miles long.

Thankfully, there was very little wind. However, there was some bridge work going on at the end of that very long bridge. And the end of that bridge had a very sharp incline. As we approached the construction zone, the flagger turned her sign from Slow to Stop. So we shut off the bikes (on a 20-something degree climb) and waited for about 10 or 15 minutes while traffic going the other way had their turn. 

Every time a car or truck passed us going the other way, the bridge panel we were parked on would move. That was a little disconcerting, considering that we were on a bridge that had taken us at least 100 feet above the water. After we got over the bridges near Astoria, we rode through some beautiful areas right along the coast. 

We passed through Tillamook, OR, on our way to Lincoln City, our stop for this night. We will be going back to Tillamook tomorrow when we meet up with our friends from Portland.

The temps were in the low 60s in the morning and the upper 60s this afternoon. Overall, I found the ride comfortable, albeit on the cool side -- as long as I didn't have any air gaps in my jacket. 


Mileage today: 267.4
Jae's trip total: 2652.8
Donna's trip total: 2656.4

Day 13: Slow and Easy Day

Today we didn't do much of anything. Donna went to the grocery store this morning to pick up some road snacks and extra bottled water, I stayed at the hotel and took care of laundry. I had a chance to watch the ferrys and other boats cross the sound. 

We could hear the seals across the sound but couldn't see them. I watched the birds as they dove for fish and clams. At one point, I saw a small jet of water pop up out of the sand, I figured it was a clam. 

This evening, Mona and Thom picked us up at the hotel and we went to dinner at Amy's on the Bay, a local restaurant that specializes in local seafood. It was OK, the company was better. 

After dinner, Mona and Thom gave us a tour of the area. We got to see places on the peninsula that we would not have seen otherwise -- like the Seattle skyline.

We leave Port Orchard and Washington tomorrow. Our next destination is Lincoln City, OR. We plan to stay there for a couple of nights and spend a day with our friend Kristi in Portland before we head further down the coast.

Mileage today: 0.0

Jae's total mileage: 2385.4

Donna's total mileage: 2389.3

Day 12: A Walk Down Memory Lane

We didn't get much riding in today, less than a mile. Instead, we took the foot ferry from Port Orchard across the bay into Bremerton. With the sky looking like rain, we decided to tour the USS Turner Joy (DD-951), which is administered by the Bremerton Historic Ships Association.

The day started a bit later because we slept in. It felt good to not have to scramble to get our bags packed back on the bikes. We rode into the tourist-y area of Port Orchard just before lunch, grabbed a latte at the Coffee Oasis, and had sandwiches at the Back Alley Cafe. After we ate, we moved the bikes off the main road into a 4-hour parking lot and caught the ferry  to the Navy pier in Bremerton.

Touring the USS Turner Joy brought back memories of my Navy days. The steel decks, steep ladders, and tight passageways had me remembering the "good old days" (which probably weren't as good as I think they were). The best part of the tour was watching the E-6's scrape paint under the watchful eye of the E-7's. 

Now, anyone who has every been on a Navy ship knows that E-6's don't scrape paint, that job is left to the E-2's and E-3's. But, it seems that all personnel on the USS Turner Joy were E-6 and above, so...

After we returned to Port Orchard, our friend Mona picked us up and drove us to her place. Her husband, Thom, gave us the $0.25 tour of their place. I thought this tree was so cool looking. It's called a monkey pine tree. 

After the tour we had our first home-cooked meal in a couple of weeks -- Mexican Lasagna (sorry Chris and Vieve). It was delicious. After a great dinner and great conversation, they drove us back to our hotel.

We got back to our room before dark and were greeted by some of the long-term hotel residents. They were surprised that the bikes were in the parking lot instead of out on the road. 


Mileage today: 0.9
Jae's trip total: 2385.4
Donna's trip total: 2385.2

Day 11: What a Difference a Day Makes

Yesterday we thought w e would melt on the way into Yakima, today we almost couldn't dress warm enough at times. We rode though the Gifford Pinchot National Forest on US 12 and caught an awesome view of Mount Rainier. 

The ride up over White Pass into Packwood was absolutely gorgeous. We stopped in several places as we went over the pass through the National Forest. It reminded us a lot of some of the places we saw in Yellowstone NP a few years ago. 

We caught a little weather outside of Packwood, so we had to add clothes. That was a good thing, because a few miles later, it started to rain. While it didn't rain as hard as it had in the Black Hills, riding in rain is still the pits. 

When we reached I-5 (at around 4:30-ish), we decided to hit the highway and make a beeline to our hotel in Port Orchard, WA. I missed the sign to Port Orchard and ended up across the bay in Bremerton. <sigh> 

OK, pull over and check the (phone) map to see how to get where we need to be. Turn around and go back to the correct road. We found the hotel, right on the waters' edge. We arrived in time to watch the sun set from our hotel room.

What a great way to spend our 20th anniversary!


Mileage today: 246.1
Jae's trip total: 2384.5
Donna's trip total: 2384.2