Circling the U.S. Chapter 45: The Oregon Coast

The Oregon coast is one stunning view after another thanks to the vision of these garden club volunteers. What an incredible legacy! 

Tuesday, October 8 - Tuesday, October 15, 2019

We took the bus Tuesday morning from Portland to Astoria. We had a stretch of beautiful riding in the afternoon on the Lewis and Clark Road, with rolling hills and one long climb to 500 feet. We thought we'd be able to ride as far south as Cannon Beach and Rob had scoped out a private campground where we could pitch our tent. But between our usual dawdling and a change in our route, after 23 miles, we arrived in Seaside after four o'clock, with nine miles to go. With a steep hill in the forecast, we decided not to risk getting stuck in the dark. And it was getting cold. When I called the local campground, the owner said they had closed their tent camping site for the season and no way would she budge and let us pitch our tent. Fortunately we found a hostel with a private room for $59 and a kitchen where we could cook our dinner. Honestly, I was happy to be inside. It was cold.

Throughout our cycling along the Pacific Coast we saw signs for what to do in the event of a tsunami. I always thought of my son, Tim, when I saw one. Living in New England, we are pretty immune from natural disasters. When we went on vacation to Hawaii he worried about tsunamis.

The hostel in Seaside, Oregon

I pictured hostel guests enjoying themselves on a warm summer evening in this fun-filled yard. But in October the hostel was being renovated, employees seemed to outnumber guests, and it was too cold to be outside.

Don't get me wrong. If I complain about the cold, it's because I'm cold, not because we picked the wrong time of year to do this. Every day the temperature for riding was perfect. And the summer crowds had all gone home so the roads were not heavily trafficked and we never had crowds of tourists to deal with.

Sunset in Seaside, Oregon.

On our way into Seaside we noticed a movie theater showing Downton Abbey, a movie we were wanting to see. It's seldom that we have the opportunity to go anywhere at night, so our stay in Seaside worked out perfectly. We really enjoyed the lighthearted movie, when the bad guys got their comeuppance and the good people will live happily ever after. Until the next movie. I hope there is one. 

The Adventure Cycling map, for better or worse, provides an elevation profile for routes that involve a bit of climbing. At first, second, and third glance, the Oregon coast looked formidable. Our Portland friend, Marianne, has ridden down the Pacific Coast numerous times and she said not to take it too seriously. She was sort of right. It was nice to know when the big climbs were coming so we could plan accordingly, but those little ones were mostly just rolling hills. This section of the map covered our first three days. The rest of the Oregon looked pretty much the same.

If our few days along the Washington coast were the appetizer. On Wednesday, October 9, we got the full meal. Even though I had ridden this way in 1980 and knew it would be pretty great, I had forgotten how great. Rob was just awestruck, today and for our entire ride down the Oregon coast, with one stellar view after another. He kept saying, "You hear about the California coast, but no one talks about Oregon."

The entire coastline belongs to the people - it's one state park then another - so we could stop anywhere anytime and go for a walk or just sit on the beach.

Our first stop Wednesday morning was in Cannon Beach for tea and a pastry.

Two views of Haystack Rock, in Cannon Beach, Oregon.

I'll be sharing many random pictures of the Oregon coast.

We took a short walk to a quiet cove in Oswald West State Park where we sat on the beach and ate our lunch, watching surfers not having much luck with scrubby waves.

We had three big hills to climb, and some rolling ones, but we tackled them handily.

Looking south from the same overlook.

I didn't mind so much waiting for Rob at the top of a climb when I could soak up views like this, take pictures, and play my whistle.

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By afternoon we had mostly rolling hills which took us to the Tillamook Creamery where we stopped for cheese samples and ice cream. Rob had cherry and loved loved it. 

We clocked 56 miles for the day when we arrived at our Warm Showers destination in the farmland outside of Tillamook.

Bruce, our Warm Showers host topped off the day with perfection. Bruce lives in a spacious old house outside Tillamook surrounded by views of farms and mountains. We had the upstairs to ourselves. He prepared dinner for us and his daughter and son-in-law, three granddaughters, one of their husbands, and at least half a dozen great-grandchildren. And Bruce isn't that much older than us. A few years ago he rode 10,000 miles in five months touching into every one of the 48 continental United States. That's 2000 miles a month. He said he'd never do that again; too many miles, not enough time to stop and see the sights.

Talking to Bruce, we learned that he had hosted, for about ten days, a young German couple in 2017 who we met at the end of their trip just south of Montreal at another Warm Showers place.

Bruce is a real gentleman. He told us that when he hosts young cyclists who eat mostly peanut butter and wraps, he will send them on their way with lots of food, including his home made bread. He didn't let us leave without giving us a bag of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.

On Thursday, October 10, it was difficult to leave Bruce's beautiful house so we stayed for a bit in the morning while I did some writing in his upstairs room that overlooked farmland and mountains, not leaving until 10:30. We rode on country roads most of the day, avoiding Highway 101, had lunch on the beach at Cape Lookout State Park, then an 850-foot climb. I walked about a half mile of that; Rob rode the entire thing. The first thing I saw when we arrived at the outskirts of Pacific City was a brewpub right on a beach. I stopped and waited for Rob. He stopped, looked, said, "Look. We can get a beer." We sat outside drinking our beer, admiring the views, and watching parents with young children playing on the beach.

As we approached Pacific City the first thing I saw was a microbrew on the beach. We had to stop. After all, it's always 5 o'clock somewhere.

We watched kids and families playing on the beach on this lovely October day.

The road took us slightly inland across a river. This scene caught my eye, an afternoon out fishing with the guys.

We bicycled 40 miles to the little town of Neskowin. Our lodging was yet another unique and wonderful place. Nancy runs an AirBnB that she also opens to cyclists. We had the option of pitching our tent on her lawn that overlooks the beach for $20. We also had access to a hot shower and use of her kitchen and living area. We ate dinner while watching the sun setting over the ocean, slept to the sound of the waves.

Nancy had dinner plans and no other guests so we had the place to ourselves. We ate in the living room and, as we watched a spectacular sunset, Rob said, "I don't understand why anyone would go out to dinner and miss this view."

Before leaving in the morning we went for a walk on Nancy's beach. Nancy got a kick out of me calling it her beach. After she got home from her dinner out we had a chance to get to know her a bit. Her home is an old family vacation home where she grew up. She returned after a divorce and manages it as an AirBnB to make ends meet. We saw the rooms she rents and both agreed we'd like to return and stay again some day, this time inside.

Nancy's house nestled among the dunes.

Why wouldn't you want to pitch your tent here and sleep to the sound of the ocean waves?

On Friday, October 11, we rode 49 miles to South Beach State Park. It took us all day because we had to stop at every overlook, get off our bikes, take some pictures, and maybe take our shoes off to walk on the beach. Having ridden over four thousand miles to get here we saw no reason to rush. Following are photos from the day's ride.

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Depoe Bay

This photo and the next are from Devil's Punchbowl State Natural Area.

Saturday, October 12

We camped in the hiker/biker campsite in South Beach State Park for $5 each. Cozy inside our tent we were warm enough, but you can see that we bundled up in the morning.

This is Nick, a young bicycle mechanic from Milwaukee. He's checking out the west coast because his girlfriend might be moving here. He sleeps in a hammock. I asked, "What he does if there are no trees?" "I wrap myself up in my tarp like a burrito."

Having done a solo bike trip I know that it can get a little lonely, so every time we shared a site with a solo rider we would invite them to come over and cook their dinner with us. We enjoyed getting to know Nick. He is especially interested in history and shared his knowledge of some of the bridges we'd crossed in Oregon and the man who designed them.

We arrived at South Beach State Park Friday with just enough time to set up camp and cook dinner before it got dark so in the morning we spent some time checking out the beach.

We didn't even know it was Columbus Day weekend until we saw all these families out on the beach yesterday and wondered why the kids weren't in school. I guess they do the 4-day weekend here just like at home. The roads and campgrounds and highway viewpoints have all been busy. The weather has been great.

It was challenging to fit in 36 miles with so many reasons to stop. At Seal Rock we saw seals in the water and on the rocks. We stopped at the library in Waldport so Rob could get out some letters of recommendation for his former graduate student who is on the job market. We stopped in Yachats for ice cream and tea. We stopped on Perpetua Cape for a short walk. 

There are seals both on the rocks and in the water.

After talking to Nick the night before we correctly guessed that the bridge into Waldport was designed by Conde B. McCullough. In this case, it had been rebuilt but his characteristic architectural details had been preserved. When we stopped in the Waldport visitor center we found a display about Oregon's bridges and learned more about McCullough. He has a state park named for him.

Ice cream is an important part of every day.

Past Perpetua Cape was probably the most extraordinary cycling of the trip. The scenery - coastal cliffs and rocks - was amazing; the horizon blended into the water. You couldn't tell where the water ended and the clouds began. It was around four o'clock and the sun's rays shone through the clouds in a half dozen places. I didn't think my camera could possibly capture the full splendor of the scene but I took a couple pictures anyway. The scenery plus light traffic plus a road in terrific shape made it a perfect ten.

We spent the night in Carl C. Washburne Memorial State Park where we met Catherine, a solo rider from the Yukon who began her journey in Alaska. Her goal is to ride south to the tip of Argentina. 

When I stopped at this overlook to wait for Rob around nine o'clock on Sunday morning, October 13, there were about a dozen people here with fancy cameras. Mine isn't fancy so you can barely make out Heceta Head Lighthouse up there on the cliff. 

Just past the lighthouse is a commercial sea lion cave. When we pulled into the parking lot, Nick from two nights ago pulled in right behind us. "I just had the worst night," he said. "The forest service campgrounds were closed so I camped on a beach in my burrito. I didn't realize I was in a gully and when it rained I got soaked." I felt so bad for him. The rain had come down really hard during the night, but hadn't bothered us because it was clear in the morning.

I said, "That's such a bummer. You were just a few miles from where we camped." 

He said, "I have to find a place to do laundry and dry out."

Further down the road I came upon Catherine talking with another cyclist, John, who looked to be about our age. He has been riding for a year and a half. He started in Washington, D.C., circled the country once and is now doing it again.

Our route took us inland to Florence where we stopped in the historic part of town on the Siuslaw River.

The Siuslaw River Bridge is one of five coastal bridge designed by Conde B. McCullough and is very characteristic of his style. It was built during the Depression with money from the New Deal's Public Works Administration, providing jobs to struggling families along the Oregon coast. Throughout our travels, and at home in New England, we see examples of public money infused into projects during the Depression that still benefit us today, eighty years later. I wonder why Republicans are so opposed to government spending when they certainly drive over bridges and enjoy the parks that have been built with federal dollars. What would projects like the Civilian Conservation Corps do to help the homeless problem today?

After 44 miles we stopped at Umpqua Lighthouse State Park campground for the night. John was already there. We were able to get some stories from him about what to expect along the southern route. He told us that during one bike trip through Texas he was harassed by a bunch of white guys but as soon as he got to Louisiana, the black folks looked after him. (John is white.) 

Pampas grass. Rob calls it "wheat on steroids." I thought it was lovely when I first saw it in people's gardens on the west coast. But it has become a noxious weed, an invasive species that is a real problem.

Monday, October 14, we hit lots of traffic on Highway 101 for about 25 miles to Charleston, then quiet backroads with hills for the next 20. We finished the day with some time rummaging around the little tourist town of Bandon and enjoyed a short beach walk and spectacular scenery just south of town.

We had a Warm Showers place to stay lined up several miles south of town. But it was further than we expected and we were on a two-lane highway as it was getting dark, worried that maybe we'd missed the turnoff as it kept getting darker. Happily we found the turnoff before full dark set in, but it make us aware that shorter days are coming and we need to plan better.

Tuesday, October 15, the day started out cloudy.

We passed a few cranberry bogs after leaving Bandon. We knew it was cranberry harvesting season from the cranberries littering the road.

After 20 miles, just before we arrived in Port Orford, we were hit by strong wind gusts and fog.

At our Warm Showers host's suggestion, we rode down to the harbor to check out Griff's for a cup of hot tea. It was closed, but we were glad for the detour to see all the fishing boats on dry dock. After putting in a jetty, the harbor became too shallow so the boats come out of the water every night.

Sign posted in the ladies restroom at the Port Orford Harbor.

Port Orford harbor was completely socked in.

Happily for us, the wind didn't last past Port Orford. The fog and clouds came and went for the next several hours, providing wonderful drama. Following are a few pictures from another stellar day of riding along the Oregon coast, from Port Orford to Gold Beach. 

Same view without the bicyclist.

Another bridge to cross, this one to Gold Beach.

The morning started out cold and it didn't really warm up. Bad weather was moving in overnight. By four o'clock it was cold enough that I didn't need any convincing to find a motel. (Rob never needs any convincing.) We'd already done our research and knew there were quite a few budget places in Gold Beach. It's now the off-season so prices are low. We found a room on the beach side of the highway for $75, with a hot tub on the beach. Dinner out at a nice restaurant made it a perfect day.