Dave rides his bike to school

Above: 06/06/06.  I think this is Cape Perpetua, just south of Yachats, OR. 

 

Above: 06/06/06.  This is my attempt at taking an action shot of Belinda riding her bike while I was riding my bike (don’t worry, mom, we weren’t on the main road at the time).

 

Above: 06/07/06.  The rocky Oregon coast off Otter Crest Loop (between Newport and Lincoln City).

 

 Above: 06/07/06.  Old Scenic Highway 101, between Lincoln City and Neskowin.

 

 

Above:  06/07/06.  I barely escaped with my life after this run-in with a wild rabbit.

Wednesday, 6/7 10pm
Location: Pacific City, OR
Coordinates:
45.2161 N
123.9660 W

Yesterday’s mileage: about 57
Yesterday’s destination (reached): Newport, OR
Today’s mileage: about 56
I didn’t make an entry in Newport, OR, so this this post covers Tuesday and Wednesday. 

The ride from the Oregon Dunes to Yachats was the most difficult part of the Oregon coast.  It’s hilly, the road isn’t very wide, and the headwinds were constantly aggravating.  That said, it wasn’t as difficult as parts of California.  By the time we reached Yachats (the midway point), I was pretty beat.  Fortunately, there’s a flippin’ sweet bakery and cafe in Yachats.  I didn’t catch the name, but it’s on the East side of 101, and it’s impossible to miss as you go through town.  The food was fantastic and the atmosphere was very chill.  It was just what I needed to pick me up.

Belinda discovered that our destination for the day, Newport, has a sushi restaurant.  Being a sushi fanatic, she basically planned her day around eating sushi in Newport for dinner.  Unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the restaurant at 8:20pm, they had just closed.  I felt bad for her…  Imagine riding 60 miles to eat sushi and then arriving 20 minutes late.  Big bummer.  Plus, I had suggested that we drop our stuff off at the campsite before heading to the sushi place, so I felt a little guilty for making us late.  We ended up eating at Mo’s Diner, which is a small chain in Oregon.  Not bad, but it wasn’t sushi.

On Wednesday, for the 3rd day in a row, Belinda was able to pack up her stuff and leave camp about 20-30 minutes earlier that I was.  I’m not sure why it takes me so long to pack up camp, but for anyone who knows me, the fact that I’m slow packing up camp probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise. 

Belinda finally got her sushi at a little Japanese/Chinese restaurant in Lincoln City, where she stopped for lunch.

Wednesday provided the best riding I experienced in all of Oregon.  We took a detour off of 101 and onto Scenic Old Highway 101.  It certainly wasn’t as breathtaking as the redwoods in California, but in terms of weather, road conditions and traffic, it was by far the most enjoyable segment thus far in Oregon.  For 12 miles, I only saw 2 or 3 cars.  All you could hear was the wind in the trees, birds singing, and the Neskowin Creek.  It was biker bliss.

Pacific City, where we stopped for the night, was not a bad little town.  It had a good pizza restaurant, its own brewery, a nice beach, and a cool huge rock offshore (see my next post).  On the other hand, I couldn’t find anywhere in town that had Internet after about 7pm.  I’ve gone a whole week since my last blog update, so I was really pining for an Internet connection.  Oh well, they just might have the Internet in Portland.

Oh yeah, this town is bunny crazy.  They’re everywhere!  It kinda freaked me out a little bit.  From experience I can tell you that seeing hordes of clowns at nighttime is frightening (especially when you’ve been drinking).  Well, hordes of bunnies are spooky too.  Just doesn’t feel right.  I kept daydreaming about a horror movie in which bunnies go crazy and start attacking people.  Kinda like Hitchcock’s The Birds, but with bunnies.  I’m telling you, that’d be some scary sh_t.

 

Tags: Travel

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