Today was our semi-rest day. We decided last night after we walked around Newport that it would be better to do today as our semi-rest day. There is a very nice resort in Yachats called the Overleaf and we are enjoying it as we write this. In fact, Deborah is booked for a massage later - what decadence (our view from the Overleaf is below!)
Our journey today started with a late wake-up and a big breakfast in Newport. We didn't need to be anywhere fast today and only had 20-25 miles of biking so we knew it would be a very leisurely day. Even so, we went to hyper alert mode while crossing the Newport bridge. We knew we were in trouble when there was a "bikes on bridge" flashing light that you can illuminate before crossing. This is sort of like waving the red cape at the drivers - LOOK - BIKES - LET'S GET THEM! The bridge is thankfully only 1/2 mile long but we still had a couple of idiotic passes by drivers though most were very nice.The route down the coast is light on traffic after leaving Newport. Lots of parks to stop at and take a quick look at the coastline.
The only town we passed on the way to Yachats was Waldport. The bridge into Waldport isn't scary at all as there is a wide shoulder all the way across.
We actually stayed in Waldport on our very first vacation together 16 years ago. We stayed at a super goofy bed & breakfast that we are happy to report is still there - as we passed it today! What was goofy about the place was that the owners liked to mess around with your stuff. They thought they were straightening things out to make everything look nicer but we thought they were a bit anal retentive.Our rest day today sets us up for our next 4 days of riding where we have 50-65 miles of riding a day between places to stay. Winchester Bay, Bandon, Gold Beach, Crescent City (CALIFORNIA!). Usually, we only book for the next day after we finish a day's riding, but, we really wanted to figure out Friday and Saturday nights in advance on the Oregon coast as things can get really tight. And, it turns out that this is the big weekend in Bandon as they have their Cranberry Festival this weekend. We managed to snag a room for Saturday night only because there was a cancellation (many, many places are very booked).
Winchester Bay and Gold Beach each hold a little significance for us as they mark places that we understand the distance from Seattle. Winchester Bay is at the mouth of the Umpqua River. Arn and a riding buddy, Dave, biked the North Umpqua River Trail last September. It is a 3-day mountain bike trail that starts in the Cascades and ends about 20 miles outside of Roseburg, Oregon. So, seeing where the Umpqua River meets the ocean will be a real treat. But, Gold Beach has even more appeal as it is where the Rogue River meets the ocean. We've kayaked the Rogue in 2006 and 2007 so getting to bike along the Rogue River and stay along the Rogue will be our 2008 Rogue River experience!
No comments:
Post a Comment