Winchester Bay to Bandon

53 miles, 2450 feet of climbing, a bad day for the animals (3 furry things, 1 raccoon, 1 possum, 1 kitty :-(, 1 crow, 1 snake, 1 hawk).

After a very restful sleep in the sleepy town of Winchester Bay, we had a not-so-scenic ride today to Bandon. Our route went south along 101 through North Bend (with a brief jaunt on a side road called Wildwood). When we approached North Bend, there is a huge, steep, narrow steel bridge that is a mile long and closed to bikes. So, we had to hoof it across the bridge on a narrow walkway while the cars whiz by you one foot below on the road bed. Not a highlight of the trip!

After North Bend, our route left 101 and heads south through Charleston and then on some sleepy roads through clearcut logging territory. The roads were actually very nice for cycling as they were virtually traffic free and the surface wasn't bad either. At times we had nice views but mostly we had views of clearcut forests. Despite no traffic, Deborah's legs were killed-by-road (and too little breakfast). When we finally stopped for lunch, Deborah inhaled her sandwich faster than Arn ate his. A first in 14 years of marriage!

We arrived in Bandon to an absolute zoo. It is their Cranberry festival weekend and the streets were closed "downtown." We saw a few Cranberry Princesses walking around - we think that anyone that can fit in the dresses can be a princess for a day or two. Leaving downtown and heading towards the shore, you are greeted with some of the most beautiful vistas of the day - really jagged rocks partway off shore.
As we rolled along the shoreline, we came to our hotel for the night - the Sunset. We checked in and walked into our room only to find that the room smelled of vomit. Apparently, management was aware of this smell and said that it just needed to air out though didn't argue when we said we'd try to find something else. All of their other rooms were booked - coincidence? - I don't think so. We were very lucky to find a nice room just 1/2 mile back north - into the wind. If we had to bike north into this wind all day, we'd be heading back to Seattle via bus, train, plane, you name it. Anything to avoid the wind.

Deborah will be dreaming of a Michael Phelps breakfast tomorrow!