Oregon Pacific Coast – Capes, Dunes, State Parks
The last 5 days I have been riding down the Oregon Coast following Hwy 101. There is a rugged beauty to this land, especially when the sun comes out. A sunset on a clear, cloudfree evening overlooking the cliffs and seastacks just off shore is truly a sight to behold.
At times some bridges have to be crossed, often without shoulder or sidewalk. Once I tried the narrow sidewalk, but the wind gusts threatened to throw me off! I walked up to the crest, then waited for a low in traffic, got back on the road and pedaled downhill with tailwind 🙂
The State Parks offer good facilities (incl. hot showers) at an unbeatable prize ($4 per day for hiker/biker camping), beach access, fire wood, and often put you in company of other riders to share stories of the road.
The campgrounds tend to be damp at night and I often packed a wet tent. Usually I would stop the next day around noon and unpack the tent to let the sun dry it out while I have lunch.
Sadly, the sun hides a lot behind fog and low clouds created by the cool waters of the Pacific, even on summer days in August! Then it gets breezy and cold on the bike. It was actually much cooler here in Oregon than in Alaska or Canada. I definitely would not want to ride here in the other 10 months of the year when it rains a lot! So as this was the last day of August, it’s time to get down to California – I should cross the border tomorrow…
Add comment September 1st, 2009