Kevin/Jo: Today was about 55 miles with about 2,300 feet of climbing. The Lonely Planet guide called the ride “lumpy”. A small climb out of Yachats put us on to rolling terrain until the climb up Heceta Head. This climb goes on for a long time at 4%, then steepens as the summit approaches, sometimes reaching 10% gradients. Soon after, the last tunnel on the coast is encountered. The views here awesome. The day had started off pretty foggy, but was breaking up when we got here, so we got a few nice pix.
The descent off the head was fun, with the exception of some jackasses driving motorhomes and others with big pickup trucks and big ass trailers. Really, they don’t have be so intent on squeezing us off the road.
Dropping down into Florence, the terrains levels out and is more rolling as it enters the sand dunes that run down the coast for miles. It was cool to see the lakes among the dunes, and to see the sand marching through the forest and up against the highway.
We stopped at the Darlingtonia Botanical Wayside to see the carnivorous Darlintonia plants, then stopped at Charl’s restaurant for lunch. The place was pretty much empty, and the three waitresses were completely disinterested in serving us. They also seemed completely devoid of any personality. We scarfed down our mediocre meal, then back on the road towards Reedsport. Charl’s is not recommended.
After Florence the miles went by quickly, until the final climb out of the Oregon Dunes and into the Umpqua River drainage. This climb is a long grind at 6% or so with occasional steeper parts. There is a false summit, and then another sneaky bit of 7% before a fun 40mph downhill into Gardiner. Hwy 101 has been recently repaved in Douglas County, and the road was as smooth as black velvet. Soon we were at the Fir Grove Motel, our lodging for the night.
Janet: Lots of walks for me today. First off, a walk from our motel along the beach for 4.5 miles. Little foggy but the sun finally broke through although it was still cold. Once back to the car, grabbed a slice of leftover pizza from last night's dinner and then headed towards Smelt Sands State Park. The cycling book recommended stopping here to catch the waves pounding on the rocks. And it was quite a show. Quick pit stop at the restroom where I encountered a sign that said "Doors lock automatically at Dusk". I wasn't worried as it was still morning, but I did wonder what happens if you get locked inside. Well, no fears as once inside, I saw the emergency button to get out. Drove to the top of the mountain at Cape Perpetua and checked out the trail map. Decided to hike the St Perpetua Trail which went back down the hill to Hwy 101. Round trip it was about 2 miles with 700 feet elevation gain. Kinda wish I had discovered the trailhead at the bottom first as I dislike hiking down first and then back up but it was not to be, so down I went. The hike was actually very easy for me. I timed myself on the way back up and it took me 25 min so not bad for 1 mile and 700 ft. Checked out the Rock Shelter built by the CCC. What a wonderful view of the ocean from the shelter. Next stop Cook's Chasm, tide was up making a wonderful water show. By this time, Jo and Kevin had called me saying they were at the motel. So I headed towards Reedsport with my last stop being Darlintonia Wayside to check out the carnivorous plants. The lighting was great so got some good pictures of the plants. I couldn't believe how many of them there were in this one area.
Dinner with Jo and Kevin at the Harbor Lights in Reedsport. Great meal! We are going back tomorrow for breakfast!
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