Oregon Coast 2011 Day 8 North Bend to Bandon

Today was another relatively short day, but certainly more hilly… today was the 7 Devils Road. The day ended up being around 34 miles and about 1,600’ of elevation gain.
We started of the day with an easy crossing of the McCullough Bridge. Renovation of this historic bridge has closed the sidewalk, so the speed limit is reduced to 35mph, and “Bicycles on Bridge” flashing light has been added. Every driver passed us slowly with plenty of room except for the very last car that passed us. I guess the girl driving the beat up old sedan was late to work or something. Jo was delighted that she beat the law and didn’t receive a traffic citation!
After a few miles we stopped at WalMart and McDonald’s for an Egg McMuffin, then on to Charleston and the hills of the 7 Devils.
After briefly getting separated (Kevin actually rode the first Devil twice as he turned around about halfway to find Jo), we tackled the first and most difficult of the Devils, a hill that is about a mile long and pretty consistently 10% to 12%. A resident along the road cheered Jo as she rode by “you can do it! Don’t walk like those other losers!” Janet was waiting at the summit and documented our success.
The remaining Devils were dealt with over the next 10 miles, and soon we had the fun twisty descent of Whisky Run Lane, and back to Hwy. 101 into Bandon. Paving work was going on, so we had brand new asphalt into Bandon, and a full lane to ourselves on the bridge over the Coquille River. We left the highway at Riverside Drive, and took the back roads into Old Town Bandon. We all had lunch there, and then went to our hotel, the Inn at Face Rock, where Alan and I stayed in 2008. The offshore rocks and sandy beaches along Beach Loop Drive are quite spectacular. After doing laundry, we went into town for another seafood dinner.
Janet: I followed Kevin and Jo for most of the day to provide support in case of need on the 7 Devils. Jo was happy that I provided food and drink along the way. I stopped at an Estuary and took a quick walk around, not wanting to get to far as there were posted signs about black bear being in the area. The most significant thing that happened to me today, was that I got stung/bit by a F**KING WASP. I hate WASPS as I tend to have a bit of reaction from the bite. I iced the bite for over an hour so far it has not swelled too much but we'll see what happens tomorrow. Can't take benadryl as I'm driving.