Sunday 24 June - Riding the Oregon coast

Florence - Bandon

80 miles
6 hours 39 minutes in the saddle
32 mph max speed
12.0 mph average speed

Today we started our ride towards San Francisco. When we got up this morning we saw the rain clouds roll in over the ocean and by the time we headed out for breakfast it was pouring down. Although the weather has been inclement, it really is great to be by the sea and just south of Florence we caught our first glimpse of the Pacific. Florence is by the coast, but slightly inland on the Siuslaw River estuary. We stopped for lunch in Winchester Bay and sat on the beach. It was wonderful to watch the waves and the blue sea and blue sky merge on the horizon.

We took the Seven Devils road from Charlston to near Bandon to avoid the RV traffic jam in the 101. It was a devil of a road for cycling, reminding us of the roller coaster hills in the Ozarks, but the views and peacefulness made it worthwhile. Our ride today has been mostly inland on the vast dunes that butt the Pacific along the central Oregon coast. The dunes are several miles wide and can be very steep, some of them are so big there are small lakes between the dunes.

Tonight we are having dinner at the only nice restaurant in Bandon. It is very nice and will completely blow our budget. Oh well. We have decided it is probably worthwhile going for cheap hotel rooms so that we can enjoy the excellent food along the Pacific coast.