1st – 2nd Sept 2018

Bullards Beach SP

We didn’t get up until 9:30am, after originally waking at 7am, to hear the four older guys (who like to do 80 miles a day) get going without breakfast. I heard them discussing how far they could ride before breakfast. They reckoned 30 miles (50kms). I reckon I might get about 10kms. Anyway, we are not going anywhere today. My legs are super sore today, a combination of Seven Devils and red wine, probably, and we just feel like a break. I have clothes to wash, and blogs to write, and it is Labor Day Weekend here, so super busy. 

Everyone else was going slow too, and all heading for Humbug Mountain State Park, 60kms away. The last to go was Dave the German, who is probably the fittest and fastest. Yesterday he rode 130kms with no big stops. Fit, bloody fit. Once they’d all cleared out, we just made the last of our coffee, sat in the sun and did our things. I wandered off to pay for another night and do my washing, we relaxed, and later in the afternoon, went for a walk to the beach. It was a 5 kilometre return walk, and although I had to rest the knees a couple of times on the way back, I made it. Best I’ve done in a long time. 

 

 

James and Janet are Mum and Son, and riding together to San Fransisco. Then Janet flies home, and James is riding the Southern Tier from San Diego to the East. Going slow and enjoying the ride. David the super fit German, is speeding down the coast, enjoying things in his own way, and loving his ride too. The park put on a kids bike parade for the special weekend, and all these kids loved their rides with heaps of decorations and some safety advise to go.

So we’ve made some chicken pasta concoction for dinner, using all our left over food. Now we can restock with fresh food, and start the day light. Nice. We have no coffee or milk, so in the morning we’ll get up, pack up and head across the bridge for breakfast. Then head to Humbug State Park, hoping for sunshine and tailwinds.

 

 

It was blowing a gale down the beach, but was worth the walk. The crazy travel hair is coming along too hey?

Bullards Beach SP (Bandon) to Humbug Mountain State Park 62kms

A cool morning, up early-ish, and heading into town for breakfast. We had a nice stop at The Station restaurant, then rode through the old town trying to follow the Pacific Coast route, which takes you around the coast and through the backroads for a while. We took one wrong turn, and ended up cycling up this super steep hill, before finding the right road. It was a beautiful ride, with a spectacular coast. Very enjoyable.

 

 

Don’t forget the sunscreen people, even when it’s overcast. Luckily the bridge wasn’t too bad, and the views of the river at low tide were beautiful.

With a good Northerly wind behind us, we cruised along at good speed. I could feel the push on the uphill, which was very satisfying. Before we knew it, we had reached Langlois, the home of the World Famous Hotdog. What? I’ve never even heard of the place. The welcome sign says “Welcome to World Famous Langloi”. Famous for what? Hotdogs? Well it seems it was once famous for Blue Cheese, until the factory burnt down in the 1950’s, but was never rebuilt. Anyway, Will decided to try a World Famous hotdog, which turned out to be a tiny, very underwhelming event, if not a little sickly. I was not regretting my decision to not have one.

 

 

The coastline was stunning, the wood carvings creative, and the sunshine warm.

So far, we had been happily on the roller coaster with a hefty push from behind. It was fun and fast. We rolled into Port Orford, which was our last stop for groceries, and while Will did the deed, I chatted to locals. It was getting a bit cool in the ever strengthening wind, but as it was still behind us, we didn’t really notice once we were back riding. The last 10kms, was a winding cliff edge, with amazing views and mostly a brand new shoulder. We stopped quite a lot to watch the big birds just soaring on the wind, right at eye level. It looked like you could reach out and touch them. Finally we had a zippy race down the valley and into the State Park, where we self registered, bought some fire wood, and got ourselves a cozy little spot for the night. Hot showers, a nice fire, and a great conversation with Clare from Eugene. We met her at Bandon, she is solo riding from Newport to San Fransisco. She was a really nice lady, and she is working with a group of people making reusable and environmentally friendly items for Adventurous Women. Animosa Gear! Check out the website Animosa

 

 

Amazing blue water, interesting haystack rock formations, it makes for good riding. Not to mention nice rest stops.

 

 

At Port Orford, there was a little bike station for repairs. The spanner Will needed was missing. Bugger! But riding around the coast was bloody brilliant. The colours, the scenery, Wow!

 

 

The “kids” didn’t mind the day, nor did we. A tiered campsite, and a few new cyclists to meet. Clare was a great lady to meet, with an interesting life. We had a very nice night.