Florence to Coos Bay

Florence to Coos Bay

Coos Bay to Port Orford

I was raised like most people with the emphasis on breakfast being the most important meal of the day; it normally consists of a couple oatmeal packets and maybe, maybe an apple or pear for myself, but this fine morning Aaron made us eggs, hash browns, and turkey bacon (I am trying to eat as organically and vegetarian as I can on this trip and I'm doing a lot better than I expect so I let the bacon slide). This got us on the right foot right off the bat.

Evan needed to go to a bike shop to get his handlebars adjusted and we wanted to top off our tires. So on the way to the bike shop we are riding in the bike lane all chatting and I am leading then Evan and Blake are almost riding side by side when I hear a zzzzzing sound and I look back and all I see is Evan's bike almost sideways and Evan out of his traps and in the air! I turn around to make sure I don't crash and turn around to help when I hear him scuff on the pavement then roll like a champ into a wood chipped area. Seems that Blake and Evan clipped panniers and sent Evan flying. His knee was a little cut up and his front tire chewed but all still functional.

The bike shop was peculiar reading, 'guitars & bikes'. It s exactly what you're thinking of; they're the only place in town that sells anything to do with guitars. It's what keeps them afloat in the winter. Safeway was across the street so we stocked up on foods.

Riding out of Florence had some hills so we climbed then went down then we clbed and went down. Another day of fine weather. As we approached North Bend, we ran into a group of supported cyclists and a Swiss gentleman who had been cycling South America, Alaska, and now the coast and going to head down through Baja and somehow get to Costa Rica. He is an accountant and over in Europe the holiday (vacation time) is amazing; paid for at least a couple months then there was some special Swiss thing he was talking about how after his holiday pay he still gets paid but only 80% of his normal salary so he's able to be on the road for a year or so without saving for the trip. We sure are missing out on some wonderful social programs and employers who encouraged their employees to get out and travel. Happy employees make more productive and loyal employees, I don't have the facts to back this statement up just from what I've heard Europeans say. 

There's a bridge you have to cross before getting into Nprth Bend/Coos Bay. We kept riding 10 miles out of town to a park for a campsite. Sunset Bay State Park has a gorgeous beach front and if you hike around the point it is mystical. The hiker/biker site was the worst so far; it's as if it was an after thought. They cleared off a marshy spot with no water or trash cans and its where the raccoons go to mingle when the sun goes down. More on that the next day.

The rain was starting and I was tired so I went to bed while others tried to get a fire going.

The next day was supposed to rain all day and it lived up to its forecast. We planned to have Rob meet us and spend the day dismal day out of the elements since the rest of the week was supposed to be gorgeous as usual. 

Sleeping in is nice since we normally toss and turn, get awoken by the sun then fall back asleep, then I get up around 8, so we slept in till 9 since it was just pouring. Evan and I shared his 1 man tent and my side was nice and damp. I sudoku-ed while we waited for Rob to save us. 

He arrived and hugs were given as the rain pelted us so we grabbed the few things we needed and hopped in the car. Our day off was spent hanging out in a local bookstore planning our day, getting Internet and catching up in the library (shhhh), getting chinese food, and sneaking oodles of candy into the movie theater as we were the only people watching World War Z. 

The rain subsided so we headed back to the campsite where we hiked around the point at the ocean and then said our goodbyes to Rob. The rain picked back up and we seemed refuge in our tents and read until we got sleepy...

...only to be awoken by getting body slammed by a raccoon! As I mentioned our site is there hangout zone and some were fighting over a banana peel someone left out (come on people) and one got tossed right into the tent wall where I was sleeping and I sleep with ear plugs so I was dead asleep then WHAM hit by a raccoon and I jumped and it scared Evan and Blake got out and shooed them away with his light. They haunted our campground until 4ish and the rain let up. 

We awoke haggard and tired and water logged. Giving in to the fact that we weren't gonna pack up everything all nice and dry. We got on our bikes and backtracked to the road we needed and joked that by taking this road we were going to avoid the few hills we knew we had right off the bat but it threw us head first into multiple hills and eventually on a plateau or ridge. 

The wind was in our favor today after the hills, giving us a speedy tailwind. We weren't really along the shore until we got to our destination, Port Orford. We stopped at the library to get some Internet and hit up the grocery store. The weather was cloudless and the sun was beating down and as we rode out of town trying to head to our campground there was a huge sign written on the road saying 'ocean view' with an arrow pointing up and over this little hill in 5 ft letters. You see this and you have to see what is on the other side and its one of those hills where you can't see over the crest until you are basically over it. It blew me away, how far you could see down the coast, how golden it was, and the large rock islands piercing through the waters. We spent a good time soaking it in and hanging out on the beach before rising the last six miles to our campsite at Humbug Mountain State Park. 

The sun was still out baking us so we laid out our tarps, tents, rainflies, sleeping bags, and sleeping pads to dry them out. The showers were right there so we cleaned up while our stuff dried and made camp when the sun ducked over Humbug Mountain. 

We filled the evening laughing about getting hushed at the library, our high fiber diets, and how our voices carry throughout the campground since the hiker biker site is up the hill. We made sure we had nothing out that would attract the wildlife and went into our tents at 8:36 wondering how to kill time before falling asleep. Sudoku and reading are on my agenda. Wishing Evan the best of luck tonight sleeping under his tarp, hoping he doesn't have any late night visitors.