Where’s Waldport?

Another morning, another day without a plan. That’s not a bad thing. It’s probably a good thing. Either way, the presence of numerous Hiker/Biker camping options of late has lessened the need for a set goal each day. In theory though, that may start to change as the Hiker/Biker sites become more spread out the further south I get. Today would be a good example of that.

As far as I could tell, I had two options for the day. In reality there were many options but, in keeping with my preference to travel at least 100 km each day, there were really only two practical options. So, my primary goal was Elbow Lake Campground which was 100 km away. If I was feeling ambitious at the end of the day I could continue to Umpqua Lighthouse which would add about 25 km to my day.

The day began with a beautiful coastal ride. Then again, that would describe most of my days here in Oregon. But today the weather was a bit more enjoyable which made the views seem all the more pleasant. I could ramble on about the scenery but the photos probably do a much better job.

As I pedalled along, I noticed an empty Subway cup lying in the ditch. Garbage in the ditch is not exactly an uncommon site but it is frequently a good indicator of the services ahead. Google had led me to believe I wouldn’t see my first Subway today until Reedsport – about 100 km away. The roadside garbage made me suspect otherwise.

The first town I reached was Waldport and, sure enough, there was a Subway. And an Information Center right next door. I figured the former would be good for breakfast while the latter would be good for WiFi. I was only half right.

The Subway was in fact good for breakfast as well as subs to go. Plus, I stocked up with another three cookies courtesy of Jeremy’s lasting donation. I have to say, the Raspberry Cheesecake cookies were surprisingly good.

The Information Center, on the other hand, wasn’t so good for offering WiFi however they directed me to the Waldport Public Library which was just around the corner. That ended up being an excellent option.

Waldport is a pretty small town and as such they have a pretty small library. In terms of WiFi though, they’re huge. I really didn’t expect to have upload AND download speeds in excess of 17 MB/s. Needless to say, I was very impressed. It also made me wish I had some big files to upload. I ended up spending over an hour at the library catching up on some things – although, clearly not everything as the blog updates have once again fallen behind. In my defence, it takes a lot longer than you might think to create each update. I’m doing my best.

With the morning rapidly approaching afternoon, I packed up my laptop and got back on the road to enjoy the sun and scenic views. There was also another dreaded tunnel. Fortunately, this tunnel was much less daunting than the first – so much so that there wasn’t even a button warning traffic when cyclists were in the tunnel.

The tunnel came and went without incident and on the other side I was greeted by more beautiful coastal views. I decided this would be a good place to stop, take some photos, and maybe even consume a CLIF Bar. I also chatted with a few people about my ride including a couple from Oregon just out for a drive, and Rollie from Pennsylvania … out for a somewhat longer drive.

After my not-so-brief break, I returned to the road for another two minutes before another view caught my eye. I stopped for more photos. Combined with the beautiful ocean backdrop was a fairly large number of seals. What the photos don’t show is all the barking going on amongst the seals. They were really incredibly vocal. I assumed they were all just wishing me well on my trip. I thanked them, wished them well, and resumed my ride.

The rest of the ride went without incident but not without more beautiful coastal views. And despite my numerous unscheduled stops I was still making pretty good time on the day. As such, when I arrived in Florence I opted to make another stop – this time at Fred Meyer, a grocery chain exclusive to Oregon (or maybe Washington too). Amy, from the Warm Showers in Seaside, had recommended Carob Squares as a snack for the road and mentioned they were available at Fred Meyer. This seemed like a good time to find out. On my way into the store I met Tom who was promoting a local newspaper and signing up people for a draw for $100 gift card. I signed up. Tom was also kind enough to keep an eye on my bike while I did my shopping. I stocked up on groceries (including Carob Squares) and shortly thereafter was back on the road.

From Fred Meyer, the end of my day was officially drawing near. Elbow Lake Campground was now only 20 km away. Or so I thought.

Let me first say that the signage along the Oregon Coast Bicycle Route has been great. While much of the route follows highway 101, there are several detours along the way and they have all been easy to follow without having to consult a map. That said, there were no signs whatsoever for Elbow Lake Campground. There was one sign for Elbow Lake but I saw no indication of a campground. This was a bit unfortunate. Since backtracking to the previous campground wasn’t an option – well, technically it was an option but really, it wasn’t an option – I focused my energy and set my mind to pedalling another 25 km to the next campground. Umpqua Lighthouse State Park.

Along the way I passed through Reedsport where, not surprisingly, there was yet another Subway. I didn’t really need to stop but there’s a promotion on right now whereby you get a free 6″ sub when you put $25 on a Subway card (no, that’s not a plug – just a fact). I already have a card, and it’s not like this is my last Subway stop so I figured getting a free sub would be a good idea. It was.

The final 25 km of my day went surprisingly easily – until the big hill at the end. There always seems to be a big hill at the end. Anyway, I got set up in the Hiker/Biker area and once again ran into Javier. It’s like he’s the new Moritz, except that Javier is from Spain – but we get along well and keep running into each other. There were also a couple of other cycle tourists there including a couple from the UK and Andrea from Vancouver. We sat around chatting until after the light had long disappeared before calling it a night.

There is rain in the forecast for overnight and tomorrow which is disappointing but since I really can’t remember the last time it rained I guess it was only a matter of time. There are also very strong headwinds are on the horizon which may greatly affect my progress – and may even force a non-travel day. That would be a bummer.

Today’s totals:
Distance travelled: 122.38 km
Ride time: 6:05:10
Average speed: 20.10 km/h
Maximum speed: 49.41 km/h