From here we sit...Newport, OR in Cafe Mundo, a hip little joint near the coast where our host for the night, Amie, works. The food was too delicious for us to pass up and I feel ok about spending money on yummy home made food.
Today we woke up on Otter Beach just north of Newport to a blustery, cold, wet and miserable coastal rain. I mean our luck had to run out at some point, no? Yes gang...we spent a full day laid out on the beach yesterday, I mean we're talking Waikiki style, clear skies, hot sun, and the beach to ourselves. We figure we need days of rest in between the days of hard riding up and down the coast and why not do it on the beach? But as we've come to realize here, the nice weather never stays long and the cold front with inevitably get you.
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| The only picture I took all day |
Suffice it to say that we mounted up at the first break of rain and rode south to Newport as quick as we could in the hopes of finding a couch to surf. While we sat in a Hawaiian themed cafe (is that the universe messing with us?) we patrolled the pages of Couchsurfing.org in the hopes of some kind soul helping us out. Amie answered the call and we were at her doorstep in no time at all. She and her dog, Jager, have a lovely little beach side studio just outside of town. Lani and I will be spending the night on the floor, sleep over style. Since we called our day of riding early due to weather we just relaxed and dried off until we got ancy and ventured into town. We met the kind folks at Newport Bike Shop, who actually have a full lounge, complete with TV's, WiFi and SHOWERS for passing bike tourists, unfortunately we didn't realize that until after we got to Amie's. Damn.
Now that you're all caught up to the minute with us...let's regress a bit back to Otter Rock. This cliff lined beach was nothing short of breath taking and we got to camp FOR free for 2 lovely nights. We actually met 2 other bike tourists from Holland named Joost and Michiel, who started their journey at the tip of Alaska in the arctic circle and it only took them 2 months to get to Oregon. They are cycling down to the tip of Argentina over the course of 18 months. When there they will deposit a bottle of water from the arctic as a symbol of the water cycle. They are raising awareness about the global water crisis, which leaves 1 billion people without access to clean safe drinking water. Check them out at www.cycleforwater.com...the coolest part is they are on BAMBOO bikes. Trippy stuff.
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| Our humble abode...bottom left |
Otter Rock is also home to the Devil's Punch Bowl, which is a tide pool you can frolic in when it's low tide...which I did of course...only slipping a half dozen or more times. All the creepy crawlies were out and I was quickly freaked the hell outta there, the fear of being infested coupled with the threat of the tide suddenly rushing back in made for a quick, but THOROUGH go around. Also there was a dead seal on the beach and that made me feel some feelings.
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| Low tide |
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| Devil's Punchbowl |
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| Right NEAR DA BEACH |
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| Taking a break before another climb up Cascade Head |
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| Shaboom. |
This appears to be a Memento style backwards post because I have no chronological pacing in my free form writing style....or I'm just forgetful. So before Otter Rock, before Newport, we parted ways with Karen and Joe in Neskowin and headed up to tackle Cascade head...CLIMB CLIMB CLIMB CLIMB...for about 2 hours...only really covering about 2 to 3 miles of ground. We opted to take the Slab Creek Road, gentler grade climb rather than hit the 101 and go straight up. I mean...I'm pretty sure we would have dropped dead of a heart attack if we tried to go straight up, but those gentler grades that seem to go on and on and on forever push me to the edge of sanity. Especially Cascade head that offered NO flats or breaks...just creeped up winding climbs. We took a break for Lani to stretch and for me to lay on my back and collect myself for a moment, for if I didn't a would lose it in the middle of the Suislaw National Forest and you never know when I park ranger will be able to come and collect the pulpy mess that was once Maggie.
Anyways...with every climb comes the inevitable downhill on the otherside...and this one was EPIC. We're talking a 6 minute free fall at 30 miles per hour...I just about pooed myself at those speeds.
After that it felt like smooth sailing all the way through Lincoln City and to what we thought was our campsite at Fogarty Creek, but it turned out to be only day use so we were told to press on towards Newport, another 10 or so miles down the road to Beverly Beach where they offered camping for bikers. BUT FIRST we had to brave Cape Foulweather...while not as intense as Cascade Head, at the end of a 30 mile ride, running on fumes, I was yet again pushed to my mental and physical brink. After tipping over twice, one from exhaustion the other from attempting to take a picture and subsequently smashing into a rock wall...MAN DOWN!! Thank god Lani was feeling fresh as spring and was able to drag me along with her. We eventually were spit out on the other side of the cape after another sweet free fall, where we ran into Paul and his dog Lucky, who offered us beer (changed to pop for me) if we went and looked at the point at Otter Rock at sunset before pressing on to Beverly Beach. Long story short we ended up camping at Otter for 2 nights and never went to Beverly Beach.
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| Paul is not really in the pic, but Lani and surfer, Guy, made small talk by the fire. |
Well faithful readers, that's all I got for now. I think I'll sign off and make an effort to relax and enjoy the vibe in Newport. Hopefully tomorrow we make it to Yahacts or beyond. Forecast says CLEAR SKIES!!
Oh wait...the 6 minute free fall video down Cascade head. It's kinda poor quality and shakey, but it's fun and has some funny bits in the middle.
Also...an updated map:
View Ride a Damn Bike in a larger map
Until we find another hotspot!!
Marge and Lani
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