[OrRando] Ride report: Newburg - Newport Permanent
Bert Lutz
bert_lutz at hotmail.com
Sun Apr 30 19:51:24 PDT 2006
Played hookey from work on Friday. Well, mostly. Cell phones are magical
devices and I was able to deal with a few work issues somewhere between
McMinnville and Spirit Mountain Casino. Only an hour out of an otherwise
spectacular day and ride.
Got a late start out of Newburg around 730 and without a heavy dose of
caffine, I managed to get lost in McMinnville! The cue sheet was right on
the money (as it was for the rest of the ride) but there were a few loose
wires on my side. If you rode last week's 300, think reverse --at least
that part from Pacific City, including the Nestucca bit, were part of the
route. There were some quiet and scenic roads from Mac to Grand Ronde. You
may remember the promised tailwind that we were supposed to have on SR 18
near the DQ. Well, it was there on Friday. Unfortunately, I got to
experience it again as a headwind.... Traffic picked up quite a bit on SR
22. Quiet returned once I turned onto Little Nestucca. and cruised into
Pacific City. The friendly attendent at the mini mart, asked me if I was
going to come back every weekend, remembering me from last Saturday.
Back on 101 south, I met a man from England, riding a fully loaded touring
bike. He was on day 2 of a 2-3 month trip across the US. He said he was
having troubling remembering the correct side of the road to ride on. Hmmm.
I thought it wise to pull ahead of him instead of riding between him and
the fast moving traffic. Then a bit later there was the racer from
Portland. We exchanged a few words and he was gone and out of sight in 5
minutes.
Finally a light tailwind and a light mist moved in and traffic thinned out a
bit. The scenery was beautiful. This stretch of 101 is very nice with
quite a few rollers and some spectacular views. Slab Creek Road offered a
change of scenery, a nice 800 or so foot climb over about 5 miles. For the
ten mile or so detour, I saw 2 cars, a functioning 1 room school house and
lots of old growth timber. Very nice.
Lincoln City would be best avoided but it seems to be a necessary part of
the route. Road construction, no bike lanes and rude drivers were the
memorable experiences here. Be careful if you ride through here around rush
hour, as I did.
Ah, but just a few miles down the road is the Otter Crest Loop, a tiny 4
mile, one-way road that winds along the coastal cliffs. Smooth pavement and
crashing waves below...
The Yaquina Head Lighthouse is the last stop before the end. There is a
nice 1 mile ride down to the light which is currently undergoing renovation.
There was a light rain falling and it turned chilly. No lingering here
today but worth a trip someday.
This is a very relaxing and scenic permanent. Don't forget to bring your
camera...
But there is more...
I had planned to ride part of the permanent Newport - Newburg on Saturday
and then head down to Eugene. But when I started out early on Saturday
morning, the coast was calling. In the mist and light rain, I rode the 55
miles down to Florence. I was glad I did. No traffic, spectacular views
with the swirling mist and tailwind (finally!) combining to make this an
effortless ride. Might have also been the 3 breakfasts that I had that
morning. Starbucks in Newport. Eggs and pancakes in Yachats and McDonalds
in Florence.
Take 126 to Eugene. Wide shoulders, good for bikes, said the locals. Well,
sort of. 60 miles to Eugene. The first 15 miles was wide shoulders and
another tailwind(!). The next 25 miles was climbing the coastal range.
Nice scenery but narrow shoulders and increasing traffic. Not bad. The
final 20 had even more traffic and was a bit narrower. Not fun. Probably
not a good choice on my part. I bet there is a better way to Eugene. Maybe
if I had gone further south on 101. Or maybe I should have stuck to my
original plan and taken 20 and 180 from Newport to Corvallis. But then I
would have missed the ride to Florence...
Remember the car? That's how I came back from Eugene on Sunday. I had
planned to ride back but at 5am it was 38 and the wind was from the North at
10-20. 100 miles of headwind? Maybe next weekend. I did the senseable
thing. I went back to bed.
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