[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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