[OrRando] Ride report: Newburg - Newport Permanent

Susan France susanfrance at teleport.com
Sun Apr 30 20:01:34 PDT 2006


Florence to Eugene....Yep a bit east on 126 you head north on 36....to
Mapleton & Swiss Home... not to be confused with Sweet Home where you'll be
going in 3 weeks. 36 also goes by Triangle Lake ... good for camping I
recall. Eventually goes into Eugene near Cheshire... which I don't remember.
36 is nice because all the cars, trucks and RVs are on 126.

I was wondering if you'd be tackling that headwind from Eugene... Maybe save
it for 3weeks from now. And if the wind is the same... might want to
consider pacelines.

Susan.

> -----Original Message-----
> From: orrando-bounces at tire.patch.com
> [mailto:orrando-bounces at tire.patch.com]On Behalf Of Bert Lutz
> Sent: Sunday, April 30, 2006 7:51 PM
> To: Oregon area Randonneurs
> Subject: [OrRando] Ride report: Newburg - Newport Permanent
>
>
> 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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