PDF to SFO or Bust

  Taken by Hannah Friday night, before  the fog set in With 50+ miles of riding ahead of us we were up at the crack of dawn to pack up camp and hit the road, we had a hotel booked in Florence that night to look forward to, and an opportunity to do some laundry. It was brisk and foggy as we hopped on our bikes to get started, and we had a breakfast date with Christi’s uncle at 9am, 15 miles away in Waldport, so we needed to get some miles under our belts. While her uncle had other priorities pop up, we still made it to the Waldport Cafe for some amazing breakfast to warm our chilly bones on this foggy day. Waldport Cafe 😋 There was a glimmer of hope for a good day of riding when I checked the Weather Channel app while in the restaurant and it predicted the fog clearing in the next hour, FAKE NEWS! The next five hours consisted of heavy fog mixed with light mist, and occasionally, a mild smoky haze. Based on the number of pull outs on the side of the highway during this stretch...

 September 11th, 2020      This day we slept in a little bit (0730), knowing that we would be driving around Lincoln City. Let the sand dollar hunt begin! Brandon and I walked nearly 2 miles before I found one. Picking up trash off the beach rewarded me with the only sand dollar we found. For a secluded/nearly-private beach, there was plenty of garbage to find. Didn’t run into anyone else, but we did find a rotten deer rib cage and a small hut made of drift wood (pictured above).      While walking on the beach I discovered the news that Highway 101 South had been opened up through Lincoln City. This wouldn’t be changing our plans to skip riding that day, but it did save us an extra hour or two of driving. We only saw a few areas with proof of the fire that had moved towards town; luckily the fire was held outside Neotsu and did not proceed into Lincoln City proper. The air quality here was extremely unhealthy, which was also a reason not to ride today...

  Our trusty road team and their pups Due to fires surrounding Lincoln city, we decided to take a rest day and drive through to Newport, avoiding the smoke. Since there was not a ride to report for today, I decided to make a profile of our unplanned road team and their heroics! Hannah Head Chef, Sherpa, road support Hannah volunteered months ago to drive us to Astoria to begin our trip. Once she found out our itinerary included some of her favorite state parks she decided to join us for several nights along the way, driving my car along the route with supplies, and saving us lots of weight that we otherwise would have needed to carry. Hannah also came in clutch with some amazing seafood chowder that we made two dinners out of. 😋  With the smoky conditions, and unplanned re-routing, Hannah continued her services all the way to Florence, and we’ll miss her help throughout the rest of the journey. Thank you! Davita Chief of surgery Davita was a late addition to the road team, ju...

  After a night around the electric lantern (campfires, stoves, lanterns, etc. are all banned currently due to the fires) chatting with our road crew, we were up with the sun to get our 54 mile day started. Today was all business, with only one breakfast stop, one beer break, and one grocery stop to pick up some essentials that Christi neglected to pack. #cheese! Unfortunately it was closed Excited for the prospect of a hot shower on a foggy and chilly September day on the Oregon coast we made great time. It was all business in an effort to get to the family cabin at Winema and relax after some much needed showers.  We were waylayed by our road crew in Pacific City for lunch and drinks, but made it to the cabin by about 4pm. While Christi and I were getting cleaned up, our road chef Hannah cooked up some amazing seafood chowder, which hit the spot after a long days ride.😋 Wind storm leftovers There was some concern about air quality as we headed South towards the Lincoln City...