September 13 - From Winchester Bay to Bandon

DESCRIPTION: Mileage: 66 miles. Terrain: Rolling hills until lunch, moderate short climbs over Seven Devils Road, then beautiful downhill riding into Bandon. Highlights: Our favorite coastal location, Bandon, overlooking a quaint small-boat harbor with many unique shops and restaurants. Lunch at a state park overlooking a favorite seal roost before arriving at oceanfront lodging overlooking Face Rock.

OVERNIGHT: Sunset Motel, Bandon (541.347.2453)

TRIP DIARY/PHOTOS:

Today was another fabulous biking day!

Above: Here the group gets a route briefing in the morning before heading out. Standing from left to right: Sandy, Annette, Burt, and Gail. Seated from back to front, clockwise: Butch, Lynn, Leonard, John, Bob, and Harold.

Above: Burt and Gail are always the first out in the morning. Gail doesn't tolerate heat well, and they both want to get as much riding done in the early morning coolness as they can. The flag jerseys are souvenirs from their big bike tour last year, Ride-Across-America. Earlier this year, they biked a one-week tour in Austrailia.

Above: We had to walk our bikes across the 1.5-mile long Coos Bay Bridge.

Above: Butch stripped off his cold-weather leggings, after finishing our long walk across the bridge.

Above: Hans and Jim were waiting at the other side of the bridge with lots of fresh fruit, trail mix, cookies, cake, cheese, and other tempting snacks. Left to right: Barbara, Hans, and Harold.

Above: As we neared the luncheon stop, we saw this lovely cove with mysterious, natural sharp-angled walls.

Above: Bob and Harold picked sun-ripened wild blackberries.

Above: Today we saw over a thousand sea lions! The cacophony of their barking was incredible and could be heard from a half-mile away.

Above: We met Burt and Gail leaving the luncheon area as we got close.

Above: Our lunch spot is at Cape Arago State Park. Sandy Green cooked up another fantastic picnic buffet!

Above: As we entered Bandon, we saw this bus and wondered what type of people took this kind of bike tour. As it turned out, the people travel all over the country, buying old bikes, selling them, or trading them for food, etc. They even have a Web site!

Above: The beach outside our motel in Bandon.

Ride Statistics: Today we rode 66 miles. Gary is getting ready for a mountain biking competition in Portland in a few weeks, so he biked an extra 33 miles! There were a number of significant climbs over a large coastal range. At the coast, the temperature was 55 - 70 degrees, but up in the mountains it climbed to about 80 degrees. The total elevation gain was 2300 feet today!