Pedal B

Day 17: Washburne Memorial State Park to Coos Bay, OR

Today's Distance: 63 miles

Total Distance: 764 miles

Last night I was harassed by a gaze of raccoons (don't be impressed, I looked it up).  They must've smelled food, but they weren't as resilient as I thought they'd be.  Just like most mornings, when I started my ride it felt like I was putting in a lot of effort but not going anywhere.  The struggle is real.  It was a little foggy but the view was still nice.  I hit my 2nd and last Oregon tunnel and this one had zero shoulder.  Luckily there was some roadwork and they stopped the cars after me, so I had the whole road to myself for about 15 minutes.  I stopped to have breakfast in Florence and after that I entered into the Oregon Dunes.  I don't really think of dunes when I think of Oregon, but most of today's ride was spent riding by them. Unfortunately they're not that visible from the road, so I'd have to make a side trip to go see them...ain't nobody got time for that.  Lots of road work today and lots of having to stop on my downhills which provided no payoff for the climbs I had to do.  There's not a whole lot worth mentioning while going through the dunes area, except that there was an accident that had the road backed up quite a bit. As I rode up to the front of the line I realized the accident involved a cyclist.  It wasn't anybody I recognized but I was still a little freaked out.  Anything can happen at any moment, so I need to stay on it and be vigilant the whole time.

My worst nightmare occurred at the Umpqua River Bridge going into Reedsport.  I remember my book recommending taking the sidewalk because of the lack of shoulder, so I did. Worst decision. If you've ever rode your bike on a bridge sidewalk, you know there is usually no room but to go perfectly straight. Well once I got going I soon found out that every single bar had broken spider webs blowing from the wind and into my path. Every single bar.  I had no other choice but to ride through every single web face first. At one point I had enough balance that I was able to put up my hand to block them. Better my hand than face, but still.  It must've looked ridiculous to anyone watching. At the end of the bridge I was thoroughly creeped out and covered in web.  The book tricked me again.

The biggest incline of the day was at Winchester Bay.  Once I finished that I was so stoked to see my bud Bosh in Coos Bay, that I pedaled harder than I had all day for the last 20 miles.  Right before I hit the bridge going into North Bend/Coos Bay, I hear a car honking in the distance behind me. When the car got closer, I see that it's Bosh who was on a mission to find me on the 101. He was all smiles as he drove by and we exchanged some of the most memorable fist pumps of my life.  Once he was fully past me, I noticed that he had wrote "Pedal B #biketour" on his back windshield. It was such an incredible experience, it's hard to explain in words, but I'll never forget it.  I'm stoked to be in Coos Bay and to hang out with one of my best friends.  Even made it in time to catch the Chargers play in the Monday Night Football game!  Today was a good day.