Day 12 | Working overtime on a sunday
Distance
57.1 miles
Elevation Climbed
3,188 ft
Landscape
Rolling hills through forests and a lush, rocky mountain with pretty but infrequent coastal views
Weather
Sunny to foggy and windy, 50-60 F
Lars’ Notes:
This morning’s ride started in the cute little town of Bandon. We started with a relaxing 5 mile stretch on local roads with reat ocean views of formations called Table Rock, Face Rock, Cat and Kittens Rock and others. It was cool and sunny. After that, we were back on the familiar OR Rt 101, and rode past our Airbnb in Langlois and Denmark! The ride was uneventful with gently rolling hills with nothing too steep. As we approached Port Orford, we felt the wind pick up and the temperatures drop. A few miles more and the wind got strong and the fog started to roll in. I knew the strong tailwind we experienced the last two days was not going to last forever. It didn’t. We were faced with a strong headwind as we headed into Port Orford. As we entered the town, we noticed a sign that said “strong winds for the next 27 miles”. Great, we have thirty left! The wind was about all we could think of as we pushed ahead. Despite the difficulty of forging ahead in the wind, the uniqueness of the hills, with fog blowing through the trees and valleys, were pretty cool to observe. We caught glimpses of the shore; the beaches were no longer sandy, but rather rocky. The stone pillars were also still present, yet on a smaller scale. We got a little protection from the fog and cold as we veered inland for a few miles past Humbug Mountain. While we were happy to be warmed by the sun, the wind didn’t let up. We stopped for lunch after two or three modest climbs a bit later than normal, leaving only about 15 miles to go. The last stretch was wicked. The wind got stronger, to the point where it felt as though we were barely gaining ground. We thought the diversion off 101 might provide some relief from the relentless wind, but no…It got worse! Kirsten and I could do nothing but laugh, it was incredible. As we entered our destination of Gold Beach, we contemplated whether we should end the ride before or after the bridge over the river. We decided to go for it, wind and all. Luckily traffic was light so our swerving due to the wind wasn’t much of a hazard. Today was a character builder for sure!
Kirsten’s Notes:
We finally found the infamous Oregon fog today – it wouldn’t have been a reflective trip down the coast without it! Every local we talked to over the last few days recounted the dreary weather they’d had for many weeks so we were very thankful for the luck we’d had up until mid today. Considering how sunny our day was for the first 25 miles, it’s hard to imagine what we were in for for the last 30. The transition was shockingly fast: one minute we are enjoying a brisk bluebird day, the next we are riding head first into thick wall of fog and southerly winds. In the times where we had some wind protection from trees it was quite peaceful watching the clouds sweep up and over the cliff line and briskly sift through the trees; in the times where there was no wind protection there was nothing peaceful about it…we had work to do pumping up the rolling hills and keeping a reasonable pace on the flats. Many times we just had to shake our heads, smile and laugh at the vigor and relentlessness of wind that seemed to have a life of its own.
