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entry 6: lincoln city, oregon to santa rosa, california 10/16/05

Kicking back for a little beach time in Lincoln City, Oregon.

Lincoln City, OR is a great city, I’m sure. I just can’t say for sure because of all the damn pouring rain! We are well past weather testing our gear, which has resulted in ordering dry bags for our front panniers, and have now moved on to “how to avoid truck spray and fun while hydroplaning.” I’m not kidding folks, it took a strong will (and an outrages room rate at the chain motel we stayed in) to roll back on the road and put another 100 miles on the bikes in our endeavor to get out of this never-ending rain.

After a small break in the weather we pulled into Florence, OR. This was a neat little town that had great “Lynne” shopping and for me a cozy tavern that was showing all the college football games, good clam chowder and of course some tasty local beers. The weather was still cool in the evenings and foggy in the mornings but the beach was of soft white sand and slow rolling waves. We enjoyed the evening views the beach offered but still had enough clothes on to walk through a Colorado blizzard. We did stop at the seal caves nearby but was told the seals had not been there for months and may not be back for months to come. Perhaps we will spot a few of the critters farther down the road.

Some of the awesome glass works done by Dutch, Aro and others.

This week will be spent traveling down highway 101, hugging the coastline we have rarely seen. It will cover the last part of Oregon and bring us into northern California, where the cow pastures start turning into vineyards and the roads start to wind through Redwood forests. The town of Bandon, OR, was our first stop this week and it turned out to be a quasi fishing/art town. A local glass-blowing shop, Bandon Glass Art Studio, allows patrons to watch the glass blowing process. As we are traveling during the off season, the shop keepers are more inclined to visit with you and this one was no exception. Dutch and Aro Schultz have owned their business for over twenty years and now have one of their sons learning the trade. While we were there, Dutch was making a bandagio - what amounts to a large glass plate, about three feet in diameter when completed, and he would work the colored glass in one furnace that was about 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit and then keep adding clear glass by dipping his work into a vat/furnace that was almost 2,100 degrees. The work is so hot that after every piece is completed, they cool off for thirty minutes before starting again. Of course we were so impressed by their fine craftsmanship that we bought a piece.

I hope I’m not boring readers when I constantly speak of the weather. The thing is, when you’re up close and personal with Mother Nature you tend to notice the fog sticking to your helmet and are grateful(?) when a fine mist washes away the insect splatter on your face shield. I have now forgotten how many days in a row we have seen little or no sun. Oh well, there’s always tomorrow and hope for a sunnier day. Yea, right.

As we move past Crescent city, CA and get off of Highway 101, we start to travel on Highway 1. There are two reasons we why we choose Highway 1. First, 101 is no longer following the coastline and second, California has managed to turn 101 into a freaking freeway and we definitely prefer the two lane roads. Hwy. 1 is full of sharp hairpins and Redwood covered rides. This has turned into the most technical riding we have done so far. One of the main reasons we wanted to tour the Western U.S. before heading south was to gain some practical riding experience. We put in about 300 miles of hairpins and hills this week, spending more time riding on the sides of our tires than the bottoms, which resulted in sore side muscles from throwing 500 or so pounds of bike and gear from side to side. The best ride of the week was on a 65 mile loop called the Mendocino Road, just south of Eureka, CA. This road takes you through forests, high plains hills and then down to the beach. Along the beach we saw cows, either grazing or tanning, and we noticed the hawks had given away to vultures. The road, which at times turned to a single lane for both directions of traffic, turned to gravel or very poorly patched sections. The ride ends by going through the Humboldt National Forest and the Redwoods there are VERY close to the road.

As it was getting fairly dark we wanted to stay at the first place we came upon. The B&B was nice but we knew it was going to be pretty expensive as the owner gave us a tour of the rooms before dropping the bomb and sure enough it was P.R.I.C.E.Y. We told him we couldn’t afford to sell one of our bikes to pay for the night so he suggested a little place down the road. Well, we must have pissed him off because the place turned out to be a Roadhouse. Now if you’ve seen the Patrick Swazee movie “Roadhouse” you can get the flavor of this place. You walk in and see the bar and dance floor and of course where the band sets up. The lady behind the bar greets us and promptly asks us to follow her to the two rooms they rent out. We walked back toward the kitchen and just before the pots and pans wash sinks she opens a door and leads us downstairs. The room was plain but clean looking and the price was in our budget so we take it. As she leaves the room she says “You might hear the kitchen crew when they leave at 10.” Well not only did we hear them leave but we heard every pot, pan and dish get washed. When we woke in the morning, we realized we were the only ones in the joint. The quiet morning kind of made up for the loud evening and we set out to do one more tour of Redwoods and then we headed for Ft. Bragg.

Tom and his new friend Woody on the beach.

The next couple of days of coastal highway riding was good but we were looking forward to Sunday when we would arrive at the house of friends, Carol and Bill, who live in San Jose, CA. We planned on using this week long stop to catch up on how their first year in San Jose went, change out some riding gear and look the bikes over.

Notes from Lynne:

I loved the towns of Florence and Bandon - really a quaint feel. I hope to see (shop) them again sometime.

As Tom mentioned, we've never been in a state with people as eager to help you as Oregon. Their highway signs say "the friendliest state" - but they actually live up to it.

Thanks to my brother-in-law Charlie for the tip about stuffing a hairdryer down into your riding boot for quick and effective drying. I'll be looking for new boots in San Jose.

The Mendocino Road that Tom describes above is incredible - though definitely not for the wimpy. For me, a bit of a gauntlet, you might say.