I don’t want to sound grumpy or ungrateful, but today’s ride wasn’t very scenic, with a couple exceptions.
Most of today’s ride was on US 101, which was really fast, loud and busy. It has mostly adequate, seldom generous, and occasionally inadequate shoulders, but (as a consolation) the road is in mostly great shape. But I can’t even imagine riding here during peak summer season.
The surroundings didn’t feel very “coastal” and I only glimpsed the ocean once. There were so many logging trucks, but those drivers seemed like they were being really careful. I WAS passed unpleasantly closely by MANY vehicles, including a few tractor-trailers, like this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pir_qmtutiU
My first nice respite from the noise and speed happened at Winchester Bay. I went on a loop around the Umpqua River Lighthouse, and the roads were blessedly quiet, and offered the day’s only glimpse of the Pacific Ocean.
I stopped for “second breakfast” at a strip-mall café in Reedsport, Oregon. A man walked in carrying grocery bags from the Safeway next-door, and asked me if I had done “Paris-Brest-Paris.” Paris-Brest-Paris is the iconic 1200 kilometer flagship ride that randonneurs generally consider the crowning achievement of randonneuring.
I was really confused, because I assumed he had just seen my ridiculously overloaded bicycle – a very non-randonneuring setup – outside, but it turned out he had seen me earlier while driving down US 101, and I was wearing the fluorescent pink Seattle Randonneurs jersey.
I haven’t done PBP, and probably won’t, and told him that. He was sad that I have not done it, but he told me a little bit of his story, and I looked him up on rusa.org. He did PBP in 1983 and 1991, and was one of the early organizers of the Davis Bike Club!
His name is Larry Robinson, RUSA #120: https://rusa.org/cgi-bin/resultsearch_PF.pl?mid=120&sortby=date
I can’t overstate how DEEPLY I regret not getting a picture with him.
Just before crossing the imposing Coos Bay bridge, I pulled over to take a picture of it, and saw Nick (from yesterday’s ride) sitting on a park bench. I went over to admire his bike and chat about bike gear, and later Pablo and Theodore also showed up.
This turned out to be a HUGE blessing, because we were able to cross the long bridge two-by-two for safety. We also had a little tailwind, which helped. We timed it so a school bus was behind us, figuring a school bus driver would probably not be aggressive. I didn’t notice the passenger car in front of the bus, but they were also really patient. I waved at the passenger car and school bus as they passed, and the passenger car’s driver gave us a friendly honk. I was so relieved to reach the other side! This was definitely the most fun part of the day. Thanks, Nick, Pablo and Theodore!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfzpyGolAuM
Also, I saw the (possibly homophobic) “pink shirt club” guy who wouldn’t talk to me a couple days ago walking across the bridge. See, if you aren’t a weirdo and jerk, you can find people who will help you stay safe on scary bridges, so you don’t have to walk!
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