The morning started off really misty and foggy, with a few climbs on very quiet roads. Because of the mist, I was completely soaked and kind of chilly, but the mist finally dissipated and it turned into a nice early afternoon.
Today was the first day I’ve had any headwinds since I was in Washington. I had certainly been taking tailwinds for granted, or at least not thinking about wind. Well, I thought about it a lot today, as I was slogging through the 15 or 20 miles!
Shortly after the long series of small climbs at the start of my ride, I came across Theodore and Pablo for the third day in a row. We started riding together, and they spotted an apple tree growing beside the road, and stopped to pick some apples. I think I have some residual fear from my childhood and the mean neighbors who yelled at us for picking apples, so I looked around nervously, but nobody yelled at us. Pablo gave me an apple. I don’t really like apples, but it was really good. It was kind of tart and very crisp!
We also stopped when Theodore spotted some wild turkeys. I tried to get some good pictures of them, but they hurried off as soon as we stopped.
When we rolled into Bandon, it was clear there was something going on, because there were so many cars parked along the side of the road. I asked someone what was happening, and they informed me it was the Cranberry Festival. We were following the ACA route through town, but it quickly became clear this was also the parade route. Theodore and Pablo were looking for coffee, but I decided to press on, because I didn’t want to have to find a detour once the parade started and blocked my route.
On the way out of town, I stopped to take a picture of a fish sculpture, and met Riley, a really rambunctious Boston Terrier. As I rolled past him and his family, his head was on a swivel, fixed on me. So I asked if I could pet him. He was so excited, he was practically trying to climb me. He was adorable!
The rest of my ride was on US 101, which was unexpectedly quiet today. Maybe all the travelers were in Bandon for the cranberry festival? Ironically, this section of US 101 has among the best riding shoulders you’ll see anywhere.
I had no close passes, but one vintage car tried to scare me by gunning their noisy engine as they passed me. It didn’t work, because I saw them coming. Later, I saw that car parked outside a grocery store, and considered leaving a note or something, but I decided to just let it go. People are a little on edge right now, and there isn’t any upside to confronting their bad behavior.
https://www.portofbandon.com/washed-ashore-exhibit-at-bandon-fisheries-buildingh
