I woke this morning to the sound of pouring rain on my tarp. It took me some time to climb out of the warm sleeping bag. Once I started moving, I was on a mission to pack my bike and hit the road. My plan was to find a place to eat a couple miles up the road at Dunes City. I dawned my garbage bag, waterproof pants and shoe covers and pedaled out.
Dunes City ended up being pretty tiny, with no restaurant in sight. I decided to push fifteen miles down the road to Reedsport. It POURED on highway 101. Luckily, the rain was warm. I wore my wool vest over my t-shirt and left my arms bare. This was a perfect combination with my custom-fit plastic bag. I flew down the highway with my bag billowing and wet pine needles flying off my gear. After crossing the bridge into Reedsport, the Lighthouse Cafe caught my attention.
I quickly locked up my bike and entered the cafe for what ended up being close to two hours. Snelling arrived shortly after and we ordered breakfast, dried our clothing and charged our phones. Wanting to put in a reasonable amount of mileage for the day, we put on our waterproof layers and started cycling.
The weather dramatically improved on the ride to North Bend. I stopped to take off my garbage bag and recognized Hilde as she pulled up. We had not seen her since we left Seaside. She had stayed the night in a hotel and had booked another in Coos Bay for the upcoming night - very smart. She gave Snelling a little piece of duct tape to patch his sleeping bag and we said goodbye. It is likely that we will see her again down the line.
We crossed the long bridge into town and made a brief stop at Safeway for dinner and breakfast foods. Outside the store, I spoke with a kind drunk who preferred Mongoose bicycles and wished us luck on our ride. I flashed him the peace sign as we pedaled out of the parking lot.
We bucked a headwind through Charleston and all the way to our final destination, Bastendorff Beach Campground. I set up my tarp, joined Snelling for a chit-chat session with another camper and his son, talked to my wife Christina, did a little writing and hit the sack.
In all, we covered about fifty-five miles today.
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