Day Fifteen

Humbug Mtn. State Park to Harris Beach State Park, 50 miles

I sent off yesterdays post while in Port Orford, because I wasn’t sure I could get an email out from last night’s camp at Humbug Mtn. State Park. After I posted, a couple of things of note happened. I was talking with Victoria at Port Orford’s Portside Market about how genuine and kind people are here on Oregon’s South Coast. It seemed like everyone who entered her store was a personal friend. Super friendly. A guy comes in, Brian, tells a couple of jokes, and as we are talking, out of the blue he says he needs a ride to Cape Blanco, in his own car! He wants to walk the beach back to town, and just needs someone to drive his car back for him. The Cape is a few miles off the highway so I didn’t detour to see it, but I wanted to. So I said sure, I’ll drive him out there. I have plenty of daylight left to get to my campsite, which is about 4 miles down the road. Victoria said she closes at 6 PM but will be at the store until 7, and she’ll watch my bike. 

On the drive, Brian shared some of his story. A few years ago, he led a campaign to stop the installation of some artificial turf (like, 8 acres of turf) at his local ballfields. He claimed artificial turf is made of seriously dangerous materials that causes serious long term health problems. I looked this up today. He’s not wrong. It was a losing battle, and he claimed he was harassed and threatened so much by “corporate interests” that he lost his mind, went to Mexico and has now come home to rebuild his life. His Honda Odyssey minivan was filled with various findings and if felt like a local natural history museum, plus a fair collection of Eastern religious references. He has a plastic smiling baby Buddha on a spring on his dashboard. It wobbled cheerfully as we drove.

While the walk from the Cape to town was about five miles, the drive was quite a bit longer. The Cape itself was fogged in; I’ll have to come back. We drove down a rough road to the beach, agreed where I would hide the key when I parked the car back in town.

Thanking Victoria for watching my bike, I pedaled towards Humbug Mountain. I had recovered from today’s long miles and it was an easy, sunny, wind-at-my-back 4 miles to the campground. Humbug Mountain soars straight up from the ocean beach and US 101 winds around its back side. Behind the mountain, out of the wind, is one of the nicest campgrounds I’ve ever seen. Leanne the camp host was super friendly, like everyone I have met here, and my hiker/biker site was perfectly maintained, private and most importantly, flat. The camp shower was hot, high pressure, and free. So ended an excellent day. 

This morning I rose at dawn, which is now coming at a reasonable time instead of early-summer early. I back-to-back taste tested a micro-ground Starbucks Via and a similar single serving tube of freeze dried Taster’s Choice. Verdict: equally okay-drinkable, with Taster’s Choice at 1/4 the price. 

I rode about 20 miles to breakfast at the Double D Cafe in Gold Beach. I asked the server if there are really two Ds. She said yes, the husband and wife owner team of Doug (cashier) and Dee Dee (head server). Doug plus Dee Dee equals Triple D, but who’s counting? Breakfast was huge and good. 

You’ve heard that the Oregon Coast is hilly, right? It is. I climbed over 2,900 feet today. Other than about an hour of riding early on, it was foggy all day, too. I rode along the famous Samuel H. Boardman State Scenic Corridor, with dozens of pull outs to view beautiful and dramatic features of the rugged shoreline. I saw pretty much nothing through the fog, only scores of visitors peering into that same fog with, I imagine, hopes of seeing anything to justify spending their precious vacation here on this windy, cool, foggy coast. There was just nothing to see out there today. On my next trip here, not by bike, I’ll take the time to walk the many trails to headlands and beaches, and spend enough time to catch some sun as it pokes out now and then. 

Because I stretched yesterday’s ride a few miles, today’s ride was a bit shorter, at 50 miles. I felt okay today, even a bit stronger. But I’m a little worried about needing to average 70 miles a day over the next four days to Ukiah. It’s pointless to wonder or hope there will be fewer hills, or if California’s roads are as good as Oregon’s, or not. Today’s fog made for comfortable riding, even cold on the fast downhills. Tomorrow will be sunnier from the get-go, with temperatures staying under 70. Thankfully, that NW wind will hold, giving me a little push. I’ve been dreaming of riding the Oregon Coast and California Redwoods since high school. Funny that in all those years of anticipating this ride, I never considered that the best part of it would be meeting the people who live here.