Day 66: Florence, OR to Heceta Beach to Eugene, OR

August 6, 2006

89.15 Miles, 6:19:26 Ride Time, 14.27 Average Speed, 32.8 Maximum Speed

I slept in this morning, after staying up later than usual the night before, and wasn't awake until 8:00. After looking over a map of the local area, I realized that I hadn't ridden far enough yesterday to get to the public access area for Heceta Beach - I had stopped at the North Jetty access. I decided I had come too far to leave without getting some pictures at the actual ocean, so I rode my unloaded bike North. It was cloudy and cool outside, but not as windy as yesterday afternoon, when sand was blowing everywhere.

The wind was with me this morning, and it was certainly the fastest I'd ridden in the last nine weeks. There wasn't much traffic on this Sunday morning, and it was a nice ride, despite the chill.

After several miles, I found the access to the beach, a narrow passage next to a hotel. I felt self-conscious as I walked the bike onto the beach; I didn't see anyone else wearing shorts on this chilly, foggy morning. I had two different people take my picture - I had learned on the trip that it is apparently hard to take un-blurry photos with my camera, so I wanted to make sure I had at least one good picture.

I still had to ride back to Eugene today, so I didn't linger at the beach. I rode back to the motel, where I took longer than usual with my morning routine of showering, dressing and packing. It was a little hard to get motivated to backtrack to Eugene; I briefly considered the possibility of taking a bus, or hitching a ride. It was a measure of how much this trip has changed me when I thought to myself that "Oh, it's only 80+ miles of riding- no big deal..." Before this trip, it would have been a big deal - I'd only gone on one or two (unloaded) rides that were more than 80 miles...

The first fourteen miles on SR 126 were busy, even on Sunday morning. That finished making my decision to retrace the route from yesterday, and not take 126 all the way to Eugene, which I had briefly considered. I'd rather ride 15 extra miles if they were on peaceful country roads.

Before I reached Mapleton, and the (unlamented) last miles I would ever ride on 126, a local guy on a recumbent went around me; his expression seemed just a little too smug as he passed me, so I redoubled my efforts and passed him - ha!

The rest of the ride to Eugene was nice, but unexciting - I had seen all of this yesterday. It reminded me of a ride back home... I wondered if I had gotten spoiled by seeing new scenery every day for two months, and hoped that riding wouldn't be boring when I got home.

I was riding into the outskirts of Eugene on the bike path when I saw a Hampton Inn, just off the path. I had planned to ride downtown and find a cheap motel, but, as on Day 3 in Charlottesville, I was weak - what is it about the Hampton Inn chain that I find irresistable - the complimentary gourmet cookies at the front desk? The superior continental breakfast (with actual meat)? The stain-free carpet? In any case, I decided to splurge on the last night, and stay there.

I rested in my room the remainder of the afternoon, then did laundry for the last time on the trip. Later, near dusk, I walked a few blocks to a Carl's Jr for dinner, then stayed up fairly late using the internet connection in my room. It felt strange knowing that except for the ride to the bike shop tomorrow, and the flight home, I was finished.

Riding North along the Siuslaw River, on the way to Heceta Beach

The Pacific Ocean - Heceta Beach, Oregon, August 6, 2006

Today's ride: 89 miles (143 km)
Total: 4,372 miles (7,036 km)

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