Day 2: To Bandon

August 3, 2005

It was foggy and 57F when I got up at 8AM. Much more humid than I'm accustomed to east of the Coast Range. But it was mostly sunny by the time I got on the road at 9:45. First was an easy 300 foot climb to cross over to the North Fork of the Coquille River. Then the pavement ended again and I had 7.5 miles of relatively flat gravel on Lee-McKinley road heading towards Myrtle Point. The road has basically no traffic and passes through lovely rural farm valleys.

By late morning the temperature was 80F (27C). But that changed when I got to Highway 42 near Myrtle Point. All of a sudden there was a cool ocean breeze coming up the Coquille River valley. I continued on highway 42 to the town of Coquille, then turned onto highway 42S to Bandon.

I ate lunch in sleepy downtown Coquille.

Wildflowers in the lower Coquille River valley.

The temperature gradually dropped as I got closer to the coast, down to 65F (18C) in Bandon. I spent a few minutes in old town Bandon but it was windy and cold despite the sunshine.

It was cold and windy in Bandon. Note the woman wearing a jacket.

Then I headed north to Bullard's Beach State Park 2 miles north of Bandon. There were 3 other cyclists at the hiker/biker site but they weren't around the site very often. I ate dinner and hand-washed clothes. At 7PM I pedaled 2 miles to the end of the peninsula to see the Coquille River lighthouse in the low evening sun. The lighthouse is just across the river from downtown Bandon but by road it's about 5 miles from downtown to the lighthouse. The lighthouse was built in 1896 and decommissioned in 1939. It needs to be restored but it's still very photogenic with a unique octagon shape. On the way back to the campsite I stopped at the beach to take pictures but there was so much blowing sand that I decided not to wait around for sunset.

The Coquille river lighthouse looks great in late evening sun.

Bullard's Beach. Bandon is in the distance across the Coquille river.

Fortunately the campsite is in a sheltered area and the wind died down shortly after sunset. Today was a nice easy day with much less climbing than yesterday. I needed the break after yesterday's difficult climb. Today's route had a lot of tranquil rural scenery and low traffic roads but not much truly spectacular scenery.

Total distance: 52.3 mi. (83.7 km)

Distance on gravel: 7.5 mi. (12 km)

Climbing: 1260 ft. (380 m)

Average speed: 9.6 mph (15.4 km/h)

Maximum speed: 31.5 mph (50.4 km/h)

Hiking: none

Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 113 miles (182 km)

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