Day 3: To Cape Blanco

August 3, 2005

I was surprised to see that it was sunny when I got up at 8AM. I talked to a German cyclist for a while and got on the road at 9:45, heading south with sunshine and a tailwind. I stopped again in old town Bandon to take more pictures and eat a second breakfast at the bakery. Just like yesterday it was sunny but cold and windy in Bandon. It was even cold in the glass-walled shelter on the waterfront. I went a short distance down the riverfront to get a better view of the lighthouse, then continued on to Beach Loop road.

Coquille river lighthouse across the Coquille river.

It was sunny inland but there was fog right on the coast. The atmosphere was very different on the beach loop than it was in sunny old town Bandon. Beach loop has many beach houses and vacation rentals. A few places have spectacular views of the cliffs, beaches, and rock formations on the beach and out in the water.

Face Rock state park. My favorite picture from this tour.

I stopped many times on the 5 mile beach loop. The most spectacular area is Face Rock State Park which has views from the beach and from the top of the cliff. After 5 miles the beach loop road ends at Highway 101. I headed south on Highway 101 and the environment changed significantly. The highway is well away from the coast, so there is no ocean view and it's sunny and warmer. US 101 has far more traffic than any other road on this tour. It has a 2-6 foot wide paved shoulder but I was passed by long lines of cars, trucks, and motor homes.

I stopped for lunch at a diner in the tiny town of Denmark. A few miles later I turned right towards Cape Blanco State Park. The park is 5 miles off Highway 101 on a very prominent cape that is the westernmost point of Oregon. The road goes northwest giving me a strong headwind. I climbed a large hill and dropped to near sea level before climbing the actual cape. The top of the cape was very windy, foggy, and cold. I arrived at the campground at 3:30PM feeling surprisingly tired considering how short a day it was. My right gluteous muscle bothered me all day.

I set up my tent in the densely forested hiker/biker site at 230 feet elevation. At 4PM it was windy, foggy, and 54F. Hard to believe this is an August afternoon! Swiss cyclists Roland and Barbara were having a rest day there. I got in my tent to rest and warm up. Eventually I got up and walked down the big hill to a beach on the south side of the cape.

Beach on the south side of Cape Blanco. Humbug mountain in the distance.

The weather was much nicer on the beach because it was sheltered by the big cape. It was warmer, partly sunny, and much less windy. I walked around the huge beach for a while, then climbed back up to the campsite.

A bit later I biked towards the Cape Blanco lighthouse. Unfortunately, there was a locked gate and I couldn't even see the lighthouse in the distance because of the fog. Maybe tomorrow morning... So it was back to the campsite for dinner.

I didn't feel well today and the cold foggy weather at the campsite didn't help. I will need to take it easy the next few days because of the sore gluteous muscle. One highlight of the afternoon was picking wild blueberries along the trail to the showers.

Distance: 36.5 mi. (58.4 km)

Climbing: 1286 ft. (390 m)

Average speed: 10.1 mph (16.2 km/h)

Maximum speed: 35.0 mph (56 km/h)

Hiking: 2 miles (3.2 km)

Today's ride: 37 miles (60 km)
Total: 150 miles (241 km)

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