Cycle
Day 14
I had an early start this morning to try and get into the Coos Bay area at a decent time. The first 15 miles went quickly, so I took a little break and read an informative sign on Jedidiah Smith and his explorations. As I read the sign, I heard a loud, sharp “pop!” I looked over, and my rear tire had popped. I first thought that I was glad I got my pump yesterday, but I was then confused why it popped suddenly.
I took off my rear wheel and inspected the tube and rim. My repair skills are very basic, so I’m not great at detecting what caused the puncture, but it looked like a pinch from the rim where the spoke sits. I covered that section of the rim with electrical tape and aired up a spare.
As I am loading the bike, it pops again! This time in a different place, I was shocked; I couldn’t understand why? I lined the whole rim in tape and threw in another tube, hoping it would work. Fortunately, it is still holding up, but I think I should get the patch kit out tonight and work on the old tubes.
The riding today, besides the flat tire, has been relaxing. Roads are pretty flat, not much wind, the sun feels good, and there isn’t a lot of traffic. The shoulders on Hwy 101 are much wider and cleaner in Oregon than in Washington, so that’s been nice. I don’t miss having logging trucks whizz on by me.
As I rode alongside the Oregon Dunes Horsfall Area, I spotted a cyclist ahead of me. I caught up to them and quickly realized it was Flurin! It was good to catch up with him. We were just a few miles from the Coos Bay/ North Bend Area and met for lunch. We stopped at Yeong’s Place, which was recommended to me by a guy at the bike shop in North Bend. It was nice to kick it with Flurin, and we decided we’d both camp at Sunset Bay State Park south of Charleston, maybe 12 miles from the restaurant.
The ride after lunch was awesome, just cruising along the bay, stopping, and taking in the sights. I stopped at a little market to grab my dinner for tonight: a Lenny and Larry’s cookie (my weakness), a banana, and boxed wine.
I arrived at the campground ahead of Flurin and met a ranger who used to be the drummer for a band in South Africa called Insound. He was charming and very ecstatic. We chatted briefly, and he passed over some whiskey to share with whoever comes to the hiker/biker spots tonight. He recommended a little place a few miles down the road to see some sea lions, so I thought I would check it out before the sun goes down.
I dropped off all my gear at the campsite and took off for the sea lions. Riding without the gear makes me realize I probably would be in Mexico by now if I weren’t hauling all this weight. I could ride so much faster; it felt great! Looking at the sea lions was hard because they sat far out, and the sun was setting, so the glare was gnarly. Even though I couldn’t see them very well, I could hear them barking up a storm.
I returned to camp, and the park’s name was very fitting. Sunset Bay State Park had quite the sunset, so I had to hang around for that. It was a little late for it tonight, but I plan to check out the tide pools tomorrow morning.
It feels good to be shaving off some miles, and I hope to spend just a couple more days in Oregon. I’ll see how far I get tomorrow, but I’m aiming for Humbug Mountain State Park, about 60 miles south of here.
Stats from today:
- 56 miles biked
- 1,700 vertical feet climbed
- 500 ml of wine deleted
- Two flat tires
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