PC_Day11

Day 11

Wednesday, 9 June 2004
Lincoln City, OR to Florence, OR
78.6 miles, 5h56m, 13.2 mph
Elapsed Time: 8h40m, Max speed: 56.1mph(??)
Total Climbing: 3158ft, Max elevation: 433ft
Total mileage: 631.9

A couple of days ago we decided that on this day we would take a long ride to Florence. The route wasn't too hilly and the weather was supposed to improve.

The weather did not improve. It's been raining on and off since we crossed into Oregon on Saturday. So far as we can tell it will be raining on into the future for as far as we can see.

I woke up this morning at 6:15 and noticed that it was raining, so I went back to sleep. I woke up again at 7:15 and it was still raining. I got up.

By 9am we were out in the rain pedaling down US101 in the morning traffic. It was cold, but not too windy. After about 45 minutes the rain stopped, but it started again soon, and basically it was like that all day, so just assume the weather sucked all day. While it was raining, we just rode past miles of beautiful coastline without stopping. When it was not raining, we would stop and look at stuff.

The biggest climb of the day was on the Otter Crest Loop, a one-way road that climbed along the coast to an overlook.

JT climbing on Otter Crest Loop.

Looking south from Otter Crest.

Just down the road from Otter Crest was the Devil's Punchbowl, a collapsed sea cave. The devil is apparently responsible for many of the oddball geologic formations around here. There was some other Devil's Thing somewhere around here. I forget.

The Devil's Punchbowl

As we were leaving the Punchbowl this guy pulled up in a jeep and told us that we were the tightest, most efficient, cyclists that he's seen pass through the area in 10-15 years. I'm not really sure what he was all about, but it was a compliment. After that I tried to ride in "tight trim." Probably hurt myself.

Only a few more miles down the road and we stopped at the historic Yaquina Head Lighthouse long enough to take a picture.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

With all that tourism in the morning, we didn't reach Newport until lunchtime. We were going to get a snack, but we decided to eat lunch there since it had started raining again. I wanted to stop at one of the town's two bike shops to have my back wheel checked out. It had been getting bumpy and I thought I might need to have it trued. Instead I decided to skip it and have it looked at in Florence.

About three miles outside of Newport, riding in the rain, bad went to worse. My back tire exploded. It turns out the bumpy ride was caused by a twist in the tube that had been somehow getting progressively worse. I installed that tube last year 600 miles into the East Coast Ride when I had a flat in the rain in Baltimore. Now, after almost the same distance into this ride, it blows. The explosion not only busted the tube, but it also ripped the tire's sidewall. We replaced the tube and duct-taped the rip.

Seven or eight miles later we stopped for a break and I noticed that the tube was about to bust through the tape. So we taped it up again, this time even taking a few turns around the entire rim. Ten miles after that, the tube was gonna bust through again. This time we swapped the front and rear tires so that the bad tire would be on the front where there would theoretically be less strain. Then I called the bike shop in Florence to make sure they had the tires I need. They did. But they closed at six and it was already three. But they opened at nine in the morning, which seemed more reasonable. We were still 25 miles from Florence.

Duct tape. The perfect tool.

So for the next 25 miles we rode along with the single-minded goal of reaching Florence and getting out of the rain. My front tire bounced along but the tape held. The road between Yachats and Florence contains some of the most stunning scenery on the whole route. But we really didn't get to stop and appreciate it. It was raining and I was kind of preoccupied with nursing my bike along.

We reached the motel in Florence at about 5:30. I called the bike shop and told the guy I'd see him in the morning. We ate Thai food.

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