This is Going to be Great...: Day 8 - 7/23: Yachats to Florence

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Day 8 - 7/23: Yachats to Florence - The Dude

We had planned a rest day the next day to go to Yachats, eat some fresh seafood and share some more time with Brian, but after a morning of laying around drinking coffee, we felt ready to move on. We were excited to take advantage of the afternoon sun to view the stretch of coast from Cape Perpetua to Florence which was famous for its views and was only a 30 mile ride. Early starts on the coast don’t pay off as the fog sticks around until afternoon most days.

So off we went ---- And boy did we see some beautiful sights.

Of the entire section of coast that we did, this was the most dramatic to us.

Endless waves of dunes leading to Florence, OR

Old route 101 winds along the coast as a one way road with a dedicated bike lane. Closed for years, it is now open. Wow!

Deep Fog, High cliffs (800 ft up)

Wicked high winds pushing us around,

Nice walk down to the Devil’s Churn,

High speed cruising, Beautiful waves of dunes.

We had arranged to stay with another WarmShowers.org host, Amber, in Florence. She was new to WarmShowers and we, along with two other cyclists and their dog were her first guests. She treated us like royalty. Wow. Finding out I was gluten free she made, not one, but two types of GF bread, tacos and a beautiful Frittata for breakfast.

The two other cyclists were two young men from Olympia, Ryan and Colin who had decided, after experiencing some big life changes that they would ride down the coast and then to Florida, toting their 80 pound dog "The Dude". They were wonderful young men who shared their stories and fun freely. We stayed up late in the 1969 Omaha camper that Amber's husband Trace was refurbishing, talking and giggling. This is a typical experience on the road, meeting people you would never normally bump into, from totally different worlds and then sharing laughs and stories.