honky tonkin'

September 16, 2018 — Oregon

I started the final morning through Umpqua National Forest and Wild Rouge Wilderness. A couple more sections were closed due to fire, so I had to reroute around.

Navigation was a bit tricky today today, and I made a lot of wrong turns, following trails that would eventually be overgrown or blocked by downed trees. The GPS wasn't really helping as the tracks seemingly ran between two roads on the map. I worked my way in their general direction, and it eventually worked out.

Around noon, I came over a summit to much taller pines and loads of ground foliage. It was damp everywhere with some fungal growth covering sections of the road. The air was heavy with damp air and pine scent. I was getting close to the coast. A small sign told me that much.

The fog thickened and rain got heavier in Siskiyou National Forest. The roads were pretty good with some rocks, but visibility was very poor. I had to sit cuz it gave me a view of the road a couple feet further than standing. At one point, I quickly looked off to my left at an overlook, and when I turned back found myself at good speed in a deep rut with a large rock ahead of me. It was a sketchy moment, but I dodged the rock and made my way out of the rut.

As I came off the last stretch of dirt road, I stopped and gave thanks to the dirt gods for their blessings. In an hour or so, I was on the beach at Battle Rock, looking out over the Pacific Ocean.

Ocian in view! O! the joy.

I stopped for lunch and got back on the bike. I had done about 140 miles but had another 250 more to get outside of Portland, where I would ship the bike from tomorrow. I headed north on 101 up the coast and saw the Oregon Dunes to my left, which are wild and looked like they'd be tons of fun to ride.

After passing through Florence, the 101 runs right along the coast and is very scenic. I caught the sunset at Seal Rock, and it started to get cold. By the time I got to Lincoln City and cut back east towards Portland, it was pitch black, and I was thankful for the Baja Designs headlight I'd installed. I imagine oncoming traffic was less so. It was a cold, tense ride to Tualatin but without issue.

I was done.