Written by Dave

Day 2 – May 30 – 75 Miles, 4,100 feet climbing (Netarts to Rickreall)

Wow, what a day. I tried hard to find a way to make today shorter. 75 miles and 4,100 feet of climbing with our general level of fitness was a big ask. Well, it was, but we did it. Everyone rode strong and we arrived in Rickreall with 40 minutes to spare before the fairground’s office closed. Well, I should say that Curtis, Chris and I arrived with 40 minutes to spare. Nancy was in lickety-split mode and arrived 10 minutes before us. She was nervous that we would miss the office and rode like the wind.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. We have to start the day commenting about another wonderful spread put on by Ray, Jane and Curtis. We don’t normally get such fancy food while camping, obviously. It was fantastic staying at Rays’s place and reliving all the old Sequent days. We rolled away stuffed at about 8:40. It’s easy getting off when you don’t have a tent to put away.

The first 5 miles we rolled along the edge of Netarts Bay, taking in the views and enjoy a very nice morning spin. There were several herds (?) of sea lions out on the sand bars but they seemed more interested in enjoying the sun than having a worry about us. I don’t think it’s normal to have 100% blue skies on the Oregon Coast so we felt lucky.

Our first test of the day came on the climb up over Cape Lookout Heads. We had a few pinchy 12% grades and a nice 3 mile climb to shake us up out of the bayside strolling mode. At least the traffic was light and the air crisp, perfect conditions for climbing. Last time Nancy and I rode that night was in 1989 – wow, it’s been a while.

We had a nice last view of the Pacific at the top of the climb, followed by a cruisey 5 mile run out to Highway 101. When looking at today’s route I was excited about the back roads and climbs but nervous about the 4 miles we had to ride on 101. I needn’t have worried. It was downhill, we had a tailwind and there was not too much traffic. We turned off the highway at a small berg called Beaver.

From Beaver it we had a lovely 10 mile ride up the Nestucca River. More traffic free roads and some lovely views of the river. It was heaps better than last year when we rode it downhill in the rain on Cycle Oregon. We stopped at Blaine Fire Hall for a late morning tea before pushing on to the start of the hardest and longest climb of the day. We had about 10 miles of 3-13% grades up and over the Coast Range, reaching about 1,800 feet at the top. Considering we started at sea level, it was a good climb. We all rode our own paces and finished at the top within 10 minutes of each other.

After a ripper downhill, complete shadows and broken pavement we had to tackle one more hard climb before finally descending into Sheridan. We should have eaten and drank more during the day but recovered enough with cool drinks in Sheridan. It was 22 miles from there to finish and Nancy took off to reach camp before the office closed. The rest of us slogged it out on the last few hills, including a spell on busy Highway 223. Our two spells on busy highways were not as fun as all the deserted back roads but they were more than safe enough – we rode in tight formation, used our flashers and kept a close eye on our mirrors.

After showers at the fairgrounds we headed over to the local dinner (Westside Pacific Family Restaurant and Saloon), the only food in Rickreall (or at least nearby us). The food was good and portions quite large. Today was the day of the Trump verdict and they were showing Fox News on every TV. They were muted so we didn’t get too spooled up over how Lady Liberty had had her day – regardless after today’s ride, we didn’t have the energy to take on political conversations anyway.

After dinner we headed back to camp to type this blog and visit with Chris’s brother (Daniel) and his son (Andy). They live sort of nearby and stopped by to talk about our trip. We tried getting them excited to join us but there were no takers. Tomorrow we’re off to the Eugene area (Coburg). The ride is short and has about 20% the climbing we had today. Everyone is excited for an easier day (Senior Editor’s note – and the pancakes over at restaurant that are on the cards for breakfast…) .