Kiki Bikes Across America

Tuesday, August 11th – Lincoln City, OR – Dunes National Park, OR

I wake up to some drizzel and wetness all around. I’d left my t-shirt out last night to air out and dry since it was so sweaty – I didn’t want to wear my cycling jersey after the bus ride yesterday and was just wearing my cotton t-shirt from Yellowstone, and big mistake. It wound up really sweaty, so I’d left it out to dry. It didn’t dry – instead it got more wet from the rain overnight. So it was a nasty morning, but I got up about 5:30 and was going to roll out around 6:30, but then the other tent’s occupants woke up. There were two girls cycling from Tillamook down the coast to San Diego or somewhere over the course of the next month. So I chatted with one of them for a bit and then headed out around 7am into the nasty and dense fog that was everywhere! I was sporting my blue tail-light and my headlamp along with my bright pink jacket.

Fog on the Oregon coast

Most of the morning was pretty foggy and I wasn’t able to see much of anything along the coast which was a bit of a bummer, but by the afternoon it would clear up. I snacked most of the morning and then decided to stop to make some pasta for lunch. I pulled over just after Yachats at Neptune State Park, 57 miles into my ride today, and two ladies (Mary and Helen) sitting at the table invite me to join them at their table and have tea. So I sit down and have tea while cooking up some angle hair pasta and telling them about my trip and stories here and there. They’re with a whole crew of others that are out painting scenery of the rocks and coastline there. Though, there’s still a fair amount of fog so they have to be careful of what they include in their paintings in case the fog covers it or uncovers it. We chatted for a bit and then I went and checked out the water temperature of the Pacific Ocean and it was chilly, but refreshing.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse

Eventually, I get going again and on the road shortly before 2pm. The terrain’s pretty decent with some rolling hills, but nothing horrible or anything. I stop by the Sea Lion Cave and debate as to whether or not I want to go in and blow a ton of money ($11) to see Sea Lions. I almost didn’t bother, but then decided, what the heck – I’m on vacation and maybe it’ll be really cool. Unfortunately, it was just as I expected – a damn tourist trap and I couldn’t even get any good photos of the Sea Lions. Major disappointment, but oh well.

Artists on the beach that are painting the foggy coastline.

Off to the Dunes National Park for my evening destination. I rolled in fairly late, probably around 7:30pm or so and was looking for a place to camp and had lots of empty campsites, but conflicting signs. One sign said $10 for camping, and the others said $20. I said, I don’t want to pay either particularly, because these campsites aren’t even close to the Oregon State Park sites which are amazing. So I camped out behind the bathrooms hidden away in the grass and no one ever questioned me or anything. I charged up my phone and solar panel battery partially and then hit the hay after making dinner (pesto pasta with parmesan cheese)… it was yummy!

GPS Stats:
89.5 miles
07:09 moving time
34.4 max speed
12.5 avg speed

Computer Stats:
91.21 miles
07:08:36 moving time
35.5 max speed
12.7 avg speed