Day #6 and Day #7

Day #6

Cape Look Out State Park to Newport, OR

After arriving in Cape Look Out the previous afternoon around 3 pm and having 6 and a half hours of daylight before bedtime I decided that I needed a challenge the next day. So I decided to ride 70 miles to South Beach State Park, just four miles South of Newport. And it was a bit of a challenge, but it was also totally great because I did it! I stopped in Newport for a quick bike tune up, and had them put the spare chain that I'd brought on my bike. And now I'm good as new.

I rolled into camp around dinner time, took a shower and met my neighbor, Keith. Keith is a middle aged guy from Salt Lake, UT, but his home right now is on the road bike touring around America. He carries an 80 pound BOB behind his bike equipped with EVERYTHING. I'm talking camp chairs, blocks of cheese, two stoves. The man is a maniac. But he loves touring, and there is no arguing with that.

After a dinner of fresh tuna salad sandwich from a store nearby (mmmm...) and grapefruit juice I rode my bike back to my campsite and then down to the beach to watch the waves for awhile. Unlike Cape Look Out, this beach was empty. Very peaceful. Very relaxing. So relaxing that I was back in my tent by 9 pm reading my book and asleep by 9:45.

Day #7

South Beach State Park to Florence (Jesse Honeyman State Park)

So here I am in Florence, OR at the local library where free internet rules! But unfortunately once again I'm unable to upload pictures. Such a bummer! I will try to figure out a way to get to a computer where they allow that. Maybe in a day or two? I have so many great pictures of the Oregon coast (which I've been following for the last three days), sea stacks (those great big rocks sticking out of the water), waves, sand, and some pictures of me too. Those are the good ones.

The ride today was shorter, just 55 miles. Wanna know what the shoulder of the highway is called in Oregon? The bike lane.

Keith (my new friend) and I passed eachother on the road a few times back and forth today. He was riding with two other guys he met at the campsite last night. It's funny because when I planned this trip I imagined that I'd meet all sorts of people around my age doing the same thing, but it turns out that this is kind of a middle aged guy thing to do. But hey, if it takes most people 40 years to figure out how great this is, I guess I'm way ahead of the game.

Now off to eat some BBQ and explore this town before heading down the road a few miles to my campsite.