rough riding

Starting location: Battle Rock Motel, Port Orford, OR
Ending location: Pacific Sunset Motel, Brookings, OR
End of day cumulative mileage: 582.7

I woke up this morning, looked out the window and saw that it was raining again. As I checked out of the crappy motel, I met another cyclist, a pleasant older gentleman on his way down to San Francisco. He had checked the weather forecast and decided to stay another night at the crappy motel, rather than bike through the rain. He wished me good luck and a safe ride as I went on my way.

It turns out he made a wise decision. The riding was miserable. Not only was it raining, but it was foggy so visibility was limited. To make matters worse there was a stiff cold wind which chilled me to the bone. I stopped for a bit and added a layer of clothing, which helped a bit, but I still spent the day cold and wet.

At times I went through areas were there were falling rock signs, and the shoulders often got narrow in those sections. It was pretty scary. Falling rocks would be bad in a car, but on a bike with no protection but a helmet, even the smallest rock would probably send me to the next city in an ambulance. Needless to say I was glad to be out of those areas.

I found out today that my trunk bag is not really waterproof. My phone got wet, and now it doesn’t seem to work. It turns on, but the touchscreen and buttons don’t really respond. Sadly my journal and my guidebook (which is actually Dan’s, I’ll have to buy him a new one) also got wet, but thankfully they are still readable.

In the end it took me almost 8 hours to ride 55 miles to Brookings, an average of only 7 miles an hour. Brookings is the last town in Oregon before the California border. Tomorrow I cross into California. After all this rain and fog, I’m definitely looking forward to some California sunshine.