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-Keith Pelczarski
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Day 13: Honeyman State Park to North Bend
Honeyman State Park was really nice and pleasant. I awoke at 8 and had some breakfast. The legs were still pretty tired, though, so I took a little snooze. Here's what my campsite looked like:
The wind was blowing hard over the tops of the trees, which sounded really soothing. After a bit of rest I packed up and hit the road. Today the legs were sore from the start. Started thinking that maybe I would need a rest day in North Bend/Coos Bay.
The road from Florence to North Bend was pretty busy, with a fair amount of traffic and more than a fair amount of wind. The route ran through the Oregon Dunes park, so some of the scenery was spectacular:
Stopped for lunch in Reedsport. Called to try and talk to the kids since phone coverage was getting pretty spotty. No dice. The homesickness is getting really tough. If I had someone riding with me, it would probably be easier to take, but at this point it's been over two weeks, the longest I've ever been away from them.
Back on the bike, I hit North Bend as it was starting to get a little dark. There's a big steel bridge on the way into town with a really narrow shoulder and powerful crosswinds. The ride over that was pretty harrowing as cars and trucks squeezed by me.
Once in North Bend proper I pulled into Safeway where I asked about the campground at Cape Arago. I was told that it was still a good several miles down the road. With the wind howling and legs burning I decided that it would be better to lay up at a motel and rest. I had posted another 54 miles on the day.
I rode into downtown North Bend for dinner at the Humboldt Club Restaurant, where people were super friendly, the pool was free, and the jukebox had Frank Zappa, Johnny Cash, and the Blues Brothers. I chatted with folks about the road south, and learned that it's every bit as uninhabited as it looks on the map, with minimal phone coverage, and lots of wind and fog.
Hurm. I started really thinking about whether to press on or not. North Bend is the last place for hundreds of miles that has any kind of transportation options like airport or car rental, so this was the last chance for a graceful exit. I told myself to sleep on it, so that's what I did.
:: Keith 23:22 [link] :: ::
