Ride the West Day 3 - Lincoln City to Florence

Daily Statistics

Mileage:  79.6

Vertical Gain:  4449 feet

Calories Burned:  2862

Link to Garmin Route Data

Today showed that we can't have perfect weather every day.  We had coastal fog virtually the entire ride, as my photos will attest.  We started out from the hotel, and I quickly got in a paceline with Joe Schroeder, Mark Weisbarth, his wife Susan Weisbarth, and myself.  We set a reasonably brisk pace until the turn off from highway 101 onto Otter Crest Loop, where we picked up a pretty good climb and the group broke up.  We came to a lovely overlook, which will feature some of the fabulous coastline.  The first is an unobstructed view, and the second includes Mark and Susan.  The Punchbowl was the site of our first SAG stop about 21 miles into the ride.  Barbara Munk and some of the folks saw a whale offshore, but I couldn't make it out.

Devil's Punchbowl at Outcropping

Mark and Susan Weisbarth at Devils Punchbowl overlook

Devil's Punchbowl

 About 6 miles later we came to the Yaquina Lighthouse, one of the oldest, or maybe the oldest in Oregon.  It doesn't have the beauty of some of the ones we will see later, but it does have history.

Yaquina Lighthouse, oldest in Oregon

 Fifty six miles in we came upon the Devil's Churn and this one (very similar) called something like Roaring Horn.  My memory isn't what it used to be.  This was shortly after the second SAG at mile 54, which was in Yachats State Park.  This was the one place the wind and fog really cut in to me, so I made it a very brief stop and got on down the road.

This is called something like Roaring Horn

 About 69 miles in, after  we had gone through a short tunnel, we should have had a nice view of the Heceta Head Lighthouse, which is very picturesque and much photographed.  Unfortunately, as the photo shows, it was much to foggy to begin to see the lighthouse.  I have included a similar view from my trip in 2008 to show what we should have seen.

View toward Heceta Head Lighthouse this year

Heceta Head Lighthouse as I saw it in 2008

I went by Sea Lion Caves without even slowing down, and made my way to town.  I was pretty tired, as I didn't really get the training in I had hoped for or need.  Today was the longest ride for me in a couple of months.

For those of you who are impatient, feel free to pull up the 2008 blog.  Sara says I am saying the same things anyway.  I am trying to include at least a little variety.  More tomorrow!