Day 9 2021 – Another Day, Another Great Warm Shower

Last night’s hotel was pretty good, but after we checked in, we couldn’t find a hair dryer for our bathtub laundry duties. The toilet paper was almost gone and there were no spare rolls. I went back to the office and got an extra bath towel for good measure, but they didn’t have any hair dryers to spare. When I got up the next day, I noticed we ha d a coffee maker, coffee, but no cups. I went back to the office to find it closed until 9, and it was only 7 am. Maybe we should have stayed at this place halfway up one of the hills outside of town.

Woke up to a partly sunny day and Ron could see the ocean. When we started riding a little later, the fog had rolled in and the ocean disappeared.

Just outside Gold Beach before the first big climb

We had 5 major climbs in thenfirst half of the ride. The first made us hit 735 feet of elevation. Fortunately (?), it was the highest.

The fog alternated between light and thick. It was usually thickest at the viewpoints.

If the fog would clear, you’d see more. Meyers Creek Beach is in the picture below.

Unfortunately, this was typical of the conditions we encountered high above the shore.

This was painted on the road near one of the designated viewpoints. I’d show a picture of the viewpoint sign, but it was hidden by the fog. Can you see the rainbow over Rainbow Rocks?

We often took our group shots using my phone set to a 10 second timer, while propped on one of my panniers or anything else that might be convenient. In the Welcome to Brookings shot, I couldn’t run up to the sign fast enough to be with Ron. So he just took one of me by myself!

We were almost out of Brookings before we could find a place that was open. We got into Mattie’s Pancake House 45 minutes before they closed for the day.

The final mile marker in Oregon. We wanted to change the sign to read Bikers on Road for next 1500 miles. Now on to California.

As we entered California, the fog finally started to lift and we got our first look at the Pacific in that state. The sun had broken through as we rode through the farm country of Sun River.

It was a flat ride into Crescent City. Ron counted 43 face masks along the road near a spot where we had to stop for a school bus unloading its cargo.

When we arrived at our Warm Showers resting spot, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Katie Benoit was there to welcome us. She gave a tour of the facilities, reviewed the house rules, pointed out local attractions and tips for our route. She was an absolute delight. Since 2013, she and the church have hosted nearly 2000 guests. In most years they have over 300 per year. In 2020 they had 29. Ron and I had the place to ourselves. We were thankful for a dry, safe place to stay. We knew others were sleeping outside, unsheltered, not far away.

We will have a 1000 foot climb out of Crescent City, so we need to get lots of rest and fuel. Details of today’s ride are here.

The Not So Lone Rider

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