Jul 12, 2018
Recorded live from Washington, DC, this episode of the
Pedalshift Project includes my summer tour reveal, including the
interesting twist to make it end where I start. Plus, amazingly
good news on two big closures on important touring gems, the
C&O and the Pacific Coast route. Plus banter with you...
because this was live!
Watch the video version, including banter with the room and
stuff that hit the cutting room floor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKt6RoyPVkI
Summer bike tour with a twist!
My next tour is... the Oregon Coast, with a
twist.
I love touring the Oregon coast in the teeth of summer.
Great amenities
Beautiful coastline
Challenging days
But but but...
In order to do the southern reaches of the coast before, I've
always had to continue well into northern California, if not all
the way to SF.
What if there were a way to get back to Portland from
Brookings?
"The Book" has for years mentioned a long-discontinued
Greyhound bus, which would still mean boxing up the bike and other
annoyances.
For years I've been keeping an eye on the public transit
options on the coast, with an eye towards a northbound return
option.
Problem was, for years the southern most point was Yachats,
which is pretty much mid-coast. That meant a lot of days of
northbound cycling to get back.
Schedule
1 - Bus to Tillamook, bus to LC, bus to
Newport
South
Beach SP
2 - Honeyman SP (Fred Meyer in
Florence)
3 - Sunset Bay SP (Safeway in North
Bend)
4- Humbug Mountain SP (Rays in Port
Orford)
5 - Border run... stay at Harris Beach
SP (65) (Fred Meyer in
Brookings)
6 - Curry Public Transit ($20+$5 for
bike)
7:20am Brookings
10:55am North Bend
Ride
to Washburn SP (60) (Fred Meyer in
Florence)
7 - Ride to Yachats (11)
Yachats-Newport (Lincoln County transit)
7am-7:50am
Newport-LC
8:45-9:58
LC-Tillamook
10:35-11:50
Tillamook-PDX
12:50-3:00pm
A few notes:
I'm buying the 7-day pass from the NW Connector - it's the
alliance of all transit agencies in the counties of the coast. For
$30 I get a ride from PDX and back, plus unlimited rides on the
coast from Astoria to Yachats for the whole 7 days. It comes in
handy because it buys me an extra few days in Portland for
less.
nworegontransit.org
The border run day is probably going to be fun. The miles
between Harris Beach SP and the border are flat and easy, so even
if there's some headwinds, it won't be too bad. I may offload at HB
SP and ride unloaded to the border, then pick up dinner in town on
the return.
Early. Mornings. The only way this works is if I hit the
connections. HB SP is about a mile from the bus pickup by the Fred
Meyer so I plan to be up early to get some breakfast and have
plenty of time to grab that 7:20am bus.
A long 3-ish hours later I'll be unloading the bike and gear
in North Bend, but I have a full day of riding ahead with some
decent hills and likely headwinds. Long day, but it's key to making
it work.
Final day is a crazy one. A very early morning hour ride to
Yachats followed by 4 buses, with 3 connections. The good news?
These are designed connections, so it should work. Up rolling at
dawn in Yachats gets me pulling into PDX by 3pm. Crazy!
Packlist
I am probably going stove and cook kit free.
This allows me to experiment with a modified bikepacking setup
with no panniers. All campsites have a really convenient grocery
store option for dinner. I can do the rest on the road as I
ride!
Advantages:
less profile, less wind resistance
lighter weight
easier packing
Downside:
No in-camp cooking
No morning coffee in camp
Less waterproof storage, but I may use some trash compactor
bags to help with that.
Which Bike?
I can fly my main bike in for free on Alaska Airlines, so I
think I'll do that. The Goblin performs well, but last tour it was
starting to show some signs it might not be as reliable as I'd
like. Sequoia rides again!
Quick sidebar on this new Curry Transit discovery (I think
this is new, but someone locally may know otherwise). It extends
past Brookings to Smith River, CA... with connections on Redwood
Coast Transit all the way to Arcata! That's a seriously interesting
option for people with limited time who want to fast forward days
worth of riding north or south! Example: you could jump ahead from
North Bend, OR to Arcata, CA in one day, which translates in 3-4
days of riding fast forwards. Granted, you miss some great spots,
but if you want max redwoods, need a zero but want to stay
productive, or you're running out of time... what a great
option!
C&O and Pacific Coast coastal updates
Good news... Big Sur is just about ready to open. Some reports
of bicycles being permitted through on a nicely compacted
dirt/gravel road, some reports of a security dude sitting on a
chair at Gorda. All signs point to this mudslide finally being
officially traversable though!
Bad news... C&O closure at MM 51 seems to be in full
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ mode for NPS. From the site:
Catoctin Aqueduct- Brunswick Family Campground (MP 51.5- MP
54)
Towpath Closed. Due to a washout at Culvert 82, the
towpath is closed in this section. There is no detour in place at
this time. From the west, exit the towpath at Brunswick (MP 55), or
from the east at Lander Lock 29 (MP 50.9). Please contact
Shepherdstown Pedal and Paddle at 304-876-3000 or River and Trail
Outfitters at 301-834-9950 to arrange for a shuttle around the
detour.
I rode there this past weekend and checked it out. Look for a
video on the weekend adventure soon.
I want to be really clear here at the outset... I am not
advocating for anyone to do anything illegal here. BUT, I witnessed
a few things that I want to pass along here if the C&O is on
your list and you're worried about this.
It appears NPS is actively working on a bypass. There are
clear areas with red marking flags and cut down tree stumps leading
you away from the train tracks and the culvert down to the creek
level. From there, the water levels are much lower and
shallower.
I watched a pair of cyclists do the crossing much closer to
the culvert and it was really hard. The other route is
substantially easier, and has the added bonus of being - it seems -
the option that the Park Service is working on.
Signs say the towpath is "closed" but they do not say "no
trespassing." That may not be much of a distinction, but worth
noting. This is not an official crossing yet.
Video is coming that shows
all of this....
Katy Trail Tour Journal Video Series
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq9GWqVXyGnGXe-dfSKXGk2x06jlFApir
Pedalshift Society
Help support the show and join the Pedalshift
Society with monthly or one-shot contributions!
Ethan Georgi
Kimberly Wilson
Caleb Jenkinson
Cameron Lien
Andrew MacGregor
Michael Hart
Josiah Matthews
Keith Nagel
Brock Dittus
Thomas Skadow
Seth Krieger
Marco Lo
Terrance Manson
Noah Schroer
Harry Telgadas
John Sikorski
Richard Killian
Chris Barron
Brian Hren
Mark Van Raam
Brad Hipwell
Paul Mulvey
Stuart Buchan
Todd Stutz
Mr. T
Roxy Arning
Nathan Poulton
Harry Hugel
Stephen Dickerson
Vince LoGreco
Ruth DeVorsey
Michelle Miller
Matthew Lewis
Michael Baker
Billy Crafton
Paul Culbertson
Scott Culbertson
Matt Perry
Danielle Jepson
Cody Floerchinger
Tom Benenati
Bobby Ruple
Roy Evritt
Greg Braithwaite
John Maier
William Cairns
Sandy Pizzio
Richard Patch
Mark Messer
Jeff Muster
Seth Pollack
Dave Roll
Joseph Quinn
John Baxter
Susan Brewster
And all anonymous and past
contributors for helping make this show happen!
Music
You've been hearing about Jason Kent and his music for many fine
episodes. Their latest album may be their best yet. Go get
it.
https://soundcloud.com/sunfields
