Day Seven – Lincoln City OR to Crescent City CA
Miles: 268
The next two days were to be the signature rides of the trip. We started at the Wild Flower Grill but when we arrived for the 7:00 opening there was already a rather large crowd so we decided we didn't care to wait and went to the Pig-N-Pancake. We had eaten at this chain restaurant before in Astoria and thought it was very good. It did not disappoint this time either. We were seated and served quickly and on our way before 8:00. It was a short 13 miles to our first stop at Boiler Bay State Park. It was only a few minutes past 8:00 so some of the campers in the area were just beginning to mill about. We didn't stay long, just enough to take a few pics. We knew there was going to be many stops along the way so we made each one quicker than normal. We exited US101 after 3 miles and stopped at the Ben Jones bridge for a quick pic. This iconic concrete arched bridge was built on 1927 and spans 360' over Rocky Creek. Otter Crest was the next stop and only a mere 2 miles. We knew we couldn't keep stopping every few miles but the chance of being on the coast with perfect weather was simply too much to pass up. We were still sitting before 8:30 on the clock but having only travelled 20 miles we knew we would have to more selective. We set our sights on Cape Perpetua, a full 40 miles down the road. It was a great ride getting there riding along the coast. We rode through the town of Newport where we crossed the Yaquina Bay Bridge. This iconic bridge opened in 1936 replacing the last ferry crossing on US101. It spans 3,260' with the main arch spanning 600'. The ends of the main arch are anchored by two concrete art-deco oblisks on either side of the span. Continuing south from Newport we were back alongside the beach and soaking it all in. As we approached the town of Bayshore the road changed to four lane, but quickly reverted back to two-lane south of town. The road had begun to climb above the shoreline and just after the Devil's Churn area we turned off US101 up to Cape Perpetua. The view from the overlook is really spectacular. On we rode stopping next at the Heceta Head State Scenic Park. We had exit US101 and ride down the hill to the shoreline where the Cape Creek Bridge, opened in 1932, spans Cape Creek with a Romanesque looking aqueduct and main arch of 220 feet. It was fairly busy in the park and it looked like a fair amount of walking was necessary to see anything so we decided to keep riding. I recalled there being a pull off area a little further south where the lighthouse may still be visible. We stopped there for a pic and it shows the lighthouse but the pic does not do justice to the view. It was getting close to not so we decided to stop at 7 Devils Brewing Co in Coos Bay for a bite of lunch. We sat outside enjoying the sun but it was not overly warm, but nice enough in the sun. The panini we had was pretty good and with a pint it was even better. We continued on to Bandon where we stopped at Bandon Brewing. It was still early on a Thursday afternoon so there were limited choices, but this place was in the old town and we could sit right on the sidewalk and enjoy a casual pint. It was getting close to 2:00 and we really only had about 70-80 miles left and although we wanted to arrive early enough in the evening we didn't want to arrive at 3:00. We decided to take an extra stop in Wedderburn on the Rouge River across from Gold Beach. We spotted a breakwater with a gravel path leading out the ocean so we decided to try that. It was interesting but nothing great. We didn't stay long since the wind had picked up and it was becoming less than optimal. Next up was Cape Sebastian, and much like Cape Perpetua the view was also spectacular. The wind had continue to increase and at the top of Cape Sebastian it was really blowing hard. We even had a couple of uncomfortable moments where we thought our bikes may blow over. We took some pics and continued on. Another 10 miles and were at the famous and much pictured Arch Rock. We were still well above the ocean but either the wind had died down or we were sheltered. In this little park we walked down the path a fair amount to get some pics and it was well worth it. We practically had the place to ourselves. We did not have the Thomas Creek Bridge as a POI but once we passed it and saw a parking area next to it we decided to have look. It is the tallest bridge in Oregon and was built in 1961. I'm not certain what bridge it replaced or how US101 was routed. Anyway we walked back to the entrance and discovered there was no way we could walk on the bridge. Not only is it narrow, but the entrance is gated with barb-wire and it was very clear they do not want anyone on the bridge. We continued on and found ourselves in Brookings, 27 miles away, at 5:00 so we decided to stop at Chetco Brewing for our last pint. We rode on and got to Crescent City right around 6:00. We walked to Sea Quake Brewing and enjoyed a really good dinner and talked to several other customers sitting at the bar with us. A really great day of riding followed by a great evening.
