This website is a record of our September bike ride in 2023 along the Oregon Coast. We did not ride the entire length of Oregon, we had to turn inland at Florence in order to be able to catch the Amtrak from Eugene back to Seattle; we missed the southern-most 165 miles of the Oregon Coast. However, the morning we left Florence to ride inland to Eugene, I was talking to a guy outside a coffee shop who told me that the previous day he had driven north from California, and for one hour he had been driving through wildfire smoke. An hour in a car is the equivalent of a day on bicycle, so if we kept going south, we might have found ourselves in a smoke zone. But it turned out that we enjoyed ideal weather on our route, with warm weather and mostly sunny days.
We rode from north to south because the prevailing winds blow in that direction. Also, since most cyclists travel soutbbound, drivers expect to see them on that side of the road. Heading south meant we were on the western edge of 101, so the highway was not between us and the Pacific Ocean. It is recommended that cyclists tour the Pacific Coast after Labor Day, when the majority of RVs will have returned to their homes. We still saw a lot of traffic, but perhaps it is even more intense during the peak summer season.
The trip turned out to be eleven days; I planned a leisurely pace so we could relax and stop along the way (plenty of time to visit coffee houses). Dealing with Amtrak in each direction took a day each, but at least we didn't have to rent a van to transport our bikes. I entered our route into Google, and it estimates 372 miles of riding between Centralia and Eugene. Of course, the actual distance is greater because of side trips, and also the miles ridden going to and from the Seattle train station.
Sunday Sept 3 2023 |
Monday Sept 4 2023 |
Tuesday Sept 5 2023SeattleFly into Seattle Meet Bill A. at Ivar's for dinner |
Wednesday Sept 6 2023CentraliaRide from Shoreline to downtown Seattle Amtrak station Catch 2:12 PM Amtrak to Centralia, WA., arrive 4 PM $299 for two rooms each w/ two Queen beds in Peppermill Empress Inn in Centralia |
Thursday Sept 7 2023LongviewRide 57 miles from Centralia to Longview 1686' elevation gain $286 for AirBnB condo in Longview with 3 beds + sofa-bed. |
Friday Sept 8 2023AstoriaRide 60 miles from Longview to Astoria. 2250' elevation gain $636 for VRBO house in heart of Astoria with 4 beds |
Saturday Sept 9 2023ManzanitaRide 46 miles from Astoria to Manzanita. 3376' elevation gain $565 for AirBnb Neahkahnie Lodge Manzanita Beach Retreat with 5 beds, just outside Manzanita |
Sunday Sept 10 2023TillamookRide 42 miles from Manzanita to Tillamook. 1550' elevation gain $615 for AirBnB Ocean view house with 7 beds |
Monday Sept 11 2023TillamookVisit to Cape Meares. (Rest day) 2nd night at Ocean view house with 7 beds |
Tuesday Sept 12 2023Lincoln CityRide 47 miles from Tillamook to Lincoln City. 2425' elevation gain $606 for AirBnB Beachfront Garden Inn with 1 king, 2 queens, and a double futon |
Wednesday Sept 13 2023WaldportRide 41 miles from Lincoln City to Waldport. 1050' elevation gain. $565 for AirBnB Jewel by the Sea house with 4 beds & beach access |
Thursday Sept 14 2023FlorenceRide 37 miles from Waldport to Florence. 1151' elevation gain $528 for AirBnB Old Town river home with Dunes view w/ 5 beds |
Friday Sept 15 2023
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Saturday Sept 16 2023ShorelineCatch 5:30 AM Amtrak to Seattle. Arrive 11:45 AM Ride from Seattle Amtrak train station to my house in Shoreline Meet Vince M. at Lake Forest Park Grill for dinner |
This website The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Cycling the Oregon Coast talks about the perils of riding on 101.
Here is a description Oregon Coast Ride.
