Day 32 – Bicycle Touring Humbug SP to Sunset SP. Rain at night, beautiful day, Bandon Beaches

The rain came in after midnight as forecasted. The tarp addition to the tent was a great success. Everything was dry. Well at least as dry has can be expected in a wet environment.

I was in no hurry again because of the planned easy day at 37 miles to the next camp location.

So I packed everything that I could while in the tent before getting out. It was down to a mild drizzle when I got out. Since I could get a phone signal near the restroom, I went there and worked on uploading the previously‘s blog before starting my ride after 10am.

Before leaving I talked to the two other bike tours at the camp last night. Brian is coming from Olympia Washington and heading to Los Angeles. Becca has traveled from Seattle and is ending her ride today at Humbug State Park.

By time I left, the rain stopped. After an hour into the ride the clouds started to clear and the sun was coming through at times. The roads are now dry. The winds were behind me for a second day in a row. I was cruising and making great time. Maybe I will have to reassessed my previous claims about disliking the battle of the winds going northbound.

My first stop was in Port Orford for breakfast. There wasn’t much open but I found a nice café to get a breakfast burrito. Next planned stop, at Bandon to get lunch. Like the previous day there aren’t a lot of services on the ride. This one had three, Port Orford, Langlois market and Bandon.

Between Port Orford and Bandon, there is not a lot to take pictures of. Mainly I rode along 101 which has forests, mountains and fields.

The city of Bandon was pleasant and enjoyable. The ocean views, beaches, rocks with designated bird refuge and the old town section catering to visitors adds to its appeal.

It was now only a few miles from my planned stop at Bullards State Park. But it was only 2 PM. So while I got lunch, I checked my route. I could reach my next stop at Sunset Bay State Park. I quickly created a route that was only about 20 miles further. The route took me off of 101 onto a road with more climbing, but a more direct and shorter route to get to the park.

So now I was a little bit more pressed for time because I wanted to get to the park with enough sunlight and heat to dry out my tent and gear that was still wet from the morning.

The ride on 7 devils road off of 101 was going great. As expected, there was more hill climbing but views of logging and re-foresting areas kept it interesting. There was also a big mountain biking area called whiskey run.

When I was about 3 miles from Sunset Bay State Park I was feeling good. with all the mountain climbing behind me, I turned on the road I was planning to take. But it was blocked off with the sign saying do not enter without a permit. Well at least I didn’t have to go back, there was a way to continue that went near 101. Unfortunately this meant, I did all this climbing for nothing because now the distance would be even longer than staying on 101. Oh well at least I can write about it here.

I was able to make it to Sunset Bay and check in. The hike / bike site is nice like the others in Oregon. It’s graveled but it’s level and has picnic tables, water faucet and charging outlet nearby. The showers in the D loop are deluxe. A Ranger gave me a tip to use these instead of the ones in the A loop as they are nicer. He was right. They even had a feature I didn’t know I needed, heated floors. I now know how nice they can be.

Last I checked, there’s more rain in the forecast. I could wake up to a wet tent again. Hopefully on the outside.

Ride summary: 5/10 difficulty, 61 miles with 3012 feet of climbing. Started rainy in the morning then when ride started, partly sunny and nice. Mostly cooler temperature but warm throughout the day. Calm and some tailwinds. Today’s ride detailed GPS. Tour totals: 1554 miles (48 / day). 89,547 climbing feet.