Tuesday, 18th September. REST DAY #10: Lighthouse Inn, Florence, Oregon

Florence may be coastal, but it's not quite on the coast. I discovered that this afternoon, cycling the 6 miles out to the North Jetty of Heceta Beach. Coming face-to-face with the Pacific Ocean makes the finality of arriving here all the more real. So, I got covered in sand and took lots of self-timer photos of myself and the bike up to our toes and tyres in seawater. Back in the old town for lunch at Vic’s Deli, the waitress Stacey said to me “we’ve been talking out back, and we think you’re a superstar.”

Meanwhile, I had to sort out my exit route. Not so easy, as public transport it somewhat limited around here. Tomorrow morning I'm going to cycle up the coast either to Yachats (25m) or Newport (50m), from either place I can get a bus further North to Lincoln City. Then another little cycle to Pacific City, from where I can hop on another bus to Tillamook. From Tillamook there's a direct bus to Portland. All very scenic and lovely, I'm told. That should take me to Friday night. Portland, Saturday. This all means more cycling, of course. And to that end, I finally managed to get new tyres ("three-way puncture resistant!"), and gave my chain and gears a good de-grease. I guess I just don't know when to quit. OK, so here are the vital statistics:

Total map miles (source: ACA route maps): 4303
Total actual miles cycled: 4548

My bike computer, unlike me, knows very well when to quit, and seems to have broken down. According to it, I'm currently typing at 65mph. Stick around for a couple more posts: I have a week before flying home from Portland and I'm in the midst of planning a trip up the coast, which may involve a little more cycling as well as, hopefully, some bus-taking.