Day 10: Newport, OR to Florence, OR

55 miles

Today seemed like a pretty civilized ride compared to past days. There was cold in the morning but no chattering teeth, there were many hills but not of the Nepalese variety, there were rough roads and chip seal but no one lost control, the mileage was not overwhelming, and the scenery was, once again, spectacular.

Immediately after leaving the hotel we crossed the Yaquina Bay Bridge. It was a one mile walking bridge due to two vehicle and no bike lanes.

Fifty of the 55 miles were on The 101, much of it hugging the rugged coast. The road was populated with a number of logging trucks and RV's, but there were also fairly long stretches with little traffic. The balmy season is winding down.


Seal Rocks

 

There were several bridges over chasms. These chasms created quite an obstacle to early travelers and required ingenious techniques at the time the original bridges were constructed to bypass them.

Original Cook's Chasm Bridge constructed in 1932

The original Cook's Chasm Bridge was replaced in 2003 after 70 years of corrosion from sea salt took its toll.

There is a commercial operation that takes visitors to sea lion caves. I chose to view them from an overlook.

Heceta Head Lighthouse

Florence is a rather quaint coastal town. It was enjoyable to, finally, pull in to town early enough to walk about and absorb some local color. There was an interesting gallery readying itself for an opening tonight. Unfortunately I was too early to partake of the champagne.

The crew prepared another delicious dinner. I couldn't resist a photo of the colorful kale salad before it was tossed.

To end on a rather silly note, the town of Florence is also known for its management technique in dealing with a whale carcass that washed up on a local beach in 1970. A link to the original video follows.
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xBgThvB_IDQ