Reasons 2114 - 2423

Okay, folks. After Seaside we started to make our way south along the Oregon coast. The weather was all over the place. We put on our rain gear and then took it off and then put it on and left it on even if we didn’t need it. We rolled through Cannon Beach and stopped to see Haystack Rock. Pretty neat.

Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach.

Rainy-day cycling.

As we continued on, the rain became consistently dense and ridiculous. We were motivated to keep pedaling with our next Warm Showers guests in mind.

Mark and Dee have a spacious, unique home in Bay City. They were really kind and welcoming right off the bat. We slipped out of all our drenched rain gear and put our shoes and gloves right beside an old fashioned wood stove to dry. Then, Mark and Dee informed us that we were only the first cyclists to arrive for that night. We were yet to meet Jo and James, a mother/son duo from Bellingham, WA. There was also a trio of guys from Argentina who had started in Alaska and were making their way back home.

Once everyone had arrived, cleaned up, dried out and settled, in we all shared a fantastic pasta dinner. I had the chance to try eating local crab. It was fun learning how to break open the shells. Mark and Dee have a pretty great wine collection and they were very generous with us. I was the only one not drinking, and everyone else managed to finish off nine bottles. Needless to say, everybody had a fantastic time. We had a whole lot of candid, personal conversation. We also shared the kind of hilarious camaraderie that can really only be found amongst touring cyclists that have endured hard rides in tough weather. I laughed so hard I cried multiple times and my cheeks hurt by the time we all went to bed.

Collin serving up some pasta with James.

Some of the guys traded theories on how to pick up women while on tour. At first, James, who sported a well groomed, thin beard expressed his opinion. He said that he thought that if a touring cyclist was generally ‘presentable’ he had a better chance at interacting with anyone along the way. He said that if you stayed clean and well groomed people would be more likely to talk to you. At this point, a couple of the Argentinians got pretty boisterous, opposing James completely. They joked that you had to have a thick, untamed beard and more importantly, that you needed to smell like smoke. You had to appear as though you had been in the woods for days and days. They claimed that if you appeared this way all you had to do was stand outside a bar near your bike and ladies would flock to you. We all laughed a whole lot about this theory, especially because we ALL know what it’s actually like to have all sorts of strangers walk up and ask questions about what we’re doing.

We all joked a whole lot about our experiences with coastal, redneck Oregonians. All of us had been passed by huge pick-up trucks with obscene lift kits on Highway 101. And, much of the time the drivers of these trucks would purposely drive by really closely and rev their engines hard so that they would pump a huge cloud of diesel fumes in our faces. Some of us had even had locals screaming at us out their windows to get off the road. Sure enough, a moment later we would pass another ‘Bicycle Route’ sign confirming that we share the same right of way as the rednecks. Anyway, in the midst of all the redneck stories and laughter, Mark brought out camouflage ball caps for all of us. It was pretty fun.

Sunny skies to the South and a crazy, dark storm coming in from the Northwest. Collin was busy wolfing down his lunch, and couldn't believe I was taking the time to take a picture when those clouds were rolling in.

The next day, we were set to make our way about 80 miles to South Beach State Park where we would camp in heavy rain. It was another day of dire dampness. But, about 12 miles before our destination our luck completely changed. We were plugging along in the miserable wet. I looked ahead and a car had pulled over onto the shoulder right in front of us. Collin was ahead of me and passed by the vehicle as the driver emerged. A tall, smiley woman waved at me and called me over. She told me her name was Bunny and asked if we had a place to stay for the night. She said she had a time-share condo a few miles up the road with a spare room with a couple beds that weren’t being used. I told her we had intended on camping, but would gladly take her up on her offer.

The view from the condo.

When Collin and I found the Worldmark Club at Depoe Bay we were pretty shocked that we were going to be staying somewhere so nice and high-end instead of camping. Bunny waved us over to her condo. She repeatedly told us, ‘I know this is weird, but…’ She was attempting to calm us down about staying with her, but mostly I think she was trying to calm herself down. Later, we laughed a lot about that. We also laughed a lot about how Collin had initially rolled past Bunny on the highway because he was put out by the fact she had parked in our path, and he had actually made a face at her.

Bonita, or ‘Bunny’ to her friends was such a lovely and kind host. She made us clam chowder from scratch which was so delicious. And, she entertained us with candid conversation covering a wide array of subjects. I think it took her a while to fully settle into being comfortable with us, because she was actually at the condo alone for a few hours before some of her friends arrived. It was a generous, bold move on her part to invite two strange cyclists in the way she did, but we’re so thankful she did.

Eventually, Jen and Dan arrived and the five of us ate, laughed, shared stories and opinions while playing card and board games. The three friends have fantastic rapport with each other and made it really easy for us to fit in with their somewhat crass humour and hilarious banter. We had a whole lot of fun.

Dan, Jen, Bunny, Collin and Me.

In the morning, we loaded the bikes and gear into two vehicles and drove down the coast to Yachats. Our hosts wanted to make our ride more manageable since Bunny had cut the previous day’s ride short. Collin rode with Jen and Dan, and I rode with Bunny. Bunny and I had such a quality heart-to-heart chat on the drive. We both shared stories and opinions about family, life, love and relationships. By the end of the drive we had both shed a few tears. I told Bunny that I was really proud of her for taking us in the way she did. And, she said that the experience with us was very positive and that it would most likely change her. She said she was seriously going to think about joining CouchSurfing.org as a host. I was particularly moved by that. There were big hugs when we all said goodbye.

Saying goodbye to Bunny.

The plan for the next night was to stay at Umpqua Lighthouse State Park. Possibly it was the fact that we had been spoiled by Bunny the night previous, or maybe it was just the intensity of the rain, but we didn’t camp that night. The two of us pushed ourselves as far as Reedsport, just short of the campground and checked ourselves into the Best Budget Inn. I was extremely grateful for that little, dingy motel because its wi-fi allowed me a much needed opportunity to Skype with my lady friend at home. I attempted to get some faux privacy from Collin for the conversation by sitting in the bathroom.

I took a picture of the bathroom’s fantastic wallpaper. It makes a really classy desktop background, FYI. I’m using it as I type. Enjoy.