Taking the Day Off (June 2, 2013)

Sitting in another motel room enjoying the great indoors.  For whatever reason, I have not been able to maintain my early morning commitments to end the day in a campground.  So here I sit, or rather lounge, in a space where the ever present wind cannot touch me and a space in which I can control the temperature.  Costly, but sometimes environmental control is good.

The past two days were days of relatively warm riding, with favorable afternoon winds.  The 52 mile ride from Pacific City to Newport was not overly difficult, but did include a couple of climbs that were notable.  One of the notable climbs is on the Old HWY 101 road, which runs along Slab Creek.  This 10 mile section of Friday's ride may be one of my favorite 10 miles of all time.  After riding HWY 101, the Oregon Bicycle Route takes bike riders on to the Old HWY 101 road.  Very few cars, and a gentle (unrelenting) five mile climb.  Very quiet, calm and beautiful.  At about the five mile marker the climb turns into one of the great winding downhill rides ... very, very enjoyable.  As an extra bonus, at the end of this ten mile section is the Otis Cafe.  The Otis Cafe is a wonderful little cafe that has been serving real home cooked meals since the mid 1930s (I think).  Very cozy and very delicious.

Yesterday's ride from Newport to Florence proved to be 48 miles of multiple short and steep climbs.  Once again I had started the day with the idea of camping, but when I got to Florence I was quite worn out and, because this area is "dune city" and very windy, I opted  to get a room ... glad I did as it rained last night.

Woke up this morning seeing the wet and cold overcast sky .... feeling the tired legs ... sensing the lack of motivation ... and decided to take the day off.

Since leaving Portland a week ago, I have put in about 325 miles.  325 miles of intense weather and climbs ... and incredible beauty.  The physical efforts have caught up to me and have caused somewhat of an unhappy mood to develop.

I am hoping taking the day off will bring back the joy.  .