May 14, day 11 Pacific City to Newport

May 14, day 11 Pacific City to Newport

Starting odo 6596

I wake at 7:30 to the sound of the diesel truck that has come to
maintain the restrooms and showers. This does not deter me from
falling asleep again. A bit later I get up and it's cloudy, but no
rain. I guess I will be riding today!

Interesting dynamics with the people at the county park. The
campground host & wife are very friendly, and they mention another
biker staying at the park, saying that he's been touring for 25 years.
I talk to him for a while but there is something missing and not
surprisingly he has suffered serious injuries after being hit from
behind in Florida. Still, he is a nice guy. Then there is the hiker
camped across from me. He is another story. I end up talking to him
in the morning in the bathroom. He accuses the other guy of taking or
going thru his tent, saying that he zip ties his tent shut to prevent
it. He spouts a string of expletives directed at the other guy. My
take is that I'm much more concerned about him than the other guy.
Further observations cement my sense that he is an angry young man,
but who knows about what?

A bit later the cyclist comes over, and he has a bag of baby carrots
that he is feeding to the many black rabbits in the campground. There
are about two rabbits per campsite, perhaps two dozen hopping around.
Kids are also feeding them.

Then the seagulls come in. There are now perhaps 20 in the park. I
have been told that the gulls come in to land when the sea is getting
stormy. This gives me more impetus to leave right away before the rain
arrives.

Leaving, I am soon at Neskowin, and shortly after the route veers from
101 to Slab Creek Road, which takes me to the first climb of the day.
The road leads into Siuslaw national forest, and specifically the
Cascade Head Experimental Forest, where research is conducted in
forest management. Beautiful dense forest, and very quiet, except for
birds. The climb turns out to not be a problem - it's not steep enough
to cause me problems.

After the top, you zoom down and arrive very quickly at Otis, and
thence to Lincoln City, which has my next pub stop. It is McMenamins,
and I'm very pleased with their beer, it is more to my liking than
Pelican brew pub. Their IPA is very nice, and their hammerhead ale,
which they describe as an American pale ale is also good, not to
mention the porter and stout.

Continuing on, I miss my turn (I wonder why!) and go down a nice
street which eventually dumps me back on 101, which is ok, since I
would have returned to it in any case.

As I near Otter Rock the route takes a scenic turn onto Otter Crest
Loop. This is one of the most beautiful stretches yet, made even nicer
by almost no cars (perhaps 3 in 30 minutes)! Beautiful forest and very
scenic overlooks.

Now I've made it to Newport, it's wet, so I wuss out and check into a
comfort inn. It will be easy to do the laundry and update the blog
without getting wet.

After cleaning up, I head out for the Rogue Public House. It's about a
15 minute walk, and it's not raining, so that's good. When I get there
I'm sitting right under their ale selections board. I am kicking
myself for not bringing the camera. There are 11 ales in their XS
column, starting with my favorite the I2PA, then old crusty, imp
pilsner, dbl mocha, dbl dead, imp brown, J. J. Juniper, triple triple,
imp red, imp stout, McRogue, and there are 13 more in the ordinary
column, plus a few in some miscellaneous columns.  I am stumped, what
to get? So, to the sampler I go. Brutal IPA, I2PA, hazelnut brown,
double mocha. All are good, but the hazelnut is my least favorite, and
the I2PA is still an awesome IPA. I may have to get another sampler -
I'm on foot after all! So I get a sampler with old crusty, j j
juniper, imp stout, McRogue. And it's a mistake, there's no way I can
absorb that much high octane beer! Still, I get to try them!  It's
about 10:30, and I have to leave soon to do wash at the motel,
assuming I can walk back.