Oregon is crazy for cycling

In early June we packed up our stuff and our bikes and headed south to the Oregon coast for a camping trip.  Along Highway 30, we saw the first of many cyclists on this trip -- among the many long-distance cyclists we saw heading east were at least five different tandem bikes.  I've never seen so many tandems in one day.

We stayed at Cape Lookout, which is basically west of Tillamook.  After settling into our cabin, we hopped on our bikes and rode on the trails to the nearby beach (although not on the beach), then we headed off to explore the campground on our bikes.  As usual, I loved peeking into everyone's living situation while riding around.  I was impressed at how many other campers also had bikes with them.

During our trip we encountered many long-distance cyclists (randonneurs?) with pannier racks stuffed full of stuff on the back and often the front wheels, too.  I was amazed at how they were able to climb the pretty steep coastal highways on their bikes.  I wanted to shout encouragement out the window, but didn't - maybe next time.  I'm nowhere near being able to ride the miles they do (yet), but I think I'm adding an Oregon coast bike trip to my bucket list.

Later during our trip, we again rode through the campground, then followed a road until it was no longer paved, and was basically a 4x4 packed path over gravel, sand, and vegetation.  I loved "off-roading" on my bike.  It felt like we were exploring an area lots of people wouldn't.  We also rode around the trails near our cabin, and basically just acted like kids.

Oregon inspired me to get into cycling even more.  It takes a different mentality to decide to explore a hilly coastline on your own power, and I suspect that the sights you see while cycling the coast are even more wondrous than what we see from our cars and short hikes.