PCC Day 3

Day 3 is the shortest mileage day of the bike tour.  We could sleep in a bit; for me that meant 7 am. We were free to ride the 9 miles into Newport and spend some time at Bike Newport or other places in town or do whatever we wanted as long as we were at Rogue by 11:30 am.

Last year there was a leader to bring us into Newport so that we could get to the place where we needed to in order to go on a whale watching tour.  He led us out of the Otter Crest property the way we had come in the day before.  That involves an unpleasantly steep climb up their private road to get back on the highway.  It is the kind of climbing where the granny gear doesn't seem low enough.  To avoid that, I was debating about taking a gravel path over to a side road and then up to the highway that had been suggested as a bypass, but it was a lot of gravel.  As I was debating, Bart hopped right on it, so I did too.  I thought, "if he could do it, so could I."  It wasn't bad for a gravel path.

It was a somewhat cold day and I had on a jacket as well as arm and leg warmers.  The ride to town was quiet, mostly because we were on the coastal bike trail rather than 101.

This was my first visit to Bike Newport.  They have quite a bit going on there.  It is a popular stop for people who are touring, but also they have all kinds of exercise classes, a small lounge with wifi, and the usual bike supplies and a shop area for repairs.

That's the bridge into Newport behind me.  Notice how it is also on my jacket?

I was in the shop so long that I didn't have time to see any of the rest of the town.  It was time to go straight to Rogue's headquarters.  At HQ, they provided us with a tour of the brewing area as well as the museum, whiskey making area, and the new cooperage (barrel making shop).  All that was followed by lunch in their restaurant including a special brew for the tour riders made by their brew master John Meier, also a rider on the tour.

"Dead Guy" is one of Rogue's biggest sellers.  It has an entire alley unto itself in the brewery.

That's me and Bob at Rogue.

Brew meister John Meier

Mary and Cap'n Pete (Pete Saylor) at Rogue.

From Rogue it was a short 23 mile ride to Yachats (pronounced ya-HOTS).  It misted on us most of the way there plus a significant head wind.  Head wind is like a climb that never ends.  The last 1.5-2 miles it really rained.  This was the opposite of last year's ride where we had lovely conditions and bright, shining sun.

Filling kegs at Rogue.  Business didn't stop because of our visit.

After arriving, I took advantage of the sports massage services.  (They use a Thai style massage.)  I felt a lot looser afterward.  Often on multiple day rides my neck and upper back get quite tight and sore.  My quads do get tired also, but not as uncomfortable as my neck.

Despite the good massage, I was feeling very cold so I also had a quick dip in the hotel's hot tub, which made me feel much warmer.  The rain was on and off the rest of the afternoon and expected to be so overnight as well.

None of the campers had set up a tent due to the weather.  The plan was for us to move the tables out of the dining room after dinner and then sleep there.  Not very glamorous, but warm and dry.  However, Mary and Kim decided to see if there were rooms available.  Interesting that it didn't even occur to me!  They got a suite with a bed and a fold out couch.  We were very snug and our cycling clothes got dried out over the heater vents.

Stats:
I didn't get the Garmin turned on.  About 23 miles total.