BAC SEA to SF 2010

July 11 - Lincoln City to Yachats

Please visit Seattle to Yachats slideshow

It was typical chaos when we all converged in the breakfast room this morning at 7:00. The main feature was fresh fruit. I had a bowl of compote and blueberries on my waffle. This is Sunday after all.

Someone turned on the TV to watch today’s stage of Le Tour de France. When I got back to my room I turned it on. It had a ways to go, so I packed up my bags and put them into our trailer. Then I went back to my room to watch the finish. This put me on the road at 8:40.

The weather was cool with some high fog. I dressed warmly with my toe warmers, leg warmers, arm warmers, light under shirt and a light jacket. It was perfect until I got to the only climb of the day. I took off my toe and leg warmers in the middle of the climb. Later, I made a stop in Newport for coffee and a scone. I shed my jacket there. (Note to Jeff: It was too early for beer and a burger at the Rogue Brewery).

The rest of the ride was flat or low rollers with a tail wind. I blew into Yachats at 12:40 and made my way to the Yachats Inn.

Here is today's route.

Yachats from the Inn

When I arrived, our rooms were not ready. The desk clerk directed me to the lounge area where I met the Nevilles. We found the large-screen TV and watched the World Cup championship game. When it was over, our rooms were ready.

Our rooms are in the old part of the inn. They are close to the ocean and have views of it. I sat next to my sliding glass door watching and listening to the surf.

Phil, one of our riders had to leave the tour today and rush home to Florida because of a family emergency. We hope everything goes well for him. Phil and Judy were taking turns driving our support vehicle. We will find out what will happen for the rest of the tour later.

Rich's Support Vehicles

Speaking of the support vehicle, it belongs to Rich Gallo, our ride leader. He drove his Toyota Highlander towing a special trailer all the way from Brooklyn to Seattle so it could be used on the tour. The trailer is customized with built-in compartments for all of the things that are needed for cycling tours. He has a full range of repair tools as well as lots of parts. Rich is an experienced tour director taking groups across the country and other long-range trips for BAC and for Adventure Cycling. Here are photos of his vehicle and trailer. The graphics on the trailer were done by his son, Nick who is a graphics designer.

Happy Hour was at 5:00. We were joined by Rick Hill, a BAC member from Newport, OR. He met some of our group in Newport and led them to Yachats. He talked about some of his tours as a leader and filled us in on places to eat and trails to hike around Yachats.

I walked into town with the Nevilles and had fish tacos at Luna Sea. We ate outside under cool overcast skies. There was a wait to get inside and we were too hungry to waste time standing around.