Ride Destination: Newport Oregon, the beach!

Best roads: Not a bad road to ride within 50 miles.

The Coast Hwy 101 can have too many grandpas driving Winnebagos, still a beautiful slow ride North and South right along the waters edge for the bulk of it, with lots of really great ocean views. If you’ve got the time to take an 8 hour shot on the freeway and turn it into 12 or 14 hours on the coast, it’s a nice way to get to Newport from Northern California or Washington State.
It’s important to know, that if it’s cold, foggy and damp at the coast, just 1 hour east on the other side of the coast range that runs most of the state is the other climate. Late in the season when the weather turns bad in the valley, quite often it’s absolutely perfect up the coast. Conversely, almost always when it’s 95 degrees in the valley, it can be 30 or more degrees cooler on the coast. Pick your temperature. If both the valley and the coast are cold, it’s usually another 20 or 30 degrees warmer to run North South through the high desert, just another hour to the east.

Hwy 20, 126 and 18 are all excellent, have less cars than 101, but still more than we like.

Hwy 34, 36 and 229, plus the short Hwy 180 are special Oregon treats, very little traffic, nice pavement, curvy and very scenic.

Best Bike friendly bar: Hoovers Pub and Grill. Low key, dark, good food, hard alcohol, rare covered smoking and drinking area in the back. 3539 SW Hwy 101, Newport OR.

What to do: There’s the beach, fly a kite or something.

Time of year: We ride year round but the good stuff is from April to the end of September. The sweet spot is July, August and September.

Watch for: Deer! When the light fades. Deer usually come out in pairs. Don’t be afraid of the deer you see, be afraid of his idiot cousin blindly following.

Camping: The Oregon Coast is famous for it’s beautiful campgrounds. You usually need reservations during summer, but a guy with a bedroll can always find a place to crash.