alan s 

I’m planning a trip for mid-September from Astoria to Florence and Eugene. Taking a bus from PDX to Astoria and renting a car in Eugene to finish up the trip to Crater Lake and Mt. Hood. Anything in particular you would recommend along the way (food, campgrounds points of interest)? Won’t be making any reservations since it will be after high season, and camping should be readily available. Also, given the possibility of rain, there will be plenty of time built into the schedule to explore or take a break. The flight gets into PDX midday, which leaves enough time to assemble my bike and ride downtown to look around a bit and catch the late bus to Astoria.

indyfabz

You may already know this, but the red light rail line takes you into the city from the airport. IIRC, you board right near the bike re-assembly area.

Cyclist0108

I found a place in mid-September about 25 miles from Crater lake after about 4 hours of searching. The second night I stayed in the NP Lodge. It is worth making reservations for that if you can.

trailangel

Most beautifully spectacular part is the southern Oregon coast.
Cape Blanco to the south.

Money D

If its a clear day, biking up to the Astor Column gives a great view.

Breakfast at the pig n pancake in Astoria or Seaside

Tourist in MSN

Contact Oregon and ask them to mail you the Pacific Coast cycling map, let them know your plans and they might have some other useful stuff to send to you too. The map in the photo is the one they sent to me five years ago.



We arrived in Astoria at sundown, we made a reservation at a motel before we got there, I think it was the Riverwalk Inn, they told us we could bring our bikes into the room before we even asked. But that was five years ago so I recall almost nothing other than that.

I have never been to Eugene, but I think I have heard that it is a very high bike theft location.

I looked at the Oregon (and California) state parks website before I went out there, I put all the state parks with hiker biker sites into my GPS ahead of time so we could plan our daily destinations for hiker biker sites.

We usually found Safeway grocery stores just when we were getting low on groceries. I think you had to register for a safeway card (zero cost) to get sale prices.

Do NOT forget to bring a corkscrew.

trailangel

This is a good map. Biker Bob posted it some time ago. Good bypass info.

indyfabz

I have encountered them in Montana. You are correct. You need the card to get the sale/lower price. When I was at one last month the cashier swiped the "courtesy card" after I told him I lived somewhere where there are no Safeways stores.

Tourist in MSN

When I was in Whitefish in 2012, I was told I could not buy anything at Safeway unless I got the card, so I got the card. But when I did my Pacific Coast trip in 2014, you could shop there without the card, but I brought the card I got in Whitefish, so I got the discounts.

alan s 

Planning to take the shuttle to the hotel where I’m staying at the end of the trip. They agreed to hold my luggage, and there should be a quiet place there to assemble. I’ll take the rail into the city or just ride. The ride looks nice enough, through residential areas, and I’ll have a few hours to kill. I’m assuming Portland is similar to most other cities of its size, so unless there is something really compelling to see, spending time there is not high on the list of priorities. There will also be time at the end of the trip to explore the city further.

alan s 

Downloaded the ACA GPX route and printed out the ODOT map. Coastal routes are hard to get very lost on, so this should be sufficient.

indyfabz

The rose test and Japanese gardens in the Arlington Heights area were pretty cool, but you need a little time. I remember taking the red line and then a short bus ride to get there.

The Portland City Grill does a happy hour. It's on the 30th floor, so you have views, including Mt. Hood.

stardognine

Southern Oregon & Northern California is an awesome area! 👍 Just be aware, the wind favors those traveling South. Trying to ride North through that insane wind is, well, insane. 🙄😉

stardognine

I forgot to say, my Safeway card is better than yours. 😋 It was the store manager's card, for giving people the discounts, even without the card. For some reason, she gave it to me, rather than filling out the "application" for a new card. She was kinda busy, but mostly doing me a favor, I figure. 😎

mtnbud

If you have the time, ride a little further south past Florence to take the Smith River Byway into Crow and from there ride to Eugene. The Byway begins a little before the town of Reedsport. The main hwy into Eugene from Florence has a very narrow tunnel. Another not as nice option is to head to Triangle Lake to avoid the tunnel.

I believe Crater Lake is car-free September the 14th and the 21rst.

alan s 

The Smith River route is a really good suggestion. Looks like much quieter roads, and a bit longer. Vincent Creek Campground could be a good place to overnight. Crater Lake has car free days on the 14th and 21st, but it doesn’t fit my schedule.

axolotl

You'd be assuming wrong. Portland has a vibe unlike any other American city I've been to.

In addition to the Japanese garden & rose test garden mentioned by indyfabz, there's a very nice Chinese garden in downtown Portland. The Japanese & Chinese gardens are completely different. Portland also has what may be the best bookstore in the country, Powell's, located downtown near the Chinese garden. Portland is also a great food town.

I biked completely around Crater Lake on a gorgeous Labor Day once year. Traffic wasn't bothersome. I visited Crater Lake another time by car in late September. It began to snow and there was virtually no visibility.

alan s 

The gardens sound very interesting. I can probably visit the Chinese Garden on the way to catching the bus to Astoria and the Japanese Garden at the end of the trip. Appreciate the tips.

mtnbud

Here's some pics from the Smith River Route. The second pic is of a great swimming hole by the Vincent Creek Campground which is a great spot to camp!

alan s 

Aside from the map being upside down, it looks like a great route. Not much along the way, so I’ll have to bring supplies. It appears there is a gas station/convenience store near Crow.

mtnbud

That's right. There's a store about 15 miles east of Hwy 101 which is 15 miles west of Vincent Creek that may or may not be open. You could probably fill all your water bottles using their hose on the side of their building if they're closed. I don't remember any potable water at Vincent Creek or Smith River Falls which is 3 miles west of Vincent creek. You will want to bring a way to treat the water if you don't want to have to lug a bunch to camp to help you last through the second day on your ride to Crow.

spinnaker

One thought all the warning lights that you can activate when entering a tunnel with a bicycle. IMHO it is akin to putting chum in the water.

alan s 

Do you recommend not activating the lights?

spinnaker

It was really just a joke.

But seriously, in my limited experience it does not seem to matter one way or the other. The lights certainly did not slow anyone down.

And in one instance, I got coaled by a pickup truck as he exited the tunnel.. Did the lights piss him off? Or was he just an ahole in general? No way to know.