Pacific Coast Bike Tour Day 14: Coos Bay to Humbug State Park

Bicycle Touring, United States

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By Ryan Gargiulo

Don’t miss: Pacific Coast Bike Tour Day 13: Rest Day in Coos Bay

We woke up this morning feeling refreshed after a really relaxing day off yesterday at the Motel 6 in Coos Bay, OR. As soon as our tires hit the pavement we instantly looked at each other and thought man it’s great to be back on the road.

The Big 500!

Just a mile down the road my bike computers odometer hit the big 500. That is, 500 miles since we started this bike tour!

500 Miles!
We just hit 500 Miles!

Feeling great and hauling weight…

Cycling from Coos Bay to Humbug State Park

With a great start to our morning, we pedaled on through Bandon, OR and passed a group of high school road cyclists on a trip to the Redwoods. A little ways down the road we pulled off to the side of the road to let them pass by us. They came cruising by us and to be honest I was sort of jealous that they didn’t have to carry any weight and had a support vehicle tailgating them the entire way. Must be nice! It wouldn’t be the last time we spot these high schoolers along the way.

Lunch time

Lunch time!
Enjoying the Oregon sunshine!

We stopped off at Subway for lunch, it seems that there’s a Subway every 25 miles here in Oregon. I never liked Subway until I ventured out on this bike trip. Now I’m eating it a few times a week.

After lunch I spent some time basking in the Oregon sunshine while Will walked over to the espresso stand and walked through the drive thru. He’s been really loving the espresso stands out here in Oregon.

On the road again…

It was time for us to hit the road and tackle the last half of our day. We had about 33 miles to go before we hit Humbug State Park, our camp spot for the night.

We stopped off at Battle Rock City Park in Port Orford to take in the views of the rock formations poking out of the water in the distance.

Battle Rock - Port Orford, Oregon
The Beautiful Battle Rock in Port Orford, OR

From Battle Rock, we pushed on to Humbug State Park.

Humbug State Park
Camping at Humbug State Park

We arrived and once we setup camp we met up with another cyclist named Sarah. We chatted with Sarah for a while and then we all took a stroll down to the beach just before sunset.

Humbug State Park

After sunset we headed back to camp and Will started a fire on his iPhone. Thanks to the digital fire we stayed warm through out the night.

The Digital Fire
There’s nothing like a digital fire on a cold summers night.

Rodents…

While I enjoyed the atmosphere of Humbug State Park there was just one problem. Mice.

I woke around midnight to noises outside of our tent. All of our food was in a sealed bag inside the tent and we hadn’t had any issues at any of the previous Oregon state parks. This one however, has a serious mice infestation.

The mice were climbing up the netting of out tent between the tent and the rainfly. I watched their shadows crawl up to the top of the tent and once they reached the top they would slide down the other side, some landing just inches from my head. It was one of those situations where you know something won’t hit you but you’re so close to it that you still dodge it as if it was coming right towards you. Needless to say I didn’t get much sleep. As a matter of fact I barely slept at all.

Once the early morning came I must have passed out because I don’t remember falling back asleep. When we awoke the mice were long gone. I couldn’t wait to pack up camp and hit the road. To our surprise, everything that we left outside including our helmets, sneakers, towels and more had mice feces all over it. Disgusting isn’t even the word!

Just an FYI for those who are planning on staying at the hiker/biker sites at Humbug State Park, we stayed at the HB3 spot. If I were you I would see about staying down near the front of the park next to the bathrooms if you want to avoid the mice! Our friend stayed down there and had no issues with mice at all.

Today’s Mileage: 58 mi

10 thoughts on “Pacific Coast Bike Tour Day 14: Coos Bay to Humbug State Park”

  1. Hey guys, good to see some new posts. I’ve been following your adventure. Pictures have been great and it looks like it’s been a pretty good trip so far.

    But those mice, yeah I bet that was a bit weird. Stay safe and keep posting!

    Richard

    Reply
    • Thanks Richard. I’m still pumping out posts from the trip. Keep your eyes peeled! It was a hell of a trip. As for the mice, what a nightmare!

      Reply
  2. Everything sounds pretty good- with the exception of the mice. I wouldn’t have been able to sleep at all. Also, looks like you’ve got the beginning of a pretty nice beard. That couldn’t be preparation for the next time you’re at the castle, could it? :)

    Reply
  3. I’ve been liking these posts a lot as well. Great coastal pictures, makes want to visit the region as well, though I don’t think I’d be able to do it on a bike.

    Take care!

    Reply
    • Thanks David, glad to hear you’ve been following along. You should definitely visit the region and there’s no better way to see it than on bicycle. Although, in saying that, it ain’t easy! ;)

      Reply
  4. Hi guys. I am the teacher of the 25 youth cyclists you met around the Oregon-California border. It was great hearing how two inexperienced cyclists decided to peddle down to the Mexican border! My students want to do the same thing next year. I don’t know whether to thank you or cuss you all the way down 101! My students are considered at-risk, but when they hop on the bikes and train for thousands of miles, they morph into a team. May the wind stay on your backside. Ted

    Reply
    • Hey Ted! Glad to see you made it on over to my site. We enjoyed crossing paths with you guys. Be sure to tell your students about my site when you get the chance. Keep in touch!

      Reply
  5. mice, eh? I am almost certainly bringing a CAT, a nine-year-old named Pavel, who has ideas of discouraging rodent night-time prancing, dancing and mischief.

    Reply
    • Yep, MICE! Not cool. Pavel not only seems like a perfect solution but also a great companion to bring along on this type of trip. Too funny!

      Reply

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