Another Day of Superlatives

Pacific City-Newport, OR
52.9 miles 2700 ft elevation gain
Ok this has to have been one of the greatest biking days ever! Cold start but sunny and still blessed with a tail wind. Ten miles into the ride we go off busy 101 and do a 10 mile loop through of forest of giant evergreens (Douglas firs?) on a road closed for road construction but open for bikes. So no cars, a steady but not horrible 5 mile climb and then a gradual 5 mile descent- can it get any better? Well back on busy 101 for awhile, whale sightings in Depoe Bay and then a 4 mile designated bike path along the cliffs-Otter Crest Loop. And following that a short jaunt to the Yaquina Head Lighthouse where puffins and other seabirds linger on the rocks-- whoa what a day! And all that is left of my cold is a nagging night cough which probably drives my roommates mad. Forgot to mention large herd of wild elk we rode by yesterday on the outskirts of Tillamook. According to biking friend Mike who used to live here, they head for the hills when hunting season starts soon.