Day 56: A Short Ride to a Nice Town—Bandon, OR
Coos Bay, OR to Bandon, OR
46.62 Miles | 1:01 Riding Time
It’s Wednesday, June 4, 2024, and it’s Day 56 of my cross country motorcycle trip.
It’s only 23 miles from Coos Bay to Bandon, and it should take 30 minutes. So, why did it take me an hour? I was headed for the short ride to Bandon. I heard that it was a really nice town, with a historic area, great restaurants and beautiful views. Figured I’d get there in around noon, have lunch and spend the afternoon sitting by the water and catching up on my blog posts and pictures.
Well, I got about 15 minutes into my ride, when I came across a fellow biker on the side of the road. James was riding a BMW GS bike and had run out of gas. That happened to me several years ago in upstate New York, and a nice guy in a truck stopped to help me out. He went back to his house, got a gas can, filled it up, brought it back to me, and wouldn’t accept a dime. Now, it was my turn to do the same. I headed back to Coos Bay to pick up a can and gas and rode back to James. We got him going and he headed north, while I headed south to Bandon. Hope you had a nice day, James, and hope to see you in Redmond at the rally next weekend.
In Bandon, I was staying at the Bandon Inn, which is on a bluff overlooking "Old Town,” and has a walkway down the hill to town. I was early and my room wouldn’t be ready for a couple hours. So I headed down to walk around. I stopped for coffee and a pastry at Coastal Mist—a “chocolate boutique” and worked on the blog. Then, over to Tony’s Crab Shack for lunch—really good chowder.
Heading back up to my hotel, I was still in my riding gear, and a Bob, who also rides a BMW, started up a conversation. Bob and Jen (who runs Jen’s Joint) were a wealth of information about where I should ride, what I should do, and where I should eat. They suggested a ride down to Brookings, OR to see the southern Oregon coastline. Bob said he’d consider joining me, and I welcomed him to ride with me. Just like that, I had a plan for tomorrow.
Back up the hill to my hotel where my room with an amazing view was ready, and relaxed for a bit, until it was time to eat again. Dinner tonight was Cioppino and a Peanut Butter Pie at the Wheelhouse. It was nice to have some great food and a relaxing day by the water.
If you haven’t been to Bandon, you should go. It’s such a cool little town, and absolutely everyone I met was super-nice. I had a great time in Bandon.
