Sprocketshift Oregon Coast - Part 1
The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
Release Date: 07/09/2026
The Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
The Oregon Coast Trail backpacking adventure officially begins! Mysterious James and I head for the Oregon Coast expecting a roughly 10-mile first day over Neahkahnie Mountain. Naturally, the adventure starts with us watching our connecting bus leave without us. Is the entire trip scuttled before we even begin? "My Tent is not Viable" awarded to Brock and I to memorialize our night 1 mishap... . The Pedalshift Project 448: Oregon Coast Trail - Part 1 Portland to Tillamook goes exactly according to plan. This will not last. A confusing route-number change leads to Tim and James missing their...
info_outlineThe Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
On this episode of The Pedalshift Project, we welcome eBike expert Biking Brian to chat about his eBike touring and adventures. We discuss his background in bicycling and touring, his experiences with building eBikes and battery packs, and the future potential of eBike travel. Originally podcast November 30, 2023.
info_outlineThe Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
Welcome to a different kind of Pedalshift adventure. For the first time, we’re leaving the bikes behind and heading out on foot for a three-day section hike of the Oregon Coast Trail. Along with returning friend of the show and legendary 5-timer Mysterious James, I’m testing new ultralight gear, revisiting familiar terrain at walking speed, and exploring whether slowing down even more changes the way we experience a place we’ve ridden through so many times. It’s a little experimental, a little ambitious, and very much in the spirit of adventure. The Pedalshift Project 447: Oregon Coast...
info_outlineThe Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
Every once in a while I finish a trip and, after I get home and everything dries out, I realize there were a handful of lessons that weren’t obvious while I was riding. So this week, rather than another recap of the Oregon Coast, here are a few takeaways from the trip.” Takeaway #1: Constraints can make for a better tour Weather forced changes. My tent forced bigger changes. Transit schedules forced even more changes. We stopped trying to preserve the original plan and started asking what the best trip looked like now. The revised trip ended up being...
info_outlineThe Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
What happens when two people on the same bike tour decide to have two completely different adventures? On this edition of The Pedalshift Project, day two of the Sprocketshift Oregon Coast adventure with Brock Dittus starts with a split decision in Tillamook. Brock points his bike north for a long, wet ride toward Cannon Beach. I slow things way down for cheese, side quests, a little local riding, and maybe a bit of a rethink about what I actually want out of bicycle travel these days. Two riders. Two very different days. One extremely cheap bus ride. Will the bike and bus gods allow us to...
info_outlineThe Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
It’s magical episode 444 of The Pedalshift Project, and we’re marking the occasion with a proper Oregon Coast adventure! In part one of two, longtime friend of the show Brock Dittus joins on a hobgoblin of a ride. On this episode: northbound coastal riding, alternate routes off 101, questionable mileage math, damp gear, coffee stops, headwinds, the Five-Timers Club, and the operating phrase of the whole trip: “My tent is not viable.” Hey there is a GIVEAWAY that is part of this episode… stay tuned to hear how to win a special, nearly one of a kind piece designed by the...
info_outlineThe Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
After a restful night at Huckleberry Hill, it was time to ride back to DC. But a beautiful Sunday on the C&O usually means a crowded trail… would that slow down my ability to get home?
info_outlineThe Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
We are SO back. On this edition, the preview episode for the first Oregon Coast trip that doesn’t require me to fly thousands of miles. Added bonus: Brock frieking Dittus is going to be returning to the podcasting airwaves for this one as we ride a portion of the Oregon coast. As usual… there are question marks for any ride I ride, so we’ll cover them here.
info_outlineThe Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
Another micro Seattle adventure before summer really kicks off (more on that next episode)... this week, we go on another ferry-fueled adventure to nearby Vashon Island to explore the cycling, the town and... pinball? Yes. Pinball.
info_outlineThe Pedalshift Project: Bicycle Travel Adventures
A little more space to explore Seattle before we kick off the first true summer cycling adventure - this week I head out the front door of my place on the Safari (finally!) to put it through the paces around Lake Union and the UW campus!
info_outlineIt’s magical episode 444 of The Pedalshift Project, and we’re marking the occasion with a proper Oregon Coast adventure! In part one of two, longtime friend of the show Brock Dittus joins on a hobgoblin of a ride. On this episode: northbound coastal riding, alternate routes off 101, questionable mileage math, damp gear, coffee stops, headwinds, the Five-Timers Club, and the operating phrase of the whole trip: “My tent is not viable.”
Hey there is a GIVEAWAY that is part of this episode… stay tuned to hear how to win a special, nearly one of a kind piece designed by the talent behind the five timers club award Brock gets in this very episode!
Highlights
- Episode 444, with a very satisfying accidental 44-mile moment.
- Tim and Brock reunite for a Sprocket Shift-style Oregon Coast ride.
- The trip shifts from the original plan into a northbound Lincoln City-to-Astoria adventure.
- The 60X bus from Salem to Lincoln City proves to be a useful transit link for coastal bike touring.
- Devil’s Lake hiker-biker gets revisited and loosely rated.
- Summer on the Oregon Coast delivers rain, chill, clouds, and deeply confused expectations.
- Tim’s tent fails overnight and is declared “not viable.”
- The planned camping trip becomes a hotel-supported ride after wet gear and a damp down bag change the calculus.
- Old Highway 101 / Forest Road 11 north of Lincoln City gets a major reassessment as the better touring route.
- Neskowin and Pacific City provide key food, coffee, and morale stops.
- The final stretch into Tillamook brings classic coastal headwinds.
- Brock officially receives his Five-Timers Club award.
Route Notes
Start: Salem, Oregon
Transit: 60X bus to Lincoln City / Chinook Winds Casino
Camp: Devil’s Lake State Recreation Area hiker-biker site
Ride direction: Northbound / NOBO
Day ride: Lincoln City to Tillamook
Key stops: Neskowin, Pacific City, Tillamook
End of episode: Tillamook, Oregon
Next destination: Astoria, Oregon
Hey it’s a giveaway!
The Pedalshift spinner giveaway! How to enter… make sure you’re subscribed to the Pedalshift email list over at pedalshift.net. I’ll send an email out to the list on Thursday July 16th for the release of part 2. Reply or forward it back at me at pedalshift@pedalshift.net by 11:59pm PT Sunday July 19th and BAM! You’re in the running. The email will have the directions too. Overly complex? Maybe. But you get the coolest designed piece ever by our clever and talented designer friend.
Statistics
- Episode number: 444
- Hiker-biker cost at Devil’s Lake: $8
- Miles biked: 57
- Known other touring cyclists spotted: 2
- Known hikers at camp: 1
- Bundles of firewood: 2
- Tent viability: zero
- Campground USB-C ports: zero
- Campground USB-A ports: yes
- Five-Timers Club ornaments awarded: 1
- Flats: zero