Thursday, June 7, 2007

Oregon Trail...




Day 4 (6/2/07): Coburg, OR to McKenzie Bridge, OR: 72 miles of riding. The day was gorgeous and we rode part of the day with Keith (shown in the picture). The first 60 miles or so were a slight gradient but it felt pretty flat with a tailwind. The last 11 miles involved climbing a steep grade to the gate at McKenzie pass. We stopped at the gate because it was getting late in the day and there were isolated thunderstorms.





Day 3 (6/1/07): Grand Ronde to Coburg, OR:


80 miles of riding today. The riding had a few smaller (3-5 mile) climbs in the morning but was relatively flat for the rest of the day through the Willamette Valley. I saw my first drill rig outside of Monmouth, OR, unfortunately it was un-manned and only a water rig... We met up with a couple other cyclists in Coburg, which is outside of Eugene. One was just finishing up the Transamerica route, he was headed to Astoria, OR from Yorktown, VA. Keith, originally from Bow, NH and more recently Brighton, Utah wasn't following a specific route, but towing a 90 pound trailer and headed to Portland, Maine via both the Transamerica route, the Northern Tier route and whatever other route he had in his head. Steve, started from Seattle and was using panniers and heading to Yorktown as well.



Right before our campground in Coburg I saw the sketchiest van EVER. It was a fifteen passenger van with a large cardboard sign that said "FREE CANDY", and at first I was tempted by the candy, but as soon as I started moving toward the van I thought about all the 60 minute episodes and was able to stop myself.








Day 2: Netarts, Oregon to Grand Ronde, Oregon:


Netarts is on the coast and we biked along the coast for 20 or so miles and then headed inland to Grand Ronde, supposedly home to the largest casino in Oregon. The ride was 67 miles. The terrain changed as we moved away from the coast and the traffic was heavy with large logging trucks on roads with little to no shoulder. I was scared for my life more than one time, but happy to end the day in one piece.






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