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I apologize for the delay in this post, but I have been so busy the last couple days that I have had scarcely enough time to check email. The latest ride I did was a 75-mile trek through the Marcola Valley circumnavigating the Coburg Hills and finishing up in the last stretch of the Willamette Valley Bike Route.
Putting my bike on the bus in the morning, I began my journey in downtown Eugene. I pedaled up Coburg Road until turning onto McKenzie View Drive. This road, which parallels the winding McKenzie River is a well-trodden bike route used by many because of the pristine views and easy grades. On a lovely day where the weather was in the mid-60's, I , surprisingly, only saw one other biker going the other direction.
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| Corner of McKenzie View Drive and Hill Road |
After traveling along McKenzie View, I made a left onto Hill Drive and continued up through the rural communities of Mohawk and Marcola. These small towns line the meandering Mohawk River in a valley which was cut out of the Coburg Hills which surround Eugene. Undulating terrain and a sheer headwind made possible by the surrounding hills made this stretch of road very difficult to endure. I have found, especially in the past few weeks, that I expend more energy fighting headwinds than I do climbing any hills.
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| Wendling Covered Bridge north of Marcola |
I followed Marcola Road until it ended at State Highway 228. I made a left and took the road into the quaint and charming town of Brownsville. It was here where I parked my bike and ate some lunch. While eating, I explored Brownsville a little and found that this small town is incredibly small and very cute. The downtown has many old buildings and a bunch of good coffee shops. I might stop in next week on my next bike ride.
After leaving Brownsville, I connected up with the Willamette Valley Bike Route. This route, which I will be riding next week, goes from Champoeg State Park just south of Portland and traverses back roads all the way down the valley to Eugene. After climbing a massive hill on Gap Road just south of Brownsville, I fell into sweeping farmland vistas and a refreshing tailwind all the way back into Eugene.
The 75-miles that I rode was the farthest I have ever gone. It was also one of the most scenic as I saw thick forest, crystal clean rivers and streams, wide-open farmlands and challenging hills and mountains. Scenery aside, this was a challenging route that tested my physical abilities and my stamina. The brutal headwind going through the Mohawk Valley and traveling west really took a lot out of me. I was pleased, however, that I went right up and over the two big hills on the route, right before descending onto Highway 228 and the Gap Road south of Brownsville. I guess in engaging in this type of physical activity, fighting the natural elements, whether they be headwinds, hills or anything in between, is part of the experience.
These first three rides have been fairly local. When planning for ExplOregon, I felt these initial rides were more designed for training purposes. I like to think that the real ExplOregon rides starts now. Next week I will be traversing a large portion of the Willamette Valley Bike Route from Salem to Eugene. I will be putting my bike on the Amtrak and departing from Salem so that the wind, hopefully, can be at my back for the majority of my trip.
This will also be my first century ride as traveling along the back roads from Salem to Eugene will put me at about 100-miles. I'm a little nervous, but I have no doubt that my physical capabilities are more than adequate to tackle this challenge. Exciting is the word that could best describe my feelings for next week.
ExplOregon by Bike Ride 1: Spencer's Butte Summary:
Total Miles for Ride-73.2
Total Time on Bike- 5.5 hours
Weather- Mid-60's with partly cloudy skies
Miles Traveled Overall in ExplOregon- 143.8
Time Spent on Bike Overall- 11.5 hours
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