ExplOregon Ride 4: Willamette Valley

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Fatigue. Frustration. Elation. Those were all words which could describe the latest ExplOregon Ride. The Willamette Valley Bike Route from Salem to Eugene was my first Century ride and took me on, literally, every back road between those two points and through places in the Willamette Valley that have escaped the expansive population of this region.

I woke up at 0330 to eat a quick breakfast and catch the early train up to Salem. I put my bike on the train and was able to get about 45 minutes of legitimate napping before disembarking in Downtown Salem. The route led me first past the Oregon State Capitol before leaving south along the Willamette River.

Out in front of the State Capitol

Formed through a massive Ice Age flood, the Willamette Valley stretches from Portland all the way to past Eugene. The majority of Oregon's population lives within the valley with nine of the twelve largest cities residing here. The population intermixes with extensive agricultural uses as grass seed and nursery farms dot the area.

The Willamette Valley Bike Route is a state-sponsored bikeway that begins north of Salem at Champoeg State Park. The 132-mile route is very well marked by little bike symbols that are attached to the street signs. It is very popular in the summer as many cyclists attempt to traverse either the entire length or a designated portion.

WVBR Marker just south of Salem

 After traversing some rolling hills and farmlands, I proceeded southwest paralleling the river until reaching the temporarily defunct Buena Vista Ferry about 15 miles from Salem. This ferry, which still carries car traffic across the Willamette just seems to appear out of nowhere in the valley. It was quite interesting.

Weaving through farmlands and the rural community of Jefferson before swinging northwest into the bustling city of Albany, the route ducked in and out of oak groves and grass fields. This stretch of the route proved to be the most frustrating as the route essentially made two half-circles. I would ride past the beginning of a road and then, ten miles later, run into the other end of the same road I saw. When you are riding in the midst of plain and flat farm land, why add miles and useless distance when you can traverse a road that cuts it in half?

After a short break in Albany, I followed Bryant Road for another 10-15 miles before crossing Highway 34 just east of Corvallis. I found a grassy spot on the side of the road for a lunch break and a short nap. I really had become fatigued and my energy reserves were drying up. As a result, my frustration had become almost unbearable. I was having bike problems as the Kona Smokewagon lost the use of it's back brakes and the gears were malfunctioning. My panniers that were carrying my shed sweatshirt and long pants kept riding up my rear rack and scraping my foot on every pedal I made. I had been fighting a southeasterly headwind all morning. In essence, I just about lost it. There was a time when I seriously considered abandoning the ride, walking into Corvallis and throwing my bike and myself on the next Greyhound bus back to Eugene. Stopping for lunch allowed me to get away from the bike, eat some food, take a power nap, make some minor repairs, re-evaluate my situation and, most importantly, calm down.

The next phase of the ride was about twenty miles through incredibly flat farmland and straight-as-an-arrow roads. This is was the hardest part of the ride. The roads seemed inexorably long and the headwind still hadn't shifted yet, so you can imagine my elation as I saw the familiar sight of I-5 on the horizon. This modicum of familiarity allowed me to get my second wind as I descended in Brownsville. For most of the trip, I had been stranded on back roads and forgotten paths. I had a general idea of where I was, but I was never certain. Seeing I-5 gave me an exact gauge on my location and how far I was to my next goal, whether it be a curve onto another road, natural feature or community. If there was one neat feature of this portion was the random stands that lined the road promoting fresh strawberries, corn, lettuce and many other fruits and vegetables. I didn't bring any cash, but I would have liked to have stopped and gotten some fresh produce for myself.

Looking down Main Street in Brownsville

 Brownsville, like many of the other communities on the Willamette Valley Bike Route, is a very charming and unique place. Like Albany and Coburg, you can see how the route encourages tourism by going through the main parts of towns next to all the businesses and shops. I openly wonder if the biking traffic along this popular route is an economic boon for those small businesses. Aside from the established communities, there are quite of few unicorporated locales like Jefferson, Talbot and Shedd that are a little shoddy. The rural poverty here is a little depressing. It gives you another unique insight into Oregon.

I stopped at the Pioneer Park in Brownsville for a short rest, refill of the water and a quick snack. I left Brownsville and began the final leg of the trip into Eugene. This leg featured the infamous Gap Rd. climb. A 400-foot elevation gain in less than a mile is the steepest grade on the entire route. I climbed right up and over and fell back down into the flatlands and farms north of Coburg. The wind had shifted in the afternoon and was now at my back, so I flew past the many grass farms and cow pastures into the tiny community of Coburg. After another short catch-of-breath break, I rode the final six miles into Eugene.

Flat Farmland north of Coburg

 It took me nine hours to ride the full 106-miles. I am very tired, emotionally drained and sunburned to a crisp. It was a fun ride, yes, but there are some things that I should point out and would change if I were to do this again. First, there are parts of the ride which were very boring. The flatnesses and isolation tested my stamina more than anything that I can remember. Second, if I were to do this again, I would start from Albany instead of Salem because it seemed that the Albany-to-Eugene Route was more direct, somewhat, and had the bare essentials of experiencing the Willamette Valley, farmlands, small communities, backroads and open spaces.

I noticed a few other bikers on the ride, maybe about five or six. They were all clad in spandex and fancy racing bikes, so, suffice to say, I didn't really look the part. I did notice that they were all going south-to-north rather than north-to-south as I was going. Maybe they knew something that I didn't?

Next week's ride will be another fairly local affair as I travel through the Wine Country of the Southern Willamette Valley. I plan on starting in Eugene and riding down Lorane Highway until meeting up with Territorial Road. From there, I will stop at four different wineries to do some tasting. It will only be about a 25-mile ride, but should take the majority of the day.

ExplOregon by Bike Ride 4: Willamette Valley Summary
Total Miles for Ride- 106
Total Time on Bike- 9 hours
Weather-Mid 60's with Partly Cloudy skies
Miles Traveled Overall in ExplOregon- 249.8
Time Spent on Bike Overall- 20.5 hours