Back roads to Eugene

When Norm first planned our bike trip he hadn't quite worked out the last leg of it into Eugene. Highway 99 was a possibility since we had biked it before and although busy it did have wide shoulders. I-5 is right beside 99 but in fact it turns out that I-5 was placed on top of 99. Although Oregon allows bikes to ride on I-5 -- true fact -- we were not at all interested in biking I-5 beside huge semis going 100kmh.! Elliott, our new best buddy in Newport Bikes, suggested a back road. With a Oregon bike map in hand Norm planned out route to Eugene. And since it looked more than 50 miles and as the weather's been hot, we decided to get an early start. 

So we got up really early this morning in Elkton and headed to Tomasilli's Cafe that opened at 6am. We were their first customers at 6:30. The eight-grain cereal was what I ordered and Norm the same but in pancakes with blueberries. The waitress asked if he wanted more than one. Of course he would order a double stack, but then she explained that she had seen only one person finish two. She was right. 

On the road by 7:45 heading first to Drain. We got to go through our second tunnel. Incredibly noisy going through, but Oregon has a wonderful bike-friendly feature in their highway tunnels -- press a button at the entrance, and lights flash overhead at both ends to tell motorists that cyclists are coming through.

Check out Norm in the picture too. The scenery along this perfect highway was beautiful, the photo below is the little valley just over the hills from Elkton. And being a Saturday morning, there wasn't a lot of traffic. 

 Again life is pretty quiet here. Logging and sawmilling, pulp and paper mills are mostly gone and so many places are for sale. You can probably get a good deal if you are interested. 

Here is an old beehive burner left to decay. By Drain it was coffee/pastries time. We couldn't pass this store by. Honest, there were two large women running the bakery. The baked goods were just okay.

The day was getting hotter and the roads long and hilly. At one point on our way to the next really small town of Lorane we had to push our bikes at least a mile up a mountain road. We were in the Coast Range here, not as high as the same mountains farther north in North Vancouver, say, but still a grind on bikes. But coming down the other side is a real thrill. 

Lunch was in Lorane with sandwiches made at Tomasilla's this morning. Lorane has two stores and a post office. It is hard to believe that you can find post offices in these small places. Elkton had a post office too and they only have 195 people living there. No wonder the postal service here is losing money.

The roadway we took actually follows some of the 1840s-era Applegate Trail, which was meant to offer a more convenient route from Oregon to California. Don't know how those oxen pulled the wagons up the slopes in these parts. The effort had us sweating lots.

Finally we crossed into the city limits of Eugene. What amazing hills coming into town. For those who know my bike history, I am a relatively new bicyclist. So when I hit 51.7 kms per hour coming down the hill you can appreciate my shock and thrill of it! And then to just bike in downtown Eugene to our motel right near the train station without a second thought of city traffic, then I'd say I can confidently say I am a bicyclist! Before I sound too confident, I follow Norman so I know where I am going at all times:) 

We cleaned up, met up with Kathleen Piovesan (a friend of Holland's from preschool days in Victoria)  for dinner and a chance to catch up on her life at the university of Oregon, where she's one year into earning a PhD in cultural anthropology. Nice to see her. Before calling it a night, there was time for one more treat at the Red Wagon Ice Creamery for a sundae: scoops of Heart of Chocolate and Not So Plain Jane Vanilla.

Tomorrow we catch the train to Portland, spend one more night then train again to Mt. Vernon before biking home.