Hi again! Perused some issues of Adventure Cycling in the laundry room: Riding Taiwan, Biking Japan, Using Amtrak and biking Vermont, Biking Morrocco, cycling in Northern Italy....something to think about. I learned about the US Bike Route System (USBRS), EuroVelo in Europe, La Route Verte in Quebec, and the Mississippi River Trail Way (both sides!).
The next morning I got started early, pedaling down Coburg Road. Just as I entered town I found the Coburg Bakery and Pizza Co. After enjoying a coffee and a monster cinnamon bun, I donned my helmet and saddled up only to find my tire was flat. Oh well, it happens... then I noticed a serious crack in my rear rim. Going back to the bakery, I inquired about nearby bike shops. "In Eugene." I was told. I was at least 10 miles out of town. Then an angel appeared. Debra was her name. "Come, put your bike in my car and I'll take you there." She drops me off and leaves me outside Willie's bike shop. Then she's gone, only the echo of her wings fluttering in my ears.
As I waited for the shop to open, I talked with Jonah, also waiting at the door. He's a new bike rider, thanks his discovery of an old Schwinn at a garage sale. He's pretty excited to be able to ride to work after some tedious miles walking and waiting for buses. I cheer him on, giving him a few tips that helped me keep going after I started. Like "carry a patch kit and a pump... and don't worry about rain, just get a good raincoat..."
Willy doesn't have the right size rim, so, after fixing the flat I pedal a little ways to Bicycle Way of Life. No, It's not a church. Michael the owner and master mechanic fixes me up, not just the rim but the brakes and derailers. God is watching over me! Ready to restart from downtown Eugene I coffee up at Dutch Brothers and get a little rap music for my sound track.
The way back to Coburg is very familiar by now, so it goes fast. Stopping in at the bakery, I ask the server I met earlier if he knows Debra. He does. So I leave the price of a latte with him, " Tell her it's from the biker you helped." I leave town taking the North Coburg Road it's numbing-ly straight... and goes for miles. Finally I turn onto Gap Road ... and then it's climb, climb, climb to a pass ( must be the Gap) ...then racing down-hill, "twisting and shouting". I come into Brownsville, a historic little town with a feisty streak of independence. Lots of pioneer age buildings ... still standing! Then 7 mile Road, W. Linn Road, Robert's Road... Watch out for soft shoulders on these roads...and be ready for wind, cause there's not much out there between you and it. Then Boston Mill Rd. to Shedd, another historic farm town. I was saddened to see an old Methodist church, where services had been held continuously since 1853, with auction sign nailed to the timbers. I believe in the Resurrection.
I turned on Fayetteville Rd. So many "Fayettevilles" in the US. My mom lived in Fayetteville Arkansas. Down the road I saw black walnut trees, tall and straight, another thing that reminded me of my mom. I crossed over Muddy Creek and saw a score of salmon of spawning size. Then Peoria Rd, and White Oak, and then suddenly Highway 34. I stood there puzzled for a few minutes till I realized that there was a separate bike lane across the Highway. The Willamett Valley Trail is mostly country road with very few signs ( usually at a road change and not very big.) Anyway, you take the bike way west until you come to a right curving, arching overpass, which you follow over the river. You'll see a sign on the downhill that assures you that you're in a bike lane. There before you is Corvallis, "Heart of the Valley" in Latin.
I'd hoped to get to the Library and email my friends Phil and Audra, but alas I got to town at 730pm and the library closes at 6. I did bump into Brian, who I could see by his outfit that he was a serious biker. He pointed me to Squirrel's, a pub known for it's good food. I ordered the Squirrel Burger, which has "everything", including a fried egg! I peddled off to the West side of town to where I'd camped before, near the fairgrounds. Though a good ways off, I could hear the Gospel and Country music, I think everyone was singing. Later it was the little critters that live among the Garry Oak that kept me awake. I think I plunked down on one of their trails... probably the one between the bathroom and the refridgerator. And now a little "shut-eye". Goodnight!
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