Date: May 18, 2024

Today’s Start Point: Grand Ronde, Oregon

Today’s End Point: Corvallis, Oregon

Today’s Miles: 54.36 Miles

Cumulative Miles: 179.86 Miles

Today’s trip down the Willamette Valley, as opposed to my time here with Les last week, was a slightly different experience. I had places to go, a bike to pedal. Unfortunately, wine was not on the menu.

I had a tough night last night, I could not warm up. The temperature only went down to 40 degrees, but I think the quaint little creek that went by my campsite made it feel much colder. Quaintness has its limitations.

When I woke up I was hoping that some of my gear would have dried out from Thursday’s rain, but no such luck. The campground had a laundry room so I decided to leave mid-morning so I could use the facility. Part of the mundane duties of the trip.

Today’s route went through the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon. It is a federally recognized Tribe that includes over 30 Tribes and bands, including the Kalapuya, Molalla, Chasta, Umpqua, Rogue River Chinook, and Tillamook. It appears that most of the tribe’s income comes from a local casino, although it still looks like some hard living.

Once through the Agency, the road continued as yesterday, twisting and turning up. For the next 20 miles I rode along a highway with few points of beauty, but I had a tailwind. Let me repeat, I had a tailwind (which means all is right in the world). The highlight of the ride were the occasional fields filled with the most brilliant red, yellow and white flowering plants. The white flowers were gloriously fragrant, it was pretty nice.

I got off the highway in Rickreall, Oregon and found the most amazing and incongruous 5 mile bike path that went from Rickreall to Monmouth, Oregon. Literally in the middle of nowhere, a perfectly maintained and smooth blacktop just for bikes. You probably think “what’s the big deal”, but after riding 20 miles with cars and trucks traveling by you at 60 miles an hour, this was heaven.

After eating lunch on a street bench in Monmouth, the remaining road to Corvallis was rolling with very little traffic.

I had decided when planning the trip that I would stay in a hotel in Corvallis, Oregon in order to give me a chance to assess the first couple of days and reevaluate my supplies and weight distribution on the bike. On sharp descents, you can feel the bike wobble beneath you. I made some adjustments, so cross your fingers.

Corvallis is a college town, home of Oregon State. College towns equal food (although just a Panera, it was great to eat a salad after a few days of deli meat). After checking in, I realized that this hotel is only slightly better than a tent (name of establishment withheld for litigation purposes), but a shower after a few days on the road was welcome.

That’s it for today, I am going to reacquaint myself with some trashy TV. Thanks again for the kind comments.