Cycling from Portland to Eugene via the Williamette Scenic Valley Trail

5. 21. 25 Wednesday
Portland – Champoeg

 I was tossing and turning at my brother’s house.  I don’t know why maybe it was nerves or lack of confidence whatever it was it’s gone now.  I rode from Southeast Park in Milwaukie Oregon to Champoeg State Park.  All the anxiety left me as I started leaving the Portland metro area.

I had a big hill coming out of Oregon City which had me walking.  My load is heavy and I’m on a new bike and out of riding shape.  Overall I’m happy with how I did considering everything. I had a great turkey sandwich about 5 mi from Camp stacked with fresh veggies and homemade bread it was great.

Today’s mileage: 29

Elevation Gain:  1,200 ft
Food: Toast, Coffee, banana, chips, cookie and two turkey sandwiches

5.22.25 Thursday
Champoeg – Independence

I rode into the greenway portion of Salem which has some beautiful homes on streets covered  with bushy, mature trees it was really nice.  Since Salem is the state Capitol I decided to have a look at the Capitol building.  The Capitol was under some kind of renovation but it’s got a gold guy on the top of the building.  The gold guy was probably funded by all the people living in Oregon paying taxes.

Leaving Salem there were some narrow roads and I had to grit my teeth a couple of times but overall drivers were really courteous and gave me plenty of room on busy roads.  Most of the bike path leaving Salem meandered along the Willamette river.  Was a really nice ride and as I got closer to Independence the amount of cars on the road decreased.

 I got lucky when I was about 2 miles from Independence. I started getting some rain but fortunately it stopped and I got to the campgrounds in Independence. Aside from a couple of deer I am the only one here at the campground.I do wish there were some other riders around.  The campground is nothing special but it’s located right in the middle of Independence.  Really easy to ride over to a bakery or restaurant and get a coffee or a bite to eat.

 I met a couple of interesting characters. One guy named Javier.  He saw me drinking a Gatorade outside of a convenience store and he bought me a burrito. He thought I was homeless it was pretty funny anyways that’s all I got for now about 70 miles to Eugene praying for empty roads and blue skies aloha

 5.23.25 Friday

Independence – Brownsville

A couple of missteps took what should have been an average day into a long painful ride.  After a couple of hills and eight hours I rolled into Brownsville.  Brownsville is Old West style town with a lot of charm.  I had dinner at a Mexican place called Armando’s.  The campgrounds in Brownsville was really nice and I was so tired after my day of riding I was asleep really early.

I slept in the next morning knowing that aside from the hill it was going to be a low mileage day.  I stopped at a local coffee shop and met some other local cyclists who invited me to sit and have coffee with them.  I declined because it was already getting late in the morning and it was supposed to be a hot one.  Was really nice of them to offer.  I have met so many nice people in Oregon.

5.24.25 Saturday

Brownsville –  Armitage

Today was only 25 miles of riding but after getting lost on my way to Brownsville my mental confidence was low and my legs were sore. 

 My bike has been dropping the chain if I go on the small front ring from the eye to a low gear on my back cassette but I think I figured it out and got my granny gear to get me up the hill with almost no walking.  As usual for me the fear of doing something was far greater then the actual doing of something.

 The ride down the hill was really pretty.  Wide open valley with blue skies, mountains and farmland on all sides.  Once I got to the bottom I was on a relatively straight flat road all the way to the town of Coburg.

 Coburg has a population of just over a thousand peoplebut you can tell it just caters towards the tourists passing through.  All the restaurants were “Farm to Table” chic and water was served in mason jars. I went into a pizza place and it was $11 for a small slice and a salad; no thanks.

Fortunately for guys like me there is a store called Dairy Mart. I think it’s like an Oregon convenience store chain.  I grabbed a brisket sandwich and half pound of fried potatoes for $6.50 and finished it off with an ice cream sandwich for a dollar. I love the no sales tax thing in Oregon

 After lunch I  rode down to Armitage Campground where I was told they did not have a no turnaround policy for hiker and bikers.  The dentally challenged individual in the trailer scowled at me and said  “we’re sold out can’t you read?”.  I looked at hotels and airbnbs but since it is a holiday weekend everything is pretty expensive so I rode around the park and figured I could stealth Camp there and my hillbilly friend at the  desk would never know.  I’m writing this sitting on a log on the McKenzie river.  Tomorrow I will head to Eugene and decide what to do from there godspeed good sir

5.26.25 Sunday

Epilogue

 While i’ve only been riding the last few days I’ve been in Oregon now for 3 weeks.   My brother and I were going through the process of moving my Dad into assisted living.  While it was a hard thing for all of us; I had to realize that  many people aren’t lucky enough to have this luxury and it was only possible due to my Dad’s hard work and saving during his younger years.  Also, although I am physically far from my family it is nice to see that we are able to pull together and work as a unit when needed.  Lots of families don’t have that ability.

 Yesterday I arrived in Eugene at around 9:00 a.m. I went to a 24 hour diner called Mandy’s.  This diner was my kind of place.  No atmosphere, water in big red tumblers,6am bloody marys and huge portions.  It reminded me of Captain Kenos in Encinitas.  Breakfast was good as to be expected and I left there feeling warm and full.  

Since I couldn’t get into my room until 3:00 p.m. I took a spin over to the University of Oregon campus.  The campus is beautiful full of trees and red brick buildings where people study.  I met someone on campus who told me that since Nike was founded in the area that they contribute a lot to the University athletic program.

The contributions show.  The stadium and other athletic facilities look amazing.  It almost feels like a venue you would see in Portland or another large city.  Eugene is full of friendly people and I found myself having many conversations with people in the street about cycling, life or politics. That’s the thing about traveling you became less inhibited about speaking to people and it is a reminder that people all across the world are a lot more similar then different.  Lliving and working on the 24-hour news cycle can make the world seem a lot more hostile than the reality  I’ve experienced.

 After getting into my room at one of the cheapest hotels I can find I immediately dumped my panniers, tub, washed my underwear and took a scalding hot shower. I fell asleep for a few hours then got up and started watching some videos and TV.   Later I went across the street to Whole Foods and ate something off the hot bar.

 I was in bed by 8:00 p.m. and slept almost 10 hours. Sleeping outside will take it out of you.   Looking back on my ride everything went pretty well.  I had some minor mechanical issues and some minor housing issues but everything worked out just fine.

 This trip was shorter than my California trip and I felt more materially prepared.  On my California trip I started to have shooting pain from only having one position to hold the bike flat handlebars.  On this trip I had a drop bar and better gearing .  While I was carrying too much weight overall my pannier setup was much better.  Waterproof Ortliebs that locked onto my rack with ease.

 Sometimes, when I was in a low mental valley I would ask myself why are you doing this? The answer would always come back to simplifying my life to the core essentials.  When I am peddling, especially in a remote area, all I’m thinking about is if I have enough water, distance to my next stop and calories in my body to get me there. Everything else is drowned out.  The next time I get caught up with the noise of life, just remember it’s all bullshit and one day we will all be worm food and none of this will matter.

Till next time keep peddling on and don’t sweat the small stuff and aside from living it’s all small stuff.