Brian Richardson
We’re on the road! This morning, we dipped our tires in the Pacific Ocean at North Jetty Beach. This is tradition for a cross-country bike trip, with the goal being to dip our tires in the Atlantic in a few months.
It’s taken a lot of planning and effort to get this trip off the ground, and reaching the beach for the start felt like a fitting final challenge. The North Jetty Beach parking lot was just a few easy miles from our campsite, but between the parking lot and the beach was a quarter-mile slog over sand dunes and boulder fields. Per-foot, this is probably the hardest terrain we’ll encounter all summer.
Brian and Usher haul their bikes through the sand and towards the Pacific Ocean
With the help of Varun, we took a quick picture at the water, trudged back, and hosed all the sand off of our drive trains.
North Jetty Beach, the official start of our route
After all of the logistics needed to transport ourselves and bikes to Florence, it was a relief to finally start riding. From Florence, we followed some beautiful roads East along the Siuslaw River. Unlike the North Carolina geography I’m used to, the terrain near the Oregon coast quickly turns hilly, and the trees tall and lush. Within 10 miles of the ocean, we were on roads that reminded me of the mountains of western NC. By lunch time we were already 1000 feet above sea level.
Throughout the morning the clouds had been threatening rain, and eventually they delivered. We had a few hours of riding in a cold 50 degree drizzle, and were thankful to see the sun creep out before we arrived at our destination of Eugene.
Michael and Usher take a quick break in the sun
We had hoped to make it to a Eugene bike shop for some repairs on Usher’s bike before it closed at 5pm. Thanks to a stellar bike path through the city, we made good time on the last 10 miles and reached the aptly named “Arrived by Bicycle” bike store 1 minute before they closed. Their mechanic was kind enough to stay a few minutes late to help Usher. Another employee added our names and photo to log book they keep of cross-country cyclists who visit the store.
“Arrived by Bicycle” bike shop in Eugene, OR
Tonight, we’re sleeping on the living room floor of a generous Warm Showers host here in Eugene. After a rainy night camping followed by a lot of biking in the rain, it’s great to be able to shower, do some laundry, have a delicious dinner (featuring homemade sauerkraut), and sleep inside.