Wednesday, June 16 - Day 3 - 62.5 miles - Total 179.6 miles

I have to admit it, today was not fun. It was high 40's/low 50's with a steady rain and the roads/traffic were terrible. Do you know how State Route 36 between Covington and Piqua has a real wide shoulder? Well, this was nothing like that. Take SR 41 between Covington and Troy, make a 12 inch shoulder, and put 100 logging trucks and other traffic on it. That was today's route. It was kind of comical at times. I take care of my part by riding as far to the right as I can. Then, I hope the drivers take care of their part by staying on the road. You actually start to get used to it after a while.

Our day took us from Coburg to McKenzie Bridge. The theme for the day was beautiful homes early on and the McKenzie River the rest of the day. It was quite beautiful. We did not get any pictures today because of the rain. Once we get this routine down, we will start taking more pictures. We also had our first flat, as I punctured with about 6 miles to go for the day. I think I will need to replace the tire also. It was a pretty good one.

Kim and the kids went into Eugene and toured the University of Oregon campus. Kim got pictures of the track that Pre used to kick butt on. To the runners out there, you know who he is...to you non-runners....look him up.

We had a scheduled night of camping at Belknap Resort. When we arrived, Kim knew that 3 freezing guys would rather sleep inside instead of camp in cold mud. She is really wise like that. So, she met us with hot pizza and reservations for a room in the resort instead. Yes, we are putting a dent into our lodging fund. But, comfort is also important, isn't it? The resort is beautiful. It has a hot springs pool and a river runs right along the land.

All in all, it is turning out to be an ok day. We are comfortable now and our bellies are full. It is understandable that Oregon is giving us a few minor problems like traffic and weather. I am sure it is aware that 6 Buckeyes are rolling through their land. It is hard to forgive a group that kicked them the way they did in January in the Rose Bowl. I would probably hold a grudge also.

Again....pictures to come when we get more data wifi capabilities.

p.s. I almost forgot, we have a big day tomorrow. We were planning on climbing McKenzie Pass at almost 6000ft. But, unfortunately it is still closed for snow. As a result we have to take an alternate route that adds 20 miles on to our day, for a total around 100 miles. We are staying at a couple's home in Prineville that we found on warmshowers.org. Google it, it is pretty cool. Because we are at someone's home, we will probably be without WIFI for a day. We will post when we have it again.

Tuesday, June 15 - Day 2 - 58 miles - Total 117.1 miles

We were in no hurry to start today. We knew we only had about 3.5-4 hours of riding to do, so a 9:00 start was ok for that. Kim and the kids took off before us so that could run back to the coast to look at the sights. Our WIFI is very limited through this area, so I will stick to the minimum details for now and come back later for pictures, etc. We really have not done much picture taking on the bike, yet. The roads have been a little busy and the scenery nothing too beautiful. Kim and the kids are the ones witnessing the Oregon beauty for now.



So far, I must admit, the adventure part of the trip is much more of a challenge than the riding. It is a challenge getting a place to stay, getting things set up, torn down, etc. Kim has been awesome keeping things going. Her attitude has kept me positive. If she was struggling, it would make it tough.



Anyway, our ride today was from Monmouth to Coburg and we stayed in a campground on the edge of town. We figure that we have about $45 per day for lodging, so every couple of days we can do the indoor lodging and get out of the tents.



I am about of my 25 mb of data transfer, so pictures will come later. Thanks for viewing.