Oregon Tour 2014 Day 5: Florence, Oregon to Eugene

Today, we abandoned the beautiful yet loud, enervating, and dangerous coast route in favor of a dose of quiet riding in the Willamette Valley. But first, we had to get to Eugene. Once we made our decision to leave the coast, we actually looked forward to visiting Eugene, and exploring the Willamette Valley the rest of the week. An added benefit is that we were able to cancel our van rental. Our original plan was to drive back to Portland from Crescent City, California. Riding back through a mostly rural valley seems so much better. 

The day started out with drizzle but the forecast was for clearing later in the day, especially up in the mountains and beyond, in the valley. The plan was to take route 126 all the way to Eugene. Route 126 follows the Siuslaw River until it diverges at Mapleton where Hwy. 126 intersects with Hwy. 36, which then takes over escort duties.

Hale fellow; kismet. At our first stop of the day, unbeknownst to me, a fork in the road, the barrista at a coffee shop suggested we take the road less traveled. Even though it would add 14 miles to our 66 mile trip. This was a decision not blithely made when one is riding a 100-pound bike and is more than a bit spent from the previous day's grueling ride. Boy, am I glad we followed his suggestion: 80 miles of beautiful scenery and almost no traffic.

This is the Mapleton Caffeination Station, where the barista, a biker himself, suggested we take the much less traveled route 36 through the mountains, avoiding the heavier traffic of Hwy 126. Despite the extra mileage, we figured the tradeoff of peace and quiet would make it worth the extra time and effort. Plus, the ride is the thing, the destination but ancillary. 

Our original route, according to Google Maps, would have been around 66 miles. After our route change, it would be comfort over speed (aside from the extra time in the saddle), and quiet over cacophony. The alternate route is shown at the bottom of the page.

Not a bad little coffee shop, rather surprising in such a tiny little berg.

The Siuslaw River would be our companion until Swisshome. There, the road leaves the valley and travels northeast to Triangle Lake.

Triangle Lake. About five miles further, and we will have our first really steep climb of the day, at the aptly named Low Pass.

Low Pass, a short but steep climb. While this pass is only 1,000 feet, we did start out the day at sea level. After this pass, the route levels out and then descends into Eugene, winding mostly through farmland.

Our rather funky little hotel downtown, the Timbers Inn, a quirkily rejuvenated 50's motel. The fact is, we probably didn't have to get a hotel room. Within five minutes of stopping in Eugene for our first beer, two people offered the use of their lawns to pitch our tents, as well as their showers. One young woman even offered to make pancakes in the morning. Eugene is quite the biker's town.

The bar had local quaffs and kombucha.

Dinner would be at Mezza Luna, just around the block from our hotel. 

One thing I always crave while touring is salad (and of course carbs). This meal had it all. A well crafted meal.

We did't have to go far to find after dinner beers.

T&G (Tap and Growler) had 70 handles and very reasonable prices. Imperial pints (20 oz.) were 4-6 bucks, the same for the higher alcohol brews served in 14 oz. tulip glasses

Pretty sure these were Deschutes Black Butte Porters (based on the color), not Obsidian Stouts. I know they were Deschutes because this is where I came up with this stupid joke:

A Panda walks into a bar, drinks Deschutes, and leaves.

Not a bad array of beer.

We ended up at around 82 miles today, after wending our way through Eugene. The first 40 miles were pretty much all up hill, a gradual climb occasionally punctuated by a short steep hills. I can't say we missed the coast, despite its beauty.