Day 2: To Springfield

August 2, 2013

Today will be an easy day. I got on the road at 8:50. The sky was still overcast, temperature in the 60's.

Triangle Lake begins just past the campground. The road wraps around the north and east sides of the lake which is lined with mostly rustic vacation homes.

Beyond the lake the road climbs gently for a few miles in an open valley with farms. Then the valley closes in and the road climbs more steeply through forest for a couple miles to Low Pass summit.

The summit of Low Pass is only 310 meters elevation.

This is one of the easiest places to cross the Coast Range. The descent to the Willamette valley is only 500 feet. On the way down I stopped at the lush Alderwood wayside.

Fern Ridge reservoir, in the Willamette Valley.

The sky became partly cloudy as I got out into the Willamette valley. The temperature warmed up to about 70F. Still below normal.

Much flatter and more open in the Willamette Valley.

I followed the Adventure Cycling route, turning off highway 36 onto Clear Lake road which goes past Fern Ridge reservoir. Then south on Greenhill road. Traffic steadily building as I approach the city of Eugene. But then I escaped the traffic by turning left where the Fern Ridge bike path begins.

Beginning of the Fern Ridge path which goes most of the way across Eugene.

The Fern Ridge bike path is quite flat, in wetlands along Amazon creek. The wetlands are dry this time of year. It has many turnouts for bird watching. The path took me well into the city of Eugene. Past landmarks such as Euphoria Chocolates and the Bike Friday factory. When the trail ended I continued east on 15th avenue, then north on High street into downtown.

Columnar basalt on the climb to Skinner's Butte.

In downtown I turned left on 3rd street to detour to up to Skinner's Butte. About halfway up is an impressive formation of columnar basalt.

View of downtown Eugene from Skinner's Butte.

At the top is a good view of downtown from 200 feet above the streets. To the east I could see Autzen Stadium, I-5, and the Willamette river.

After descending from Skinner's Butte I crossed the Willamette river on the Peter DeFazio bicycle bridge. It's not as elegant as the newest suspended cable bridges. Peter DeFazio is my Congressman.

The Peter DeFazio bridge crosses the Willamette river in downtown Eugene.

I looked around the fountains and pools at Alton Baker park, then continued east on the North Bank trail. The trail ends near the Eugene/Springfield boundary. Much of the trail is forested, so it doesn't have many expansive views. But the trail stays very close to the river, with many access trails.

Bike path along the north bank of the Willamette river.

At the east end of the trail I crossed the river on the Knickerbocker bike bridge which has a good view of the new I-5 bridge just upstream. Then I turned left onto Highway 126/Main Street and promptly crossed the river again on a 4-lane bridge. Then east through downtown Springfield and most of the suburban parts of Springfield. Traffic was very heavy, but most of it has a bike lane.

Tonight I stay with my friends Tony and Jeannette in Springfield. I arrived at 4:45 PM after spending most of the afternoon in Eugene. I slept in their Aliner pop-up trailer in the back yard. We had a nice dinner of spaghetti, salad, and ice cream.

The temperature warmed up into the 70's in the afternoon as the clouds dissipated. The weather is finally getting close to normal. I was finally able to dry my tent.

Distance: 50.2 miles (80.3 km)
Climbing: 1318 feet (400 m)
Average Speed: 10.7 mph (17 km/h)

Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 98 miles (158 km)

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