July 28, 2021
Day 77 - McKenzie Pass, OR to Eugene, OR
Observatory sunrise
We woke up with the sun and decided to not dally since people might start coming up the pass for a sunrise at the observatory. We packed quickly and since we didn't have any place to get water yesterday, we were completely out. I ate my giant cinnamon bun and we left. Luckily we ran into a pct hiker and they told us about a roadside stash of water. We all took about 1 liter to get us down the mountain. The road started off as rolling hills and had us waiting for when it would get steep. Eventually we dropped down into a lush forest with huge trees.
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It had been about a month and a half since we have been in a real forest. The humidity fogged up my glasses and you could smell pine and fermentation. It was an amazing experience after being in a desert like place for so long. On top of the sensory overload, the road was one of the best downhills so far. Very narrow, winding with alot of 15 mph u turns and sharp bends. Around one curve, mark was in the oncoming lane and a car coming up was also out of their lane. It was almost a really bad crash, but luckily nothing happened. It was about 15 miles to the bottom where the road ended and we had to get on hwy 126. After a few miles, we entered the burn area from last year. We were following the McKenzie river to Eugene and most of the ride was through burned forests.
Alot of the properties that were burned down were for sale. They also decided to log the entire forest, so there were tons of log trucks and 3 places where we had to stop to let logging operations go on. It was getting pretty hot and although it was all gentle downhill, it was tiring because the headwind. Some locals we talked to about the fire said that the wind always comes from the west, except for when that fire destroyed this whole area. This was the Oregon fire that made national headlines last year for burning a few towns down.
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We finally got into Eugene around 3 pm and there were almost too many food options. The group couldn't come to consensus, so Mary and I went to a vegan food truck where we got 2 entrees each and a milkshake.
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We met up with everyone at a brewery close by, but I had to leave early to go to the post office. The maps that were mailed to prairie city didn't make it in time and I told the lady to forward it to Eugene. Unfortunately it still wasn't there. Oh well. We are almost done at this point. I rode over to the south side of town to meet everyone at Ivan house. Ivan was going to host us tonight and I found him outside of his house. He is a dentist from Bulgaria and his wife and kids were away on a two month trip back home. We set up down stairs and chatted with Ivan for a while. He made us some dinner, although it was around 9 when we ate, so we didn't get to bed until 11. I think any plans to make an early departure in the morning to beat the heat were pretty much gone. At least there is ac inside.
Mileage:80
Altitude gain:800
Today's ride: 80 miles (129 km)
Total: 4,008 miles (6,450 km)
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