June 21, 2022
A Kind of Rest Day in Springfield
Trek to The Eugene Train Station
Our rest day began with a coffee mishap. Our room is outfitted with an antique Keurig knockoff by Hamilton Beach. The graphical directions on top clearly indicate to add water so I did, then pressed the button and turned away. Big mistake! My cup overflowed and we had coffee all over the counter; what a mess. The bright side -the coffee that made it into the cup was good.
Cheryl had gotten up early and eaten and we knew Amber and Rich relished sleeping in even more than we do, so Jim and I walked a few blocks to a Starbucks for breakfast. Interesting tidbit-there was a used-needle depository in the restroom, something I had never seen before.
We wandered a bit to see what was around and visited WinCo Foods to pick up some supplies. Then we returned to our hotel to try to fix a few issues with my bike.
The indexing was an easy fix by adjusting cable tension. The clicking noise was tougher. We narrowed it down to either pedals or bottom bracket. So we switched out my pedals with Jim’s but I could still hear the click. However once we reinstalled my pedals, the clicking completely stopped. So what was the click? Maybe a hastily installed pedal at the train station had loosened slightly, causing a click? Or maybe removing the pedals let out the evil spirits and fixed the problem?
By this time Cheryl had arrived and we resolved to ride into Eugene to the train station to be sure bike boxes would be available to us on Friday. Also Cheryl could check on commuter train times for her trip back to Albany. Amber and Rich had resolved not to ride today so Jim, Cheryl and I set off.
We first rode through downtown Springfield and from there rode down the bike path beside the Willamette River. The weather has changed and today was sunny and warm with a cooling breeze and the ride was delightful.
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We crossed the river adjacent to downtown Eugene and easily found the train station. As it turns out, the trains now are all running with full size baggage cars and we were able to purchase space to hand off our bikes, no boxing required! Yay, this is so much better! Cheryl also set up her return trip to Albany, reducing a small source of anxiety for her. All in all, this excursion was a huge success!
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By this time it was 1pm so we went to the Morning Glory Cafe for lunch. Although most of their menu was vegetarian or vegan, even Jim found something delicious to eat.
After eating, we slowly retraced our route back to Springfield, stopping here and there for photos and to just enjoy the sunshine.
This evening we finally met Wayne Estes, who is just beginning his covered bridge tour. He inspired our tour and his comment about our route led to its name. We all had a great dinner together-Mexican with plenty of adult beverages. We wish Wayne a great and safe trip and look forward to reading his journal.
Today's ride: 14 miles (23 km)
Total: 324 miles (521 km)
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