Day 8: To Canyonville, then a ride home

August 8, 2005

I got up at 7AM and got on the road at 8:35. I had a bad cough and stuffy head but riding the bike felt better than lying down which clogs my sinuses. The only way to get from Wolf Creek north to Glendale is on the interstate highway. There is a local road for 2 miles but then I had to ride on the shoulder of I-5 for 2.5 miles, up an easy grade over Stage Road Pass.

To get to Glendale I had to ride over Stage Road pass on I-5.

From the Glendale exit I pedaled west 3 miles to the town of Glendale. It's a sleepy lumber town that still has an active lumber mill. But it once had many lumber mills. It's a good example of a once-thriving timber town that is struggling to survive.

I stopped for a second breakfast at the supermarket, then continued west on the Cow Creek loop. It's a designated Scenic Byway but is not very well known. West of Glendale is a big hill but fortunately the remainder of the Cow Creek loop is extremely easy cycling. The road stays close to the creek as it loses 700 feet elevation. Just the thing for a cyclist who is getting sicker by the hour.

On the Cow Creek loop. I never went to Powers.

At first I was disappointed in the scenery of the Cow Creek loop. The creek was quite small, rarely visible, with no place deep enough for swimming. And clearcuts are almost always visible from the road. The land is privately owned and it is actively logged. But halfway through the loop two major creeks flow in to significantly increase the water flow. Then the creek is much deeper with many potential swimming holes. It was hot so I did stop to swim a few times.

Cow Creek gets steadily bigger as I go downstream.

Unusual rock formation. Most hillsides are forested with no exposed rocks.

The road has very little traffic. A car passed by about once every ten minutes. Despite all the clearcuts there were few log trucks on the road. Generally the area was deserted for the first 2/3 of the loop. But there were more people around for the last ten miles as I got closer to the towns of Myrtle Creek, Riddle, and Canyonville. Some people were fishing and some people were swimming. I stopped at one point to watch people use an amazing cable contraption to splash into the creek from far above.

Amazing cable-and-pulley device for jumping into Cow Creek from high above the water. You roll about 100 feet down the cable, then let go and drop 20 feet to the water.The swimmer must use the dangling rope to tow the pulley back to the jumping-off point.

Flowering bushes growing in the middle of Cow Creek. I stood in the creek to take this photo.

The Cow Creek loop ends in the town of Riddle. I rode past a very large plywood factory coming into town. When the day started I still hadn't decided whether to continue with the tour or to go home for a few days to recuparate. When I got to Riddle I called my wife and asked her to drive down to Canyonville and pick me up there. Then I pedaled the final 6 miles on Canyonville-Riddle road to Canyonville. It's the direct route between the two towns but it climbs a 300 foot hill. I should have taken the longer road that follows the South Umpqua river. My wife and I ate dinner at a Mexican restaurant then drove home to Oakland, 45 miles north of Canyonville.

I need to rest at home for a few days before continuing. This has been one of my most problem-plagued tours with the sore muscle and unexpectedly difficult day 6 followed by a bad cold. Hopefully the next stage won't have as many problems.

Distance: 61.6 mi. (98.6 km)

Climbing: 1502 ft. (455 m)

Average speed: 9.7 mph (15.5 km/h)

Maximum speed: 40.1 mph (64.2 km/h)

Hiking: none

Today's ride: 62 miles (100 km)
Total: 367 miles (591 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0