May 29, 2014
Day 1 - Eugene to Patio River RV Park - Mc Kenzie River Drive: Great Beginning!
We were up bright and early and ready to head out. I was so nervous my whole body was shaking. I had to really calm myself down with some positive affirmations. We were both more than just a little frazzled. All part of the process .....I guess. This is a big deal.
We had our breakfast and were on the road by 8:25 am. We didn't need to stop at the post office as I put my swim suit and 2nd camp pants back in the pack. Folks at pools and camps down the road will thank me. The other items were not worth mailing home so I left a note on them "Enjoy" and hope someone does.
We found our way out of Eugene fairly easy. It is very bike friendly and we were on Coburg Rd before to long. We were both feeling a shimmy on the front. Mine was really pretty bad. At 11mph and anything over 15 mph. We decided to see how it went and continued on until about mile 20 and stopped for a snack and a little repacking in the front bags. Much better after - shimmy gone. It was such a beautiful day we were nearly to Vida before we knew it. We were traveling along the McKenzie River all day and the valley is just beautiful. It was pretty easy riding most of the day with a total elevation gain of 1,850 ft.
According to the ACA maps there was to be an RV Park with camping. NOT.....there is a nice grocery store where we were told we could camp at Delta Forest Service Camp another four miles up the road....There was no water there so we loaded up and headed out. At the camp all we saw were No Camping signs so we were back on the road and heading to Mc Kenzie River Camp. By now we are nearly 30 mi more down the road than we intended at the start of the day.
We broke several of our own rules.....not eating enough, not stopping enough and going way past our intended goal for the day. We were caught up in the beauty and the ease of the first 30 mi and the excitement of the first day.
About 55 mi was when I/we started really hurting!! Think I was having a classic 'bonk'. We found this camp sight just in time and it is beautiful. Right on the river, quiet, bonus room we are using to write this up, free WiFi and tons of outlets to charge everything. Most important really HOT showers with heated drying lamps! Wow- did that feel good. As you can see in the photos the tent is up and it is calling my name. We are really tired not sure what we will feel like in the morning...well sore I know. We will see how it goes.
Today's ride: 62 miles (100 km)
Total: 62 miles (100 km)
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