October 31

54 miles, 9.5 mph, 1690' elevation gain
(Eel Lake to Bullards Beach State Park, OR)


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Highlights: morning frost, sunny & clear, more dunes & coastal forest, another awesome yurt

Journal: [to come]

First frost (Tugman State Park)

Last dune picture (Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area)

Bridge across Coos Bay (Coos Bay)

Coastal forest (south of Charleston)

Ocean driftwood (Bullards Beach State Park)

October 30

38 miles, 9.2 mph, 2390' elevation gain
(Florence to Eel Lake, OR)


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Highlights: cold in morning, nice tailwinds, dunes & sand, Pacific Ocean, logging trucks, densely forested hillsides, tide flats & salt marshes, sleeping in a yurt

Journal: [to come]

Historic Florence bridge on Highway 101 (Florence)

Oregon dunes (Florence)

First view of the Pacific Ocean (Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area)

More dunes (Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area)

Yurt (Tugman State Park)

October 29

69 miles, 11.0 mph, 2160' elevation gain
(Eugene to Florence, OR)


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Highlights: worried about not making it across the Coast Mountain Range before dark, turned out "ok" (some light rain & headwinds, not much climbing, bearable traffic levels, a few sketchy spots)

Journal: [to come]

Amazon Creek bike path (Eugene)

Highway 126 heading up the last hill (east of Mapleton)

Tunnel ahead (east of Mapleton)

Highway 126 on the other side (east of Mapleton)

Crossing the Siuslaw River (Mapleton)

October 28

10 miles, 240' elevation gain
(Springfield to Eugene, OR)


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Highlights: Eugene solar system, visits with two sets of friends, homemade spaghetti

Journal: [to come]

George, me & Pat (Springfield)

Passing by a Ducks game (Eugene)

Very cool haunted house (Eugene)

Jean, Jonathan & me (Eugene)

October 27

46 miles, 12.8 mph, 390' elevation gain
(Corvallis to Springfield, OR)


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Highlights: last day in Willamette Valley, tailwinds, grass farms & more sheep

Journal: [to come]

Downtown Corvallis (Corvallis)

Grass farm (between Corvallis & Harrisburg)

A common site in Oregon: railroad tracks in the middle of the street (Harrisburg)

Southern Willamette Valley (near Coburg)

October 26

58 miles, 10.6 mph, 650' elevation gain
(Salem to Corvallis, OR)


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Highlights: more of the Willamette Valley, small farms & sheep, Corvallis

Journal: [to come]

State Capitol Building (Salem)

Downtown Salem

Eco Earth Globe (Salem)

Country farmhouse (near Buena Vista)

Popular hangout spot (Albany)

October 25

54 miles, 9.4 mph, 1170' elevation gain
(Newberg to Salem, OR)


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Highlights: Willamette Valley, vineyards & Christmas tree farms, fresh apple cider

Journal: [to come]

Christmas tree farm (near St. Paul)

Largest black cottonwood in America (Willamette Mission State Park)

Halloween pumpkin display (north of Salem)

Cute straw people (north of Salem)

Vineyard (north of Salem)

October 24

32 miles, 7.5 mph, 1910' elevation gain
(Portland to Newberg, OR)


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Highlights: unpleasant riding conditions leaving Portland, sporadic rain, irksome cyclometer, walked two miles in the dark

Journal: [to come]

Me, Sy, Susan & Fred (Portland)

Reed College (Portland)

Downtown waterfront view (Portland)

Inside the World Trade Center (Portland)

Tom McCall Waterfront Park (Portland)

View from the Southwest Hills (Portland)

October 22

69 miles, 10.5 mph, 1580' elevation gain
(Longview, WA to Portland, OR)


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Highlights: Columbia River, impromptu side-of-the road meeting with travelling cousin, pleasant evening ride thru Portland

Journal: [to come]

I love that tree! (Longview, WA)

After crossing the Columbia River (West Rainier, OR)

All that's left of Trojan Nuclear Power Plant (south of Prescott)

Last view of Mount St. Helens (Columbia City)

Columbia County Courthouse (St. Helens)

Me, Anita & Dave in a cemetery (South Scappoose)

October 21

26 miles, 9.8 mph, 1630' elevation gain
(Castle Rock to Longview, WA)


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Highlights: Mount St. Helens Visitor Center, earthquake-triggered ash plume

Journal: "A magnitude 3.5 earthquake at 3:13 pm Saturday afternoon shook loose the top of the highest of the new lava spines [on Mount St. Helens]. The small collapse and avalanche of dome rock generated a short-lived ash plume that rose approximately 2000 feet over the west crater rim and rapidly dissipated." (source: USGS)

Mount St. Helens before ash plume, at 3:13 pm (Mount St. Helens Silver Lake Visitor Center)

Mount St. Helens with ash plume, at 3:17 pm (Mount St. Helens Silver Lake Visitor Center)

Mount St. Helens after ash plume, at 3:24 pm (Mount St. Helens Silver Lake Visitor Center)

Path Of Least Resistance

46 miles, 10.7 mph, 1220' elevation gain
(Centralia to Castle Rock, WA)


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Highlights: avoiding hills, Lewis County Museum, good tailwind by afternoon, cruising along (15+ mph) at times

Journal: Much of the past week has been spent in somewhat wet riding conditions (mostly drizzle & sporadic rain) with hills and moderate headwinds. Fortunately, the weather has improved today and the winds are blowing from behind for a change. I am currently about 40 miles west of Mount St. Helens, which means I should be crossing the Columbia River into Oregon sometime in the next 24 hours.

Old Jackson Courthouse (Marys Corner)

Mount St. Helens...hiding behind the clouds (northeast of Toledo)