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Recently, I partook of an adventure in bicycle camping/touring with ten other cyclists. Of the eleven of us, only our leader had any serious experience in self-contained, non-supported touring. This adventure was formally titled “Introduction to bicycle touring – Oregon” and was sponsored by the Adventure Cycling Association.
First, allow me to extend my thanks to the folks at ACA who put this trip together and the other cyclists who survived my cooking. :wink: Also thanks to our member, Kerry Irons, who allowed me to use one of the Adventure Cycling Association memberships he had available to gift earlier this year. I'm planning on renewing it at the appropriate time.
Intro to bike touring is as much a class as it is a journey. We met at Richardson County Park, by the Fern Ridge Reservoir, near Eugene, Oregon on the afternoon of Sunday, August 9th. Once everyone arrived and had set up their tents, our leader, Joyce Casey, conducted the first of our open-air classroom sessions. It was here that we were issued our t-shirts and reflective triangles. (ACA guidelines require that tour participants wear a helmet and display the triangle so that it is visible from behind the rider). This was followed by dinner, cooked by Joyce, then more class time
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Day 1
Monday, we awoke early, and had breakfast at 7:00, thus setting the routine for the rest of our week. This was followed by even more class work, including a demonstration by Joyce of what her loaded bike was like.
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We broke at noon for lunch, followed by you guessed it, more lessons. But this time, we had a field trip to Veneta, Oregon for a grocery run. Of course, The Lounge was represented. And a couple of the campers purchased additional supplies with their own funds, to share back at camp (alcohol is not allowed to be purchased with group funds). Then it was back to camp for dinner and another field trip, this time to the REI store in Eugene, where additional &/or different personal equipment was obtained by many.
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Day 2
Shortly after the daily 8:00 map meeting, on Tuesday the 10th, we convoyed to the Eugene airport, where we would leave our cars in the long-term parking lot until our return on Friday.
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From there, we zigzagged across the Willamette valley to the town of Monroe, where we pointed ourselves towards the coast range. This was where we encountered the worst climb of the entire trip. A two mile, 8% uphill grade that many of us walked. That is except for Joyce, two riders pulling BOBs and Pascal, on his recumbent.
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Once we reached the summit, it was generally downhill for the next 15 miles, until our camp at the Salmonberry County Park campground, outside of Alsea, Oregon.
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After a hearty dinner of tacos, beans and salad, it was time to sleep off the day's efforts.
First, allow me to extend my thanks to the folks at ACA who put this trip together and the other cyclists who survived my cooking. :wink: Also thanks to our member, Kerry Irons, who allowed me to use one of the Adventure Cycling Association memberships he had available to gift earlier this year. I'm planning on renewing it at the appropriate time.
Intro to bike touring is as much a class as it is a journey. We met at Richardson County Park, by the Fern Ridge Reservoir, near Eugene, Oregon on the afternoon of Sunday, August 9th. Once everyone arrived and had set up their tents, our leader, Joyce Casey, conducted the first of our open-air classroom sessions. It was here that we were issued our t-shirts and reflective triangles. (ACA guidelines require that tour participants wear a helmet and display the triangle so that it is visible from behind the rider). This was followed by dinner, cooked by Joyce, then more class time
Day 1
Monday, we awoke early, and had breakfast at 7:00, thus setting the routine for the rest of our week. This was followed by even more class work, including a demonstration by Joyce of what her loaded bike was like.
We broke at noon for lunch, followed by you guessed it, more lessons. But this time, we had a field trip to Veneta, Oregon for a grocery run. Of course, The Lounge was represented. And a couple of the campers purchased additional supplies with their own funds, to share back at camp (alcohol is not allowed to be purchased with group funds). Then it was back to camp for dinner and another field trip, this time to the REI store in Eugene, where additional &/or different personal equipment was obtained by many.
Day 2
Shortly after the daily 8:00 map meeting, on Tuesday the 10th, we convoyed to the Eugene airport, where we would leave our cars in the long-term parking lot until our return on Friday.
From there, we zigzagged across the Willamette valley to the town of Monroe, where we pointed ourselves towards the coast range. This was where we encountered the worst climb of the entire trip. A two mile, 8% uphill grade that many of us walked. That is except for Joyce, two riders pulling BOBs and Pascal, on his recumbent.
Once we reached the summit, it was generally downhill for the next 15 miles, until our camp at the Salmonberry County Park campground, outside of Alsea, Oregon.
After a hearty dinner of tacos, beans and salad, it was time to sleep off the day's efforts.
.
