Day 5: Coburg to McKenzie Bridge 

The return of the Amalekites, the Hittites and maybe Moabites 

   57 miles 1854’

The Kamping World RV provided an ok place to rest and cleanup. I think we were in the tent by 7p after an extremely filling and delicious  pulled pork, cheddar and apple pizza. The local Bistro opened at 8am so we had a leisurely morning. After a satisfying breakfast we took off up the McKenzie River. The first 20 miles were along local and county roads. Very peaceful. 

However once we connected with the main highway, we were once again pursued by our enemies; trucks, campers, trailers, RV’s and the occasional Corvette who couldn’t be bothered slowing down even to the speed limit. 

The shoulder varied between 12 feet and 12 inches…centimeters? By Vida I was ready to call Moses and return to Egypt. The clerk at the Vida store had the look of terror when she asked if we were biking. She seemed so worried. Her look gave me zero comfort.  However, after a respite of bananas, gorp and some electrolytes and prayers, we started up the valley. As the shoulder widened the traffic calmed down. The temps warmed up but the miles clicked down. Vida, Nimroad, Rainbow…and finally we arrived at McKenzie Bridge and found a vacant USFS Camp site. Producing my old goat Senior Interagency card, I bought the use of one site for one night at 1/2 price. The hand pump well produced cold water to dunk my head and give us a decent little wash. 

Our camp site erect, we walked the 1/2 mile to the Obsidian Country Store and Grill for an outstanding dinner. Rhonda had salmon tacos with fries and I had a 1/3 lb burger with Marion berry sauce and bacon with purple slaw. Oh so good. We waddled back to our camp and are now sitting in our sling chairs because it’s a bit to early to socially go to bed. 

While at the grill, we met a gal who just biked over the McKenzie pass from Sisters.  Tomorrow’s outlook looks promising. The road officially opens tomorrow but I don’t expect any commercial traffic or weekend traffic or Eugene NCAA track traffic into Sisters. We shall see. 

Stand by for photos. Interweb access in McKenzie is poor