June 19, 2022
1 1/2 Bridges
Corvallis to Sweet Home
The Days Inn breakfast bag consisted of a small yogurt, juice, pastry and dry cereal-a little more substantial than I expected but not enough to sustain hungry touring cyclists. So we walked around the corner to Sheri’s and had a real breakfast. In retrospect we should have all claimed our bag and given them to the substantial homeless population living in the bushes adjacent to the motel parking lot.
My cough seemed much improved today, although it is unclear why, but I’ll take it. The weather is good-overcast and cool but not raining. IOW, great cycling weather!
Jim led us out of town on the bike path alongside the river before we turned east on a country road and rode through some university farms and nurseries. He and Amber set a brisk pace; the road was quite flat and we had a slight tailwind to boot. We wound around a bit through fields of ryegrass, wheat and clover and occasional hazelnut orchards, making excellent time.
Pretty soon we entered the town of Lebanon. Never having been in this town, I commented that I thought it was the hometown of a certain cycle touring website host (who shall not be named) who expounded so much paranoid alt-right drivel on his site that we felt alienated and were compelled to leave it.
Seeking a potty break, we stopped at Grandpa’s convenience store. Inside the store, “Grandma” declined to let us us use the restroom even if we bought something. So we left. Fortunately a kind gentleman in the parking lot pointed us in the direction of friendlier establishments. A Starbucks down the road was happy to get our business.
Outside of Lebanon the terrain became a bit hillier and the road more tortuous. This is pretty country-pastures, forested areas and farms in between creeks and streams.
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The last 8 miles seemed fairly hilly, enough that I rode some of it in my small chainring, yet I only recorded about 800 feet of elevation gain for the day. I guess that reflects how really flat the first 30 miles were. The last two miles into Sweet Home were a nice, steep decline and then we rode over the South Santiam river and entered the downtown.
Sweet Home appears to have an older downtown area where the businesses, churches, and some less cared-for homes are located, with a large (for a small town) and visible homeless population. Surrounding this is more upscale residential neighborhoods. Our motel, The Sweet Home Inn, is the only motel in town, and is situated on the eastern edge of downtown. It is older but reasonably well-maintained. The rooms are not large but they seem clean and functional.
Once we checked in, we walked a couple blocks to Subway for lunch. Then we explored town a bit and noted homeless individuals around every corner. It seemed like there was a church or ministry around every corner as well.
Eventually we found our bridge du jour- the Weddle Bridge.
This 120-foot bridge originally spanned Thomas Creek near Scio but was replaced by a concrete bridge in 1980 and scheduled to be destroyed in 1987. Local activists staged protests to save the bridge. The Oregon Legislature then approved the Oregon Covered Bridge Program, which helped pay for covered bridge rehabilitation projects statewide. The Weddle Bridge was the first to receive grants from the program.
Right next door to the Weddle Bridge is the Dahlenburg Bridge, a small foot bridge that is no longer in use; call it half a bridge. Sadly it has been tagged and was filled with garbage.
From here we returned to the motel to clean up for dinner later this evening.
Today's ride: 41 miles (66 km)
Total: 269 miles (433 km)
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1 year ago
Do you plan to be in Springfield on Monday night or Tuesday night?
I will be in Springfield on Tuesday night. If you're in Springfield Monday night I will probably see you on the road between Springfield and Creswell.
1 year ago
1 year ago