June 13, 2022
Gallon House bridge
Bob’s to Silverton
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I slept really well and woke up refreshed. My previously flat tire was holding air, some blue sky was visible between clouds and the forecast was for only occasional scattered light showers tapering off as the day went on. Life is good!
I got dressed and could smell coffee downstairs so I followed my nose down there and poured a delicious cup. Bob told me it was perhaps the 2nd pot of coffee he had ever made. He only has a coffee pot for guests and for when his daughter came over. But he uses Peets and makes a mean cup of Joe!
I returned to the task of getting ready to ride. Our destination today is Silverton by way of the Gallon House bridge - so named because it was the site of a liquor dispensary back in 1916, when Silverton was a “dry” town but next door Mt. Angel was “wet.” Operators of the dispensary sold gallons of “white lightening” whiskey to Silverton residents out of a shack called a “gallon house” located on the Mt. Angel side of the bridge.
But first we needed breakfast. Bob took us to Bertie Lou’s, his favorite local breakfast spot. There we engorged on scrambles and omelets, and, of course, more coffee (at least for me.)
Bob then led us out on one of the local bike paths. On a portion of the path that traveled near the river, I spotted a beaver right beside the path, chewing on something. (sorry, no picture) After about 8 miles we said our goodbyes and Bob headed back towards home.
Eventually we arrived in Oregon City, where we used the Oregon City Elevator to help start a climb over a fairly significant hill. After that we had to climb the rest ourselves, with good old-fashioned pedal power.
By this time the clouds had thickened and it began to sprinkle off and on. We did stop and put on various combinations of rain gear. Shortly after, it naturally stopped raining and eventually we peeled off the rain gear.
On we went, following a meandering course through mostly farmland. We saw many orchards, hay fields, nursery growers and even hops being grown on string trellises.
The rain returned late in the ride, as we approached the bridge. For the most part it was only a light rain. The high temperature was about 60, and we did experience a mild to moderate cross headwind for most of the day and this slowed our progress somewhat.
The Gallon House bridge was cool! Being our first covered bridge of the ride, we all rode through it multiple times so we could take pics of each other. If any locals saw us, they would have shook their heads while muttering “damn tourists.”
It was only about 2 miles from the bridge to Silverton, where we checked into the Silverton Inn and Suites. Here we have a huge suite (Jim says it didn’t cost much more) with a second bed to “explode” our panniers onto and plenty of room for the bikes. Very clean, very nice and highly recommended.
It is a quick walk into downtown from the inn where we feasted on Thai food. Our waitress is also a cyclist and she admired and appreciated our brightly colored jackets, especially the classic Napa Eagles windbreaker that I wore.
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For those of you that prefer moving pics, here is a synopsis of the day, courtesy of Amber:
Today's ride: 46 miles (74 km)
Total: 90 miles (145 km)
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Here in Oakland, Oregon it rained about 50% of the time.
1 year ago
1 year ago