Day 9: Back to Canyonville

August 12, 2005

After 3 days of rest at home I was feeling somewhat better. I still had a bad cough but my energy level was better. Hopefully good enough for a strenuous 8 day loop in the Cascade range. I got on the road at 2:20PM after cleaning up the mess left behind by a tree service that took down two trees in my yard.

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Today's objective is to bike to Canyonville where my wife picked me up 4 days earlier. An easy ride with a tailwind and no huge climbs. But the route has a lot of traffic compared to most of this tour. Most of today's route is on OR highway 99 which parallels Interstate 5. I biked over a hill to Sutherlin, then through several miles of industrial areas to the town of Winchester.

I stopped at Winchester dam and went down the steps to the fish viewing area at the fish ladder. Two months earlier the water behind the glass was completely filled with spring Chinook salmon migrating upstream to spawn. But now I didn't see any fish. Most of the migration is in spring, early summer, and fall when the river level is higher.

Winchester dam and fish ladder on the North Umpqua River.

Then I continued down US 99 into Roseburg which is by far the largest city I passed on this tour (population 21,000). Traffic wasn't bad. I went through the middle of downtown Roseburg, then through an interesting but struggling historic district south of downtown.

Huge Victorian house for sale on the south side of Roseburg.

After leaving the Roseburg city limits I passed a lumber mill and several other industrial developments. South Umpqua river on my right and Interstate 5 across the river.

Stacking logs at Superior Stud mill south of Roseburg.

Then highway 99 crosses Interstate 5 and merges with OR 42 for a few miles. It's a busy divided highway with a bike trail adjacent to the highway. I rode the bike trail until it ends in the town of Winston. Then I continued south of Winston through the town of Dillard. There isn't much of a town in Dillard but there are two huge factories owned by Roseburg Forest Products. Both factories are a mile long. Later I learned that one claims to be the world's largest lumber mill. One makes plywood and the other makes particle board. It was an impressive sight but I wouldn't want to live near there. Air pollution from the plants isn't particularly bad but they are ugly and very noisy.

After Dillard I was finally in a rural area with no traffic. The road stays in the valley of the South Umpqua River with occasional good views of the river. I was surprised to see that the South Umpqua river is much smaller than the North Umpqua river. Both rivers are big in the winter. Perhaps more of the South Umpqua water is diverted for irrigation during the summer.

I followed highway 99 until it merges with Interstate 5 at the South Umpqua Rest Area. From there I wanted to cross the river to Dole Road which parallels I-5 going south. The problem was there is no bridge across the river there. So rather than biking a long distance on I-5 I backtracked 3.5 miles to cross the river to Dole Road. The extra 7 miles added 30 minutes to today's ride. I wasn't sure if I would make it to Canyonville before dark.

Back on my intended route, Dole Road is very scenic. It stays close to the South Umpqua river for several miles in an unpopulated area. Then it merges with busy Old Pacific Highway and passes through the small but sprawling towns of Myrtle Creek and Tri-City. South of Tri-City I turned south onto I-5 for two flat and scenic miles with the highway squeezed next to the South Umpqua river in a steep canyon. Bikes are permitted on all rural Interstates in Oregon. From the exit I followed county roads along the river to Stanton County Park in Canyonville. I arrived at about sunset and got what appeared to be the last available tent site. The South Umpqua river is right behind my campsite but it was noisy because the campground is very close to I-5. The campground has some mosquitoes but at least it has decent showers.

Today I got a very late start because of commitments at home. This was more of a "travel" day than a "touring" day because the route took me through all the population centers of my county. But traffic wasn't really a problem. The county population is only 102,000.

The weather was sunny and hot with a high temperature of 93F (34C). But it was actually quite pleasant because the humidity is low and it's easy to find shade. Today's average speed was excellent because I was well rested, had a tailwind, and had a relatively flat route.

Distance: 55.7 mi. (89.1 km)

Climbing: 1270 ft. (385 m)

Average speed: 12.7 mph (20.3 km/h)

Maximum speed: 33.3 mph (53.3 km/h)

Hiking: none

Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 423 miles (681 km)

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