The covered bridge ride

March 11, 2022

It stayed clear and dropped to 26 again overnight but warmed up quickly once the sun broke the horizon. By the time I waddle back to the motel from New Morning Bakery stuffed with a bowl of oatmeal and a large slice of bacon and tomato quiche it’s feeling almost comfortable enough to ride. There’s no rush though, so we give it another hour and a half before loading the bikes in the car and bike the 20 miles northeast to Crabtree. It’s the first significant use of the car we’ve made since we arrived in Corvallis - even with this outing I’d say we’re down close to 50 miles in total.

It’s about 11 when we leave the Raven in the parking lot Crabtree Christian Church, the graceful 110 year old steepled structure that is by far the most prominent structure in tiny Crabtree (pop. 391).

Crabtree Christian Church, built in 1909. The photograph is from our visit two years ago, because I forgot to take a photo before leaving the village today.

We’re off on a serendipitous mission today: to visit the five Linn County covered bridges in the vicinity. There are another three further south in the county near Crawfordsville but five of them are clustered at the north end east of Albany, close enough together that you can pick up all five with a forty mile ride. It’s surely the main tourist draw in this sparsely populated rural corner of the valley. Scio, the somewhat larger town a few miles north of here, bills itself The Covered Bridge Capitol of the World.

We don’t have to travel far to pick up the first one. Not two miles into the ride we come to the beautiful Hoffman Bridge, crossing Crabtree Creek on delightfully named Hungry Hill Road. Renovated just ten years ago, it’s in excellent condition and fairly shines in today’s full sun.

On the hunt for covered bridges, on Hungry Hill Road. It’s still chilly enough to require our coats, but won’t be for long. It’s a calm day and will warm up to near 60 by the time we make it back to the car.

On Hungry Hill Road, approaching the Hoffman Bridge.

The single lane Hoffman Bridge, like all five covered bridges we’ll see today, is still in use by motor vehicles.

Riding through the Hoffman Bridge again reminds us of one of our favorite days from our Corvallis stay two years ago: our outing with the Grumbys when we visited the westernmost three of these five bridges.

I’m still impressed by this photo from our unmasked ride with the Grumbys two years ago in the height of Covid. Hygienically spaced and in perfect formation!

The second bridge on the circuit, the Larwood Bridge, takes a bit more effort to reach. Eight miles to the east, it’s a bit out of the way and adds about twelve miles to the ride to get out there and back. I haven’t seen it for many years, and I’m not positive if Rachael has ever been out here.

Eastbound on Hungry Hill Road, with huge Hungry Hill hovering above us on the left.

A few miles of the route to Larwood Bridge aren’t the most pleasant. There’s a startling moment when we’re briefly on Highway 226 and two vehicles pass us announcing a wide load behind. We get off the narrow, shoulderless road immediately and it’s a good thing because a second later a truck from blasts his horn at us and roars by at far too great a speed for this road with a huge, wide house in its tow.

It’s worth it though when we reach Larwood Bridge, another one in fine shape. It’s in a scenic spot, spanning the Santiam River rushing below. On the far side of the bridge Rachael spots a sign for Roaring River County Park and we bike the short detour out to it to enjoy our lunch on a picnic bench just feet from the little Roaring River.

Have we ever been out to the Hannah Bridge, spanning Thomas Creek a few miles south of Jordan? I really can’t recall for sure; and biking out to it today I’m really hoping it’s worth the detour because it’s the least rewarding stretch of the day - a few miles north on Richardson’s Gap Road, and then a four mile out and back on the busy Albany-Lyons Highway. It’s well worth it though. Like the others so far, it too is in fine shape and appears like it’s been recently restored and repainted.

Thomas Creek is full and raging today, looking nearly as large as the Santiam River beneath the Larwood Bridge. There’s a narrow path down to the riverside and I walk down gingerly to get a side view, taking care with my footing so I don’t slip on the rocks and tumble into the water.

Shooting Richardson Gap. I’m really pretty annoyed with myself here, for letting Rachael get so far ahead of me. I wanted to get a photo of her riding through the gap, but you can barely see her out there.

After backtracking a couple of miles on the Albany-Lyons highway we come to Shimanek Bridge Drive, happy to be back on a quiet pastoral road again. Soon afterwards we come to the bridge itself, on Richardson Gap Road. Shimanek Bridge is unique among the five - it’s the only one painted red, and it’s the only one that bears significant traffic. Richardson Gap is a fairly busy connector and it’s impressive that the county has kept this single lane, low clearance bottleneck in place.

Shimanek Bridge. Richardson Gap carries enough traffic that I had to wait a few minutes to get this reasonably clear shot.

Shimanek Bridge is a bit wider than the others. There’s still the one lane for cars but this one includes a bike lane too.

By now we’re almost home free. We stop off briefly at Scio for a pose by its colorful sign and then move on, now on the familiar route we followed with the Grumbys two years back. I’m just beginning to think I’ve mismapped the route though when finally the Gilkey Bridge comes into view.

The Gilkey Bridge, like the Hannah and Shimanek, spans Thomas Creek.

The Gilkey Bridge, possibly the prettiest of the set.

Heart

Comment

Link

Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 2,635 miles (4,241 km)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	10
Comment on this entry	Comment	0