Day 1- Florence, Oregon to Eugene, Oregon

Finally, After all the Planning…

And so it begins.  I was up very early this morning, still adjusting to the time change. Even though I was up early, before 4am, I still didn’t hit the road until just before eight.  I turned the room key in to the guy at the office. There was some small talk between us, but I didn’t mention that when I walked out the door I was getting on a bicycle and riding to Virginia.

As I put the gloves and helmet on in the parking lot of the Silver Sands Motel, the idea was now a reality and it was finally time to begin. That first moment of pedaling was unique with thoughts of “Ok, here we go,” knowing that it was the very beginning of a whole lot more.

There was just a bit of fog that quickly broke and led to a near perfect day with no wind to speak of and great scenery. I’m happy with the Trek (the bike) and how it handles riding with all the gear.  I’m also pleasantly surprised at how I handled the day, as there were many moderate to a few more difficult climbs.

I was going to make the first day a light one, but made the decision to go ahead and get to Eugene, which was listed on the maps as 78 miles away.  It’s actually 60 taking the most direct route, but the Adventure Cycling maps I use usually put you on back roads with less traffic, but this increases the mileage.  Their call of 78 miles was near perfect as my odometer read 78.75 miles at the end of the day.

It’s amazing how hungry you get. I went through a pack of M&Ms and two candy bars, all before lunch.  This is something that I never intend to do again. I’ve picked up fruit and trail mix for tomorrow.

Lunch was a classic old roadside diner run by an older lady who was quite a salesperson. She tried to sell me a piece of cake for dessert, a lemon square, and a peanut butter brownie. I told her of the sweets I had already eaten and said I couldn’t handle any more. I didn’t want to set a precedent  with this being the first day, and first lunch, of my trip.  As I told her where I was going, she brought a few regular customers into the conversation. They were telling me that lots of cyclists this summer have been stopping by the diner who are heading west, but not many heading east, like me.  Anyway, they were very nice people. I should have gotten a photo.

Miles after the diner I saw a cyclist coming my way from the opposite side of the road. He stopped and we talked.  His name was Julian and he started out in New Jersey.  As we were talking I saw another guy coming up behind him. Julian looked back and said “You again?”  This guy’s name was Glenn and he’s from Boston.  Apparently they have run into each other on the road quite a bit.  I asked them how their trips went.  They had no issues at all. I was thinking “Wow, these guys are fifty miles from finishing  and I’m just fifty miles in.”

Further on the route went onto a nice bike trail that takes you all the way into Eugene. A guy with a bike was waiting at a bench and asked me where I was headed. When I told him Virginia, he  (Jeff) said that his friend who he was waiting for had done my route before.  Jeff and I started up the the trail and met Graham minutes later. Graham told me about his trip back in ’05.  Very nice guys who rode with me all the way into town and guided me with taking the easiest route to where I was staying, which was much appreciated at the end of a long day.

So Day One was a big success.  Tonight is in a hotel, but tomorrow begins the camping, and with that no internet or blog posts. That might have to wait a few days.