September 28: A Loop of Oregon’s Best
Wow! Today’s adventure felt like a welcome home loop of Oregon’s best. Leo Guzman Fernandez and I managed to ride past one striking water view after another, through a red covered bridge, and on to our favorite bakery. I think my favorite part, though, was winning the race with the train.
As we headed southwest through Oregon City this morning, we rode past the striking Willamette Falls, treating ourselves to a spectacular view of the huge plumes of water cascading off the rocky cliffs to the glittering blue river water below. Second only to Niagara Falls in volume, it’s hard to believe that this water feature is right in our back yard.
Following backroads through Stayton and Scio, we continued south on Richardson Gap Road, passing through the Shimanek Covered Bridge, it’s distinctive barn-red paint providing a beautiful contrast to the lush deciduous trees surrounding it, the edges of their leaves just beginning to turn to yellow in the slightly cooler fall air.
After gorging on treats at the Creswell Bakery, Leo led us on a new route to the coast, heading first on territorial highway and then west on highway 36. As there was almost no traffic on this road, we were able to really lean into the dozens of curves as we passed through tunnels created by the thick green, red, and yellow tree branch canopies above.
After hitting the coast, we headed north on highway 101, taking in the striking vistas of the Pacific Ocean on our left. The air was filled with fog and the water, sand, and rocks were all colored in a blueish- grey hue. I could taste the salt on my mouth and feel the moisture in the air as we passed one beautiful rocky promontory after another.
In Newport we turned east on Yaquina Bay Road, one of my favorite stretches of asphalt in Oregon. The road follows the northern edge of Yaquina Bay, providing magnificent views of the silty grey and brown soil at the water’s edge and the gently rippling waves on the surface of the bay. The road is constantly changing, with bumps and potholes along with hills and curves but is still in good enough condition to keep the bike in fourth or fifth gear most of the way, making for a truly delightful ride.
After heading east on highway 20, turning north at Priest Road, and then making our way to highway 99E we road into Canby parallel to the train tracks there. A train was heading north at the same time as us and we honked and waved at the engineer as we passed him on our left. He honked back several times enthusiastically and pointed back at us, creating a truly memorable moment. What an incredible day on the bike!
