Day 13: Crescent Creek to Eugene

Today's mileage: 83 miles
Total mileage for the trip: 954 miles

Oh, how excited I was when I woke this morning! It wasn't raining, and I got to take a nice hot shower first thing. As soon as I was done, I quickly started getting my things packed up, I felt the first raindrops fall. Ugh, I could tell it was gonna be that kinda day. One of the RVers came over as I was packing with his little dog Cass, a sweet blue heeler-whatever mutt that jumped around in circles and played with everything. He said that there was a good place down the road for coffee, which was where he was going. By the time I was done packing and ready to push off, it was pouring.

I pulled over about a mile down the road at the convenience store, got a large coffee and two egg and cheese biscuits, and sat down for a while. I originally thought I might just wait it out, but after about 45 minutes I was tired of sitting and just ready to go. I had a mostly downhill ride today, with only one real pass in my way and it was only about five miles down the road.

I have to say, it was some pretty miserable riding. It was mostly downhill, but I couldn't really enjoy it because if I got going, the rain would pelt my face viciously, and the water would run off my rain visor and blind me continuously. Without the continual pedaling creating body heat, the cold wind was chilly and causing me to shiver; I almost wished for a steady climb to warm me up a bit. I think that at one point there was some freezing rain or small hail mixed in because some hit me in the (already blistered from the desert sun) lower lip and split it! So painful...

Every chance I got I would stop off and try to warm up some. I pulled off at McDonalds for cookies; gas stations for hot chocolate. I watched the miles go by but not fast enough. Finally, after more than 5 hours in the rain, it started to let up. I started to peel off layer after layer of wet clothes and hang them off my panniers to dry. By about 3 in the afternoon I looked like a rolling laundromat.

I had made arrangements to stay at the Eugene Whiteaker Hostel for the evening, so I began to route myself into town. After a harrowing half an hour or so, I was through the Eugene-Springfield freeway interchange and on my way to the hostel. It is located in a funky little historic area in Eugene. After I got there and was able to get settled, I went out and enjoyed dinner (huevos rancheros!) at a local restaurant and a large mocha from a coffee shop within walking distance. It was a great way to end an otherwise crappy day of riding.

At this point I have a little less than two full days of riding to get back to Portland. The route that I am taking looks to be fairly fast and flat, and it all depends really on the weather. I think that if it is raining in the morning I will probably end up with a rather short day in the saddle tomorrow. If, on the other hand, it is dry and clear- well then I might try to see how far I can go...