Yesterday I rode a few mile up into the coast range where the road to King's Vally takes off. There was a lot of gravel on the roads so I decided to try a flat valley ride today, thinking it would be better. Peoria, Oregon is about 10 miles from Corvallis. It is a popular road route with lots of options to make it longer. It was almost sunny in the morning but was mostly cloudy during the ride. There was not much gravel on the road, and not much traffic either. I really enjoy riding through farmland. I passed some orchards, and berry farms, and lots of grass fields.
The Willamette River. The river had gone down since last week when it was flooding after some very heavy rain.
Looking across the river, to an orchard on the other site, and the Coast Range
I was excited to the a sign for the Willamette Valley Scenic Bikeway. This route goes 127 miles through the valley from south of Portland to North of Eugene. There are campgrounds on both ends and several along the way. I will definitely do this on my touring bike this summer.
Not much in Peoria. The park is a good destination for a ride as there are toilets and picnic tables. I didn't see any water though. The park leads to a small road along the river with some nice houses on the banks. That's all there is in Peoria. Funky houses on the highway, and nice houses on the river.
I went on a few more miles towards Harrisburg and turned around when I had 20 miles. At this point I could smell, and see a pulp mill to the south east. Good time to turn around. As I was heading back I was a little cold and was reaching back to get my vest, thinking maybe I'd try what I've seen racers to so many times, when I notice a funny looking bubble in my rear view mirror. At first I thought it was a recumbent with a wind shield, but it turned out to be a velomobile. I was plodding along at about 16 and it passed me like I was standing still. I quickly accelerated up to 24 but there was no way I would catch it. It disappeared so fast I'm guessing it was doing well over 30. In my effort to catch it I realized I had been going a little slow for these flat roads. I held it at 18 for a while and then it hit me. BIG CHAIN RING! I knew there was a reason they put those on these bikes. I shifted up and immediately jumped up to 20. I kept it between 18-20 for the next 5 miles before I had to back off and rest. Oh, I never did put my vest on and I wasn't cold anymore. Actually the sun started peaking through as well.
After a short rest a guy passed me on a road bike with aerobars, so I picked it up again. I kept a pretty good pace all the way through town and back home to Philomath. 40 miles was my longest ride of the year so far, and the longest since I've been here.