Day 5: Corvallis, OR to Coburg, OR

Miles: 42

Elevation (ft): 300

Total trip mileage: 170

Flat days are supposed to be easy. For the first half of our ride, we cycled through the start of the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. The route we followed was the Wilamette Scenic Bikeway, and it was breathtaking. We passed by fields with every hue of green and gold you could imagine and even through an apiary (where Chad rode through a swarm of bees). Around noon, we rode through strawberry fields, and the scent of ripe strawberries was so delicious that we had to stop to try some. They were sold in such large quantities for locals making jams and jellies that when we asked for half a pint to eat on the spot, the lady seemed surprised that we wanted so few. They were just as good as we had hoped.

The second half of the ride tested our patience and our legs as we rode into a 20 mph headwind. It sucked. But, we made it to the campground at a decent time with beautiful weather. By making it to Coburg, we completed the first of our 12 Adventure Cycling Association (ACA) TransAmerica Trail maps. We’re a twelfth of the way done!

For dinner, we met up with Kayla who used to work with Chad at IUP and now lives in Eugene, OR. It was great to see a familiar face and catch up over some pizza at the famous Coburg Pizza Company. We’re calling it an early night because tomorrow we plan to ride 55 miles to an inn where we will take a much needed rest day on Saturday.