Viva la Vida – Day 3

Date: Sunday 8th August 

Route: Monmouth, Oregon – Vida, Oregon 

Distance: 97 miles

Total climb: 2405ft

Net climb: 734ft

After my (some would say typical) error in booking a motel in wrong state for yesterday evening, it was quite a relief to wake up in a spacious Comfort Inn room with a diner directly opposite.  We set off straight after breakfast along a quiet country road.  Our surroundings had changed markedly from cliff-side views of the Pacific and steep green hills, to flatter, wider, agricultural landscapes which were considerably less green. 

After a few rolling hills we wheeled into Corvallis to try and get my bike looked at (the gears had been slipping).  After walking around for about half an hour and locating the five bike shops in the town we realised that it was Sunday and that not one of them was open.  The good news was that one shop opened at noon and had a workshop; the bad news was that it was 10:30am.  An executive decision was taken that it was better to get the bikes looked at before our big climb over the McKenzie Pass tomorrow.  We would wait and have brunch in the “Broken Yolk” diner/brunching spot of the young and hip of Corvalis, which incidentally is a lovely town.  This proved to be an excellent choice; the brunches were good (although I was unquestionably out-ordered by Fred) and both bikes needed new chains, whilst mine also needed some adjustments to the gears.

After the considerable delay in Corvalis we positively flew for the rest of the day, under the baking sun.  Fred had curtly informed me that our delay meant that I had “forfeited lunch” and so we stopped only briefly at Harrisburg and Coberg.  The second of these stops provided one of the least pleasant moments of the trip so far in the form of a visit to a plastic cupboard that doubled as both a portaloo and oven.

Just outside of Coberg we met up with the McKenzie River whichwill be our travelling companion for the next 50 miles.  Following it to Walterville we stopped for a quick dinner which included some Buffalo Wings which were far too hot for my palette.  Mocked by Fred and not wanting to appear rude, I ate them anyway – a decision that has subsequently proved to be wrong on a number of levels.

The rest of the day was spent following the wide and winding river up to our accommodation for the evening; the McKenzie River B&B.  We were met with a friendly family welcome, a meal and a ice cold beer – there was not much more we could ask for.  Coupled with that our room has a fantastic view of the river along with a unique style of decor.  A good night’s sleep is in order – we have our biggest climb ever tomorrow – the McKenzie Pass.

JBS