Date: 10 September 2011
Starting City: Sammamish, WA
Ending City: Sutherlin, OR
Miles ridden driven: approx. 360 miles (no GPS track)
With over 6 hours of driving and an early start time (7am in this case) leaving for Cycle Oregon a day in advance was absolutely necessary. It didn't take long to load everything into the car: I packed over a period of approximately 8 days and avoided the entire 50-MPH-grabbing-stuff-thowing-it-into-the-bag that I usually do before a big trip. This time I was actually calm and relaxed.
Loaded up and ready to roll: Everything fit well into the car. Not that much, really, considering it is an 8-day trip.
...and my parking permit was securely stowed in the driver-side door. (I forgot it last time).
Upon arrival I was directed by traffic monitors into what can only be described as a hay field. I bottomed-out my car a couple of times while trudging along at a brisk 5 MPH.
Long Term Parking in Sutherlin, OR.
The baggage porters picked up my bag and from here they directed us on a series of paths, bridges, and gravel roads covering well over a mile, walking my bike the entire way. If it had been paved I would have ridden. What made it worse was my decision to do the entire walk in flip-flops. Whoops.
Walking our bikes to the registration area in Sutherlin, OR. Photo copyright Greg Loghouse on Flickr.
Check-in was in the cafeteria of Sutherlin High School. After a brief mix-up with my ride jersey I was back outside setting up my tent.
Check-in at the Sutherlin HIgh School Cafeteria
Tent City at the Sutherlin High School sports fields
The camping area was quite full by the time I was setting up (6pm). I found myself in shallow left field in the baseball field.
Dinner was a fun reunion with my some old friends from my days in Roseburg. Phil, Rosanne, and Christina Hall picked me up and took me to dinner at a wonderful little Italian family restaurant called Pedotti's. If you ever find yourself in southern Oregon and are looking for good Italian food, I HIGHLY recommend Pedotti's restaurant. The owner, Mark Pedotti, personally went around to every table to make sure that everything was perfect, which it was. The chicken alfredo lasagna was indeed "to die for," as Christina so eloquently put it. Good food, good friends, very fond memories of times past. The only mis-step of the evening was that I forgot to take any pictures of the Halls or the restaurant! I felt awful when I realized this on Day 2.
Setting up my new cot was an interesting experience. I've never setup a backpacking cot before although I did do a couple of dry runs at home the week before. This particular cot is a remarkable piece of engineering. More on that later...
Highlights:
Pedotti's. Fabulous food.
Great volunteers to help me find my way to registration and the camping site.
Lowlights:
VERY warm: 95F on my arrival. The heat didn't die down until well after 11pm, which contributed to...
Didn't get to sleep until midnight or later. The heat and excitement of the week kept me awake.
Overall it was a great day. Wonderful way to start out the week.
}B^)