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Photo: My bike on the Williamette Valley Scenic Bikeway

Bike Touring

After my PCT injury, I wondered what I could use all of my lightweight camping gear for. I turned to bike touring, allowing a machine to handle the stress that my foot obviously isn’t capable of.

August 24, 2013: First overnight

Went on my first bike camping trip to Dodge Park

September 7-10, 2013: First Bike Tour, Portland to Eugene

This was a delightful ride in the Oregon fall, along the Williamette Valley Scenic Bikeway. I took basically 3 days, starting with a MAX ride to 158th street in Beaverton. I then went down to a friend’s going away party.

Main Ride

Total: 185 miles
Day 1: 62 miles - Beaverton to Keizer Rapids City Park
Day 2: 68 miles - Keizer Rapids City Park to Peoria Boat Dock
Day 3: 55 miles - Peoria Boat Dock to Eugene

Thoughts

I quite enjoyed bike touring as an endevour. It feels a lot like thru hiking, where you have an overarching goal all the time. Always moving, always more miles. I really enjoyed seeing the country by bike, though the addition of car traffic wasn’t a welcome one.

Compared to the wilderness experience of backpacking, I think I enjoy backpacking more. I was along a relatively populated area of Oregon though, so I imagine if I went out east in Oregon I would have a more comperable experience.

The actual scenic bikeway also had a distinct lack of camping. The camp sites I chose were of dubious legality, though nobody questioned me when I camped. As far as I can tell, there is a 80+ mile stretch on the scenic bikeway with no official camping options. This really limited my comfort level, because I was having to worry about where I would camp each night.