Americana

We finished the trip! 1,180 miles and 64,400 ft of climbing. More important than these numbers are the renewed views of America that we saw. Liberal and conservative, prairies and forests, cities and country, rich and poor. We heard lots of peoples viewpoints and that was interesting for sure.

50 miles of riding today in the rain is mostly “mind over matter” for me. I have to submit myself to the damp and grimy to mentally survive.

We saw the hit and miss of the recent fires in McKenzie River Valley. There were over 100 houses in ruin with nothing but a chimney and next door a house that survived with a “Thank You Firefighters” banner on their fence.

We finally rode into Eugene. I couldn’t resist looking up how it got it’s name. An early settler named Eugene Skinner of course. Daisy, our waitress helped us celebrate with some wine and cheesecake that she made.

Thanks to our readers and your comments. Honestly, I write it for YOU and ME so I can remember our thoughts and sights when I’m too old to ride.