Finally Heading East (sort of)

After leaving Pacific City I headed east around the Coastal Range mountains to the town of Grand Ronde. Not much there except a casino so headed south towards Eugene, OR. Why south? I don't know but the Adventure Cycling maps have blessed this as the great "TransAmerica" bicycle route so who am I to question.... Actually, I did wind up questioning after a stop at the Peak bicycle shop in Corvallis, OR. The magicians at this shop, Dayne (right), Eric (left) and others, helped me fit my bike with a lower gear in the front to help me get over the mountains to come. Since my bike is rather old (as are my knees) this was not easy and involved a couple of hours of careful improvisation, discussion and, eventually, the grinding of bolt heads! In the end, all was done and these guys may have saved my tour from an embarrassing demise. This also really helped lift my mood since it gave me more confidence that I may actually be able to make it through this thing. Eric was also a great source of local information and helped me decide that I really didn't need to go through Eugene after all. So I'm now "off route" in a town called Sweet Home, OR and plan to head east, for real, over the Cascade Range tomorrow (keep your fingers crossed for that new low gear!). After leaving the bike shop, I rode a few more miles to Lebanon, OR where I found a county RV and camping park right near a river and some railroad tracks. After a hot shower and a huge burrito for dinner I felt much better.