This is the second covered bridge we have found in Oregon on back road bike rides. It is in Polk county in the foothills of the Coast Range. We have had difficulty riding in Oregon this May; the weather is atrocious, and completely unpredictable. No, make that too predictable, rain likely but just enough sun breaks to make you wish you’d gone for a ride; but it’s hard to start a ride in the rain. I guess you have just go anyway in Oregon, and hope for the best.
This ride, begun at Emerson Winery, was cloudy, but the rain held off until past the middle of our 35 mile ride, and caught us just as we arrived at this bridge. What luck! We enjoyed a snack, listened to the rain on the roof, the burbling of the creek below and some very happy sounding birds (breeding season). Several cyclists on their regular Saturday outing passed us without stopping to share our shelter. Their rain slickers and fenders spoke of the grim determination needed to be a dedicated cyclist here.
The sun never showed, but the rain stopped and we finished, cold but dry. We are hoping summer comes to the Northwest soon, or we are going to get seriously out of condition, or get fenders.
Claire Rogers writes on cross-cultural adventure drawn from her travels across the Silk Road from Beijing to Istanbul, around Australia and of course, through Iceland–all by bike.
She’s currently traveling by tandem with her husband Bob, through southwest China, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand. Check out NewBohemians.net for more information on their travels.
