Another great thing I love about touring is the connections you make on the road. I met John on the road in California and after chatting for a while it came up that I was heading to Eugene for a couple days (which is where he lives). One week later he's picking me up from the train station and taking me to his beautiful house...with a beautiful garden...just in time for the first Oregon Ducks College Football game. John and his wife Patti couldn't have been more generous. John and I went out for a couple of rides to explore the town, and the breweries, and I can't tell you how great this town is! Next time anyone is in Portland, consider driving another 2 hours south to Eugene, you won't regret it.
And then the highlight of my trip to Eugene, getting to meet the Archival crew. If you haven't already visited their website, check it out now you will not be disappointed. Getting to share some of your hobbys and passions with a stranger is a great feeling! Lesli was super nice and showed me around the Archival space, PLUS...they threw in one of their musette bags as a reward for getting to Eugene...come on, so generous! I'm happy to report that it will be replacing my Filson Field bag as it is WAAAY more comfortable to ride and walk around with! So thanks again to the AC crew for all their tips and especially to Lesli for showing me around. I had been looking forward to that for a long time!
Turns out Amtrack has the best bike boxes I've ever used! Yes they're $15, but all you have to do is twist your handlebars and take of your pedals and wheeeeeeeel your bike in! Way easier than last year's trip in Europe.
View of the Cascade's from the lounge car on the Amtrack. I found out 10 hours later that the Amtrack also has unlimited WIFI on board...great!
Right after dropping my gear off at John and Patti's house...first stop was Ninkasi brewery!
...and so it starts!
Getting to check out some of AC's prototypes. Pretty cool stuff.
Leslie's Velo Orange mixte with some pretty, pretty, pretty custom parts....
...as I said.
This was pretty funny, both Leslie and I were both admiring each other's bikes at the same time...I think she took a photo of me at this exact moment.
The lady herself, thanks again!
Hayward Field at the Univeristy of Oregon....Pre's backyard.
John and I went riding on the many trails around Eugene, and he told me that Prefontaine was responsible for most of the chip-trail system in an around Eugene. He had apparently been to some races in Scandinavia where they had lots of Birch Bark trails which were nice and soft to run on. After much advocacy, he got an amazing system built around the University.
Patti's amazing garden...with boxes built by John.
HOW DO WE NOT HAVE THESE BACK IN BC??? Thornless blackberries...
Can't remember what the name of this particular apple tree was, BUT it's a varietal that doesn't get much bigger than what you see, and still fruits around 10 apples!
Last bluebird morning of the trip with the moon in the background. Thanks for a great time Eugene.
uhhhh.....
