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-Keith Pelczarski
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Day 10: Corvallis to Eugene
Today I arose a bit earlier and had the free breakfast at the Holiday Inn Express. After lounging around and getting packed up, I left a bit after noon.
I decided to take Peoria Rd to follow the Willamette River, and was quite happy with it. The traffic was light, the road was smooth and flat, and the weather was bright and sunny.
There was a farmer selling blueberries along the way, so I stopped and ate a pint of them while chatting with the farmer and a local customer. Apparently, it's a tough year for berry farmers. Though the supply is good, wholesale prices are down and costs are relatively fixed. That's why this farmer was selling berries direct from his farm. Bummer for him, but lucky for me.
We also talked about his elaborate anti-bird strategies. He had shiny ribbons, fake owls, and some cool balloons with eyes on them. The best, though was a recording of songbird distress calls. The cries scare away the birds who would eat berries and also attract raptors, who in turn scare away birds. Pretty ingenious system.
Back on the road, there were more miles and miles of bucolic beauty. I stopped to snap a few shots:
Before too long, I rolled into Eugene, where my first stop was Paul's Bicycle Way of Life. It was a great local shop, and they checked over the bike for free, though I did put ten bucks in their coffee fund for being so nice. While they were working on the bike, I had some avocado pasta at the 6th St Grill, then checked out the local Hilton. The rooms were a bit steep ($159), but the helpful clerk gave me a card key for the business center with the suggestion to check out priceline.com. I fired up "The Negotiator" and made an offer for $100 on a three-star hotel. Came back to me with a room in that very hotel. Thanks, Bill Shatner!
Once I was checked in and cleaned up, I went to check out bike polo at a nearby park, but there were people playing basketball where they normally play. Instead of waiting around, I took my laundry to a laundromat, where I sit writing this. After the laundry I'm going to take a little spin around town before heading back to the room.
Tomorrow I set off for Florence, on the coast, where I will be resuming the camping portion of the program. Sweet.
:: Keith 21:01 [link] :: ::
