Unfortunately, I had made only about 4.5 miles on the trail when my bike chain fell off the sprocket to the inside where it became "locked" between the sprocket and the wheel hub. It took me about 45 minutes to finally pull it free, whereupon I resumed the trail, which had been climbing gradually, but climbing nonetheless, all the way since leaving town. I proceeded an additional mile and a half, then decided to turn back, particularly as I was concerned about the possibility of the chain locking up again.
The next morning, I left Susanville, heading for Bend, Oregon to meet up with Paul & Nina, who publish their blog at WheelingIt.us. Altogether, there were about 20 of us who met with them at one of the local mini-breweries. It was a good time of meeting new friends and sharing of ideas and experiences.
While in Bend, I also had my bike checked over by Mark Waters of BackCountry Recumbents to correct any problems related to that lock-up of the bike chain at Susanville.
Then downhill to Eugene, where I once again stayed at the beautiful Armitage Park, a Lane County park. There are hiking trails, biking trails, a very nice laundry, and the grounds are very well maintained.
Unfortunately, it was raining almost the entire week I was there, but I got just a couple short rides on the bike. And just a few pictures - the huge size of the maple leaves,
and parking across from the world's largest Christmas tree!
After my stay there, I relocated about 30 miles south to the Schwarz Park COE Campground. This is another very nicely maintained Lane County park, and while it has no hookups, it honors the U.S. Seniors Pass for a 50% discount! A dumpsite is available, and the restrooms have free hot (HOT!) showers, and the Row River Rails-to-Trails bike path is just about 7/10's of a mile away, running 17 miles between Cottage Grove and Culp Creek - a very enjoyable and scenic route. The campground also has a mile-long trail that runs through dense old growth timber and past some areas with wild flowers.
Wild Iris
Wild Rose
Blue Camas
I enjoyed this park so much that I extended my stay to 8 days, and would have liked to have stayed longer, but I had an appointment with Henderson's LineUp Truck & RV Shop in Grants Pass for some minor annual maintenance on both truck and trailer.
Given that the temperatures in Grants Pass were running in the middle to upper 80's, I elected to stay at the Schroeder Park, a Josephine County park. It is an older park, peaceful and quiet, has a (planted) grove of Giant Sequoia trees about 100 feet tall, good 50 Amp power, costs $30/night but does not honor the US Seniors Pass, free showers, and the roads and sites are paved, but very narrow and extremely (!) rough and bumpy in places. Somewhere between Cottage Grove and parking at Schroeder Park, my refrigerator failed, so I spent 4 to 5 days eating out for every meal. But I was able to connect with a good mobile maintenance tech who seemed to be extremely knowledgable and capable.
My fridge replacement should be installed Monday, then Tuesday I have an appointment at Hendersons LineUp, then I'll return to Schroeder Park for two more nights and the day in between will be devoted to restocking the fridge and freezer.
Then I'll be off and heading north toward the Olympic Peninsula. Should be interesting!
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