Riding 60+ miles on a 60 year old bike!

The Covered Bridges Bicycle Tour is a cycling event held by the Mid Valley Bicycle Club outside of Albany Oregon in the Willamette Valley. This will be the clubs 43rd year of holding of this event in rural Linn County.

There are several different routes available on this ride with distances of 20 to 100 miles. For several reasons I chose to ride a metric century option. Summertime in the Willamette Valley can be quite warm so I wanted a route that would finish before it got too hot. Also, I have not been riding many events this year so it would be best not to overdo it.

1963 Girardengo

My choice of bicycle for the day is a classic 1963 Girardengo, a no frills entry level race bike. It is a bit of a time machine, with mostly period correct components including toe clips and straps. It is not much to look at but rides really nicely! I would normally also wear a classic wool jersey but with summer conditions I opted for something a little cooler.

Gilkey Bridge

After an early start I was cruising along solo at a comfortable pace when I saw a bridge crossing coming up at about mile 10. It had a slight rise so I stood to pedal and power over it. After a couple of strong pedal strokes the left pedal spindle came off and I went down hard. The result was a cracked helmet, some cuts, scrapes and bruises. Several other riders stopped to help and somehow they put my bike back in working order and I rode off again. What exactly happened is a little fuzzy to me still and I almost certainly sustained a mild concussion in the incident. Arriving at the rest stop the staff treated my wounds which I hadn’t even noticed at that point. They were aware of my incident and were looking out for me.

Shimanek Bridge

After a rest and a bit of self assessment I decided to continue with the ride but resigned myself to a more casual pace, just to finish the ride. Before long the next bridge appeared on the course, the Shimanek Bridge which was undergoing repair. It had been moved off of its foundations and some of the major timber beams were being replaced. The route visited but did not cross the Shimanek bridge this year.

Hoffman Bridge

Next on the route was the Hoffman bridge which carries Hungry Hill road across a narrow branch of the Santiam River. This was a particularly nice part of the route with a gently rolling quiet road through the landscape. These meandering roads then brought me to the next rest stop at the Fire Station in the quiet little town of Crabtree for snack and a little conversation.

After Crabtree the route wandered back West and North before rejoining the outbound route to return to the Linn County Expo Center. It was beginning to warm up now almost at mid-day so I just brought it on home at an easy pace. The finish was a little anticlimactic since few people had finished yet but there was root beer floats and that did hit the spot.

Thanks to the Mid Valley Bicycle Club for a nice event for the 300 or so riders who attended, and for looking after me on the course.