44th annual Covered Bridges Bicycle Tour

I rode this event last year and enjoyed it enough to return and ride it again. This time would ride the 44 mile route which included 3 covered bridges along with a few extra miles I added in to get to a 50 mile distance. The weather was expected to be in the upper 90’s and I wanted to get back in before the heat came on!

I’ve been riding the Bianchi L’Eroica again recently and it seemed like a good choice to use for this event. It has modern performance combined with an old school look and is a joy to ride. You can learn more about this build here.

Gilkey Bridge, 1939

This is the first bridge on the route at about 18 miles into the ride. I was getting someone to take my photo and just after a guy rode up and said, “I should know you!” I said “wow, where from?” He was looking at my California Triple Crown jersey and said “from there!” I said, “Oh, are you a Triple Crown guy too?” His name was Rick Jacobson and he replied that he had done some of those rides too! We chatted about some of the double centuries that we had both done and reminisced over the ones that we enjoyed. Well, later that night I checked the CTC roster for total number of double centuries and there he was, the guy with the most CTC doubles at 242!!! Yikes, my paltry 50 CTC double centuries don’t even rate.

Shimanek Bridge, 1927

After a rest stop in Scio we carried on over the quite roads in this part of the valley. I chatted with a few other riders but mostly kept to myself and my own “half-fast” pace. I tend not to ride with others that I do not know, just to try and stay safe.

The Shimanek was just rebuilt last year and is now back in place and open for use. On last years ride however the bridge had been lifted from it’s foundation and was sitting the ground while being repaired. They’ve done a great job fixing it and it should be good for another 50 or 60 years!

Hoffman Bridge, 1936

This last bridge, the Hoffman is also reached on a quiet rural road lined by shade trees. The temperature was starting to warm up a bit so the shelter of the trees was much appreciated!

The last few miles offered no shelter from the sun or the bit of a headwind. It was only when the route turned south for the last few miles that the wind became favorable. The finish of the ride came with little fanfare but there were root beer floats for all! Most riders doing the longer routes were still out on the course, but with the temperature at 90 degrees or so I was happy to be finished. My ride was just over 3 hours elapsed time.

Thanks again to the Mid Valley Bicycle Club for their ongoing organization of this event!