Day 4

Mileage: 25
From: Veneta, OR
To: Eugene, OR


Today was sort of a rest day. We did a lot of shopping in Eugene and it took a long time. We also shipped some odds and ends home, including my fluids book ☹. Perhaps I’ll have it shipped back before the end when it’s flatter….

We bought a lot of warm gear in preparation for the mountains. We went to a bike shop and got a new adjustable handlebar stem for my bike, and then the man sent us to McKenzie Outfitters for gloves/hats/sleeping bag liner.

One of the employees there was really awesome, and he cut me a great deal on this neat bag they wanted to get rid of. You can mix and match different tops and bottoms that zip together. What I have is designed to be ultra-light for backpackers, because it has a really thin bottom that straps to your sleeping pad, and a 15 degree top.

Anyway, we got to talking, and when the topic of where we were staying for the night arose, it was past 5 PM, the nearest campsite was 30+ miles away, and the only available hotels were $100+. Eventually he invited us to camp in his backyard.

But when we got there, he invited us into the house! We cooked dinner in his kitchen. Lauren and I got to sleep on the futon and my dad on the floor in the TV room. He even made us pancakes in the morning! It was a pretty sweet deal. I never thought a normal house with a TV, computer/internet, a nice kitchen, and shower would feel that much like Disneyland.


Lauren going through her stuff to figure out what to send home to "lighten the load"