Eugene

We left Mount Shasta just after 7am and stopped about 10 minutes up the road at a place called 'Weed' (not sure how it got it's name, but may be because the town is 'high' in the Cascade ranges?). We stopped for breakfast at McDonalds (mainly to use their free wi-fi).

Our plan was to make Eugene in Oregon today. The quickest route would be to use the Interstate (I5) which would take about 4 hours riding time - but that would be boring, so instead we headed north up Hwy 97. 

I don't know what it is about Northern California but we had our second near miss in as many days! We were cruising a long straight stretch of the highway when some 'muppet' traveling towards us completely underestimated the distance he had to overtake a line of about 12 cars. I think sometimes psychologically some drivers condition their thinking to only see big things on the road (like cars & trucks) and for some reason motorcycles are invisible? This is in spite of the fact that I always ride with all 3 front headlamps on - in other words 'lit up like a Christmas Tree'.
He obviously saw us after he had pulled out and committed himself to overtake, so I eased the bike over to the wide verge on the right to give him room to squeeze through. Enough adrenaline for now I think!

We were very pleased to leave California drivers behind us and crossed the state line into Oregon. We stopped for fuel at Klamath Falls and then scooted around the east side of Klamath Lake and encountered one of the longest stretches of straight road I have ever ridden as we passed through over 80 kms of Fremont-Winema National Forest. After lunch at Chemult we turned left on to Hwy 58 and had some great riding through Umpqua National Forest. Lots of hills, windy roads and the scenery seemed 'greener', the forest was beautiful, especially around Crescent Lake.

After a stop in Oakridge we came to our destination at our motel in downtown Eugene. Eugene is  the second largest city in Oregon and is known as a 'University city' and as a centre for arts and outdoor pursuits. Eugene is a place that I have always wanted to visit, as when I competed at middle-distance running in my younger days, Eugene was known as the 'mecca' for running (due to its sporting infrastructure, climate and terrain). The Nike running shoe was born here. Unfortunately I felt too old & tired after 5 hours of riding (not including rest stops) to go for a run today!

Tracee & I went for a walk around some of the city centre and had dinner. What struck me was the established trees that lined most streets and how a lot of the older buildings had been upgraded and modernised. It felt more like a large town than a city.