Oregon day rides & rental, need info

[[email protected]]

All this snoooow in Boston is pulling me under and so I'm planning to
fly to Oregon in a month (about April 3 or so), and do some major
drive-around sightseeing. I'd love to vary it with some easy day
bikerides, but I need (1) a rental recumbent, pref. in Portland area,
but Eugene is OK too; (2) websites for maps & routes of loop rides; and
(3) any other local info re bent biking. Yes, I know, there are
specific bike brands' forums. I'm already on one, since I ride a
TourEasy, and have posted on that site for info, but no replies yet.
Most important info needed: recumbent rental. An EZ-1 would be nice.

C.C.,Rider

 

[Freewheeling]

Carol:

You know it tends to rain a bit in Oregon, right? Well, more than a "bit"
actually. Like every day, for eight or nine months.

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> All this snoooow in Boston is pulling me under and so I'm planning to
> fly to Oregon in a month (about April 3 or so), and do some major
> drive-around sightseeing. I'd love to vary it with some easy day
> bikerides, but I need (1) a rental recumbent, pref. in Portland area,
> but Eugene is OK too; (2) websites for maps & routes of loop rides; and
> (3) any other local info re bent biking. Yes, I know, there are
> specific bike brands' forums. I'm already on one, since I ride a
> TourEasy, and have posted on that site for info, but no replies yet.
> Most important info needed: recumbent rental. An EZ-1 would be nice.
>
> C.C.,Rider
>

 

[[email protected]]

Yes, I know about the rain, but:
1. you don't have to shovel it.
1-1/2. It might even be over 32 F there.
2.I have rain gear.
3.I'm trying to time my visit for the major fruit tree blossoming.
There's even a bike route on a website ("FruitLoops") map. Rain on
cherry blossoms as I slosh by sounds like a partial haiku, doesn't it?
4.I bet in spite of the weather there are more cyclists in OR than in
MA.

C.C.

 

[Tom Sherman]

[email protected] wrote:

> All this snoooow in Boston is pulling me under and so I'm planning to
> fly to Oregon in a month (about April 3 or so), and do some major
> drive-around sightseeing. I'd love to vary it with some easy day
> bikerides, but I need (1) a rental recumbent, pref. in Portland area,
> but Eugene is OK too; (2) websites for maps & routes of loop rides; and
> (3) any other local info re bent biking. Yes, I know, there are
> specific bike brands' forums. I'm already on one, since I ride a
> TourEasy, and have posted on that site for info, but no replies yet.
> Most important info needed: recumbent rental. An EZ-1 would be nice.

CC,

I have no idea where to rent a recumbent in Oregon, but did you ever buy
a trike?

--
Tom Sherman - Earth

 

[Mark Leuck]

Best thing to do is go to google then click on "Local" then enter recumbent
Eugene Or

It brings up tons of bike shops

Home of Burley

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> All this snoooow in Boston is pulling me under and so I'm planning to
> fly to Oregon in a month (about April 3 or so), and do some major
> drive-around sightseeing. I'd love to vary it with some easy day
> bikerides, but I need (1) a rental recumbent, pref. in Portland area,
> but Eugene is OK too; (2) websites for maps & routes of loop rides; and
> (3) any other local info re bent biking. Yes, I know, there are
> specific bike brands' forums. I'm already on one, since I ride a
> TourEasy, and have posted on that site for info, but no replies yet.
> Most important info needed: recumbent rental. An EZ-1 would be nice.
>
> C.C.,Rider
>

 

[[email protected]]

Hi, Mr. Footnote--

Nope, no trike yet. I figure my sense of balance is good for another
10 years, then it's trike time. I did get a chance to try out
someone's Catrike, but since he's about 6'8" (to my 5'3"), to reach the
pedals I sat on the boom, not the seat. Gives a whole new meaning to
"wedgie".

C.C.

 

[[email protected]]

Freewheeling wrote:
> Carol:
>
> You know it tends to rain a bit in Oregon, right? Well, more than a
"bit"
> actually. Like every day, for eight or nine months.
>

Free:

Not this year it hasn't. We're at 25% of our normal snowpack in the
mountains for this year, with similar rain totals. Up until last
Sunday, we'd suffered through 20 straight rainless days, the longest
dry stretch in February recorded. I think it was the second driest
February ever. It may rain more in the next couple months, but long
term predictions are notoriously unreliable.

(In the same time frame, Los Angeles has gotten 400% of its normal
rainfall. From what the weathermen say, it looks like they're getting
all of our rain.)

The nice part about that is we're doing some marvelous rides. We had an
impromptu ride on Sunday, and 22 riders showed up:
http://homepage.mac.com/john4bho/PhotoAlbum81.html I'll tell you this:
it's very rare for us to be riding in shorts before May.

Carol- your first contact in the Portland area should be Coventry Cycle
Works: http://www.coventrycycle.com/ . I don't know if they rent
'bents, but they'll know where to point you. You can get maps from the
city and state:
http://www.trans.ci.portland.or.us/bicycles/bicyclemaps.htm

If you email me, I'll pass your plea on to the rest of the Oregon Human
Powered Vehicles club: http://www.ohpv.org/index.htm . I'm a past
president, but I still lead occasional rides in the area.

Jeff

 

[[email protected]]

Thanks, Jeff. I have emailed a request for free maps. Coventry Cycle
doesn't mention rentals on their website. So I'm looking into flying
from Boston nonstop on JetBlue (only $99!) into Oakland CA, renting a
minivan, and borrowing one of my son's bents, probably an EZ-1. This
gives me the flexibility to do, say, a Corvallis-to-Eugene ride, or a
short OR Dunes path, vary my schedule and driving routes, since it
will probably start raining again soon. I hadn't realized that OR is
only 5-1/2 hours from Oakland CA. That's an easy afternoon's drive,
especially with a recorded book.

Between the bike-friendly roads & rules, and the fertile gardening
valleys at mild Zone 8, Oregon sounds like my idea of heaven. Except
for the slugs.

So I'm looking forward to my own solo short rides in your state,
probably in early April.

C.C. (packing rain gear)