It's a few months down the proverbial road, but I wanted to capture the high points of the mountain biking trip from Lincoln City to Monmouth. We left the house at 7:00, and arrived at the Schooner Creek Rd/Hwy 101 junction at 8:30. After unloading the bikes, we were quickly on the road.

We traveled up Schooner Creek Rd. for several miles until we reached Forest Service Rd. #17. Taking a left would have brought us back on on Highway 22, and a right would have brought us up to the #17 turnoff that drops down into Gravel Creek Rd. We followed 17 to the right, to the top of the grade, and then dropped down into Gravel Creek. We followed Gravel Creek to the intersection of Valsetz Rd, and then headed East on Valsetz Rd, stopping in the abandonded town of Valsetz at about 1:30, where we rested, at the rest of our lunch, and filled up our water bottles from the nearby creek.

At about 2:30 we started out again, and worked our way up the very long grade on Valsetz Rd. to the top of the Cascade Range, heading down in to Falls City. After reaching the top of the grade, the decent down into Falls City was easy and fast. The speed induced rush also induced two flat tires, but luckily we were able to limp into Falls City where the only store in town sold inner tubes. After reaching Falls City at about 6:30, and spending an hour or so grabbing a quick snack and repairing bicycles, we headed out again for the last leg of the journey. We arrived in Monmouth at about 9:30, nearly 13 hours after the start. We were completely and utterly worn out, and destined to be sore for several days afterwards.

However, my two oldest daughters, my oldest son, the daughter's friend and a cousin made it safely home, and enjoyed every moment of the journey!

Unles I post again....

-Shannon