Geez, I meant to post this a week or so ago, but maybe it’s not too late for those of you who are Oregon County Fair fans. Truth be told, that’s not me — but I’m not crazy about crowds in general.
If you want to ride your bike to the fair, I am passing along this route, submitted last year by a reader named Will. I haven’t done this route, so I can vouch for it personally, but I certainly have no reason to doubt Will. So, here:
It just occurred to me that your blog might be a good place to share the new route I found to the Country Fair that winds through some beautiful horse country, is three miles shorter than the Clear Lake Road route, and almost entirely avoids Highway 126.
Safe Bike Directions
WHITEAKER TO OCF
Bike Route #1 – SOUTH
(17 miles; ~1 hr, 45 min each way)
- HOME LEG: take Polk south to 12th Ave
- FERN RIDGE LEG: Take 12th west until it becomes Fern Ridge Trail, follow past Beltline, past Target, to the Danebo exit (~3.5 mi)
- YIN-YANG LEG: Go south on Danebo to Hwy 126 & go west (‘dangerous mile’) to Diess Feed & Seed, cross over to Crow Rd (‘peaceful mile’), go west to Greenhill (~1.6 mi)
- GREENHILL-OAK HILL LEG: Go south on Greenhill; just as you’re about to climb a LONG, steep hill, turn west on Oak Hill for ~half mi, it will curve south another half-mi to the intersection of Oak Hill and Cantrell (~1 mi)
- SWEATY CANTRELL LEG: Steepest climb on ride (0.2 mi), then fly down a half-mile grade to the gravel (~0.6 mi)
- GRAVEL HELL LEG: Grit your teeth through the gravel road stretch of Cantrell to Coyote Creek Canoe Launch (~2 mi)
- SCENIC CANTRELL LEG: At Coyote Creek, Cantrell is paved again; follow west to Central (~1.3 mi)
- CENTRAL-PERKINS LEG: Go south on Central for .3 mi; then west on Perkins (no shoulder, but not much traffic) for 2.8 mi to Territorial Rd (~3 mi)
- COUNTRY FAIR LEG: Go north on Territorial for 1.2 mi to Hwy 126, then go west to Oregon Country Fairgrounds (~3 mi)
Eugene Bicyclist 