The McKenzie River Trail, Oregon And Everything After That

Welcome, friends, to the final Jimerica! blog post!! I apologize for the long break, but my last 2 weeks have been very hectic and involved a lot of driving and catching up with friends. I will do my best to sum them up here quickly.

The last time we were spending time together on this cozy little blog I was having a grand old time in Oakridge, Oregon. I left Oakridge bright and early the next day and made the 60-mile drive to the McKenzie River Trail. The McKenzie River Trail is considered by many to be the #1 mountain biking trail in America. It’s 26 miles of single-track trail along the McKenzie River, which is within the Willamette National Forest. You encounter crazy little blue water ponds, a beautiful lake, big waterfalls, ancient lava flows, all while you ride along the rushing McKenzie River. You’ve read a lot of mountain bike trail descriptions on this blog, so I will keep this one brief. But, don’t let my brevity on this trail make you think it should be skipped. It definitely should not. The ride is, in every way (terrain, views, length), epic. I’m just tired of writing about mountain bike trails. But, I do have a some pictures:

Bikes are loaded on a very cool custom rack. Getting ready to hit the the McKenzie River Trail.

This is the third lake I encountered on this trip called "Clear Lake".

You hear this waterfall long before you see it.

One of 6 or 7 bridges you cross on this trail

The "Blue Pool"

There isn't a town here to speak of. I stayed at a place called the McKenzie Mountain Resort that was pretty much abandon except for a dedicated housekeeper that gave me an excellent deal. You can find food and beer, but it's a bit of work. Best bet is to bring your own:

Thank you, Tim Z for the suggestion.

The morning after my McKenzie ride I set sail for the Oregon coast by way of Eugene. I spent a bit of time in Eugene, trying to catch up with an old friend, but schedules and dog-health issues intervened to confound our many attempts. So, Anji, I hope to catch you next time.

After Eugene, I spent an evening on the Oregon coast and then, the next morning, headed to Corvallis, Oregon to see my friend Lisa Matthews and her husband Kirk. Lisa and I are old friends from high school. We were part of a small circle of friends back then. It was great catching up with her and her husband and meeting their awesome and absolutely enormous dog, Leroy Jenkins. I had no bike ride waiting for me in the morning, and Lisa and I hadn't seen each other in three years. So, we enjoyed ourselves thoroughly:

Get a load of this dog:

This isn't an optical illusion.

Lisa and Kirk:

Lisa and Kirk

After leaving Lisa and Kirk's, I made a quick stop at a skate park my friend Tim Zimmerman had informed me about (more about Tim later). I lived on a skateboard for about 8 years of my life and though I haven’t been on a skateboard for about 10 years, places like this are still really cool to me. A couple shots:

WJ Skatepark. Eugene, Oregon

WJ Skatepark. Eugene, Oregon

After these shots, I made my way to Seattle, Washington to see Shannon O’Brien. Shannon and I have known each other since Kindergarten (I’m just now, at the age of 43, realizing that it’s not ‘Kindergarden’). I hadn’t seen Shannon in over 20 years. It was great catching up with her and meeting her family. Shannon, her husband, and I, didn't stop talking for two days. On the second day, we did a brewery tour in Seattle (Jimerica! all the way!). Here are some shots:

Populuxe Brewing Company. These are actual people. Seattle is crazy.

Shannon doing a proper Vanna White

They mean business in these here parts, friends.

Here's another picture that makes me smile.

Shannon, husband Jonny, son Oliver, daughter Maggie.

I had also hoped to catch up with Tim Zimmerman, but that wasn’t in the cards. Tim and I taught at Woodward Skateboarding Camp back in the late 80s. He was a huge help to me on this trip. He’s now a professional photographer that specializes in snowboarding, skateboarding, and mountain bike photography. Many of the destinations I hit for mountain biking were based on Tim’s recommendations and he was also able to direct me to good bike shops throughout my trip. So, Thanks Tim!! Unfortunately, we weren’t able to catch up in Seattle. Next time, bro. I'm sorry I didn't plan better.

After spending a couple days with Shannon’s family, I had to hit the road. I made the 2600 mile journey from Seattle to Bethlehem, PA in just over 3 days. I passed a lot of places I would have liked to visit (Yellowstone, Glacier, cousin Helen), but, again, next time.

So, what’s next for Jimerica!? Over the next month, I’ll be moving to Philly and getting ready for med school, which will begin in early August. I’ll be attending The Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM). I’ll do 4 years of med school at PCOM followed by 3 to 5 years of residency in who-knows-where.

Now, we come to the Jimerica! Awards Ceremony! Hit the music!!

Over the course of this trip I posted quite a bit on The Facebooks. Some of my posts were trivia questions that bestowed upon the person with the first correct answer a Grand Jimerica! Title and absolutely nothing else. Here is a list of those Jimerican Heros:

Josh Strub - The Jimerica! Fan of the Undisclosed and Frankly Random Amount of Time Award. Answer: the left end of my handle bar is what left the imprint in my chest. Well done, sir. Well done. Only a man who has valiantly fallen off his bike many many times could have answered this question so specifically.

Mike Kotasek - The Jimerica! Golden Exclamation Point Award. Answer: The Great Salt Lake. Bill Bole also received a “Most Honorable Mention” on this one for posting the video of the Band of Horses song “The Great Salt Lake” as a response to this question. Fine effort, both of you gentlemen. An effort so very fine is rarely seen in this world.

Ray Carlin - The Jimerica! Summer of Haight Lovefest Hippy Dippy Award. Ray, my erstwhile boss, correctly guessed that I had posted a photo of where Charlie Manson had lived in San Francisco. But, to be fair, Ray’s response to almost every question posed to him is “Charles Manson”. You were born for this question, Ray.

Rob Flowers - The Jimerica! "This is like Christmas in December" Award. Rob, I’m sure, is almost as proud of this award as he is to be Jimerica!’s brother-in-law. Answer: Yosemite.

Anji Marth – Anji became an officially deputized Jimerican! She may now proudly wear an exclamation point shaped badge made of pure golden bologna. Congratulations Anji! Answer: sea lions in the tide pool.

Mike Baker – winner of The Jimerica! Lifetime Movie Achievement Award. Answer: Bad Jimmy’s Brewery. Mike nailed this one on his very first try. A regular Jimiracle given the vast number of breweries in Seattle.

Two more “Most Honorable Mentions” go to Mary McCauley, and Mark Rossi for your very many wildly (profoundly, even, in some cases) incorrect answers.

So, that's it folks. Thank you all for reading. And an extra big thanks to all of you that kept up with me on Facebook. Having you guys along for the ride made the trip even more fun. Jimerica!