Beat the heat! I headed out after dropping my wife off at a 5 hour appointment, thinking I'd be back in time. She got out a bit early...
I had traveled Eagle Point/Dupee naturally a few years ago, and decided to take that route again today. It was not near as nice as it was then; the gravel was much rougher than before. That trip, the surface was more course sand and was a smooth trip. This one was a lot rougher; I decided to drop the tire pressures to soften the ride. Both the hill and road were busier this time too; I had 3 cars on the hill and 4 on Dupee, throwing up gravel dust, of course! It was still a fun natural trip despite the road conditions and vehicles.
Once I hit Grauer at the southern end, I decided to stay on it to Gopher Valley and circle around to Muddy Valley/Latham rather than climb that hill. My legs were already talking to me!
I passed a female cyclist on my way east on Grauer from Dupee; we waved... then as I was dropping over the hill heading south, we met again! She'd apparently circled around in preparation to climb Grauer/Latham.
After a short natural run up & back on Latham, I headed north on Muddy Valley. About half was natural as traffic was very light; I encountered only 2 vehicles, but the fields were busy with farmers combining their grass fields.
After a short break at the South Yamhill Cemetery, I headed back to my start, with a slight detour via Linfield's nature trail to avoid construction on Booth Bend Rd.