Riding my bike to work in Alton Baker Park today made me realize just how much I love Eugene. It smells SO good at this time of the year! Even in the rain, the air is awash with the lovely scents of spring. One of my first memories of this community is riding along the Willamette River bike path in early March 1993…reveling in the wonder of flowers and trees in bloom so early compared to “back east” where I had just moved from…and wondering what on this good green earth smelled so wonderful? I soon learned that it was the long, narrow, sticky buds of the black cottonwood trees growing all along the river. These balsam-scented buds flavor the air throughout the spring. You can identify black cottonwood trees by their heart-shaped leaves (dark on top, light on bottom) and their cotton-fluff-borne seeds in late spring. If you haven’t been on a bike ride by the river lately, it’s time to get out!
Check out the new Eugene Weekly blog for local bike news (http://blogs.eugeneweekly.com/eugenecycles). See the Bike Links post for a good list of links to other bike websites.
