Mark McCambridge pedaled up a hill on Bellfountain Road, past grass fields and forests in rural Benton County. Despite the lush scenery surrounding him, the 25-year-old was more nervous about vehicles than usual, especially big trucks.

“After reading about the guy that got hit, definitely,” said McCambridge. “The further out you go, the less people are aware of cyclists.”

McCambridge was riding a few miles from where Corvallis resident Ed Bomber died on Oct. 2, when he was run over by a log truck during a training ride. According to police, it appeared the triathlete slid under the wheels of the rig after turning from 13th Street onto Chapel Drive near Philomath.

Benton County District Attorney John Haroldson said the investigation of the crash is continuing, and officials are waiting for evidence to be processed by laboratories.

Haroldson added that the incident has become something of a flashpoint, with Bomber’s death provoking strong feelings from bicyclists and motorists unconnected to the case.

Corvallis prides itself on being bike-friendly, and for many people, that’s a chief attribute of the town.

Joe Whinnery, city transportation program specialist, said a recent study showed that 14 percent of commuters in Corvallis travel by bike most of the time, one of the highest rates in the United States.

“Ridership has increased dramatically over the last year,” Whinnery said, based on bike sales and other factyors. And many cyclists head to the countryside to get a workout or enjoy the views.

But in rural Benton County, many residents pride themselves on the area’s timber heritage. Bicyclists can slow down commercial traffic and other drivers on roads that were ruled for decades by log trucks.

The result is increasing tensions on rural roads, even through bicyclists say it’s still safer to ride there than in the city because of fewer intersections, fewer distractions and longer sight lines for motorists.

‘Buzzing’ and discourtesy

Log truck drivers such as Mark Search of Philomath say that bicyclists sometimes ride two abreast down rural roads, and that doesn’t give motorists much room, especially on sharp corners.

“It’s like anything else,” said the 68-year-old. “There are always the inconsiderate ones. You have to be extremely careful and watch out for them.”

Search said he noticed an increase of bicyclists in the countryside about five years ago. “The guys who get suited up and go after it,” he added. And now, on a nice day, he can pass about 15 cyclists a day while working.

Roger Irvin, Benton County public works director, said many cyclists in rural areas are training. “They aren’t out there for a leisurely ride. They’re out there covering a lot of ground,” he said.

Still, there are people like Brad Upton of Corvallis, a member of the city and the county bike advisory groups, who take a more leisurely pace.

“Most drivers are very courteous here,” said Upton, 46. “But there is a small minority of drivers out there who aren’t thinking about other road users, or even have feelings that cyclists don’t belong and might be tempted to use a little intimidation.”

About a year ago, Upton was riding on a rural road west of Summit when four log trucks in about an hour passed by much too close for his comfort.

“It would have been quite easy to give me more room, but they didn’t,” he said.

Maybe they didn’t intend to frighten him, but they did.

More frequent are drivers who are just careless, he said.

“We call it ‘buzzing’ when cars don’t move over,” said Pamela Archer of Corvallis.

The 27-year-old, a former member of the OSU cycling club, said a friend of hers had a fast-food soda cup thrown at him while on a rural ride.

Archer and Upton stressed they knew discourteous bicyclists as well, such as those who blow through stop signs or hog the road.

“It’s dangerous and it makes it very difficult for motorists to respect the rights of bicyclists,” Upton said. “I’ve seen some bicyclists do some really stupid things. It’s painful to me. It’s like, ‘C’mon,’ you’re shooting us all in the foot.’”

Solutions difficult

While there’s been plenty of heated discussion lately, there are no easy answers.

“Bicyclists have a right to be there, but I think it’s inherently dangerous to ride bicycles on the roads we have and I think there’s no real short-term solution,” said Benton County Commissioner Jay Dixon, referring to rural roads.

Money is one barrier.

“It’s always money,” Dixon said. “You’ve got to acquire the right-of-way to put in a wider bike lane or a bike lane at all. But even that doesn’t guarantee anybody’s safety.”

Benton County has about 275 miles of paved roads, with 10 to 15 percent of those having bike lanes or shoulders wide enough for bikes, Irvin said.

Right-of-way acquisition usually happens when property owners are willing to donate a slice of land along roadways, Irvin said. The county works with developers to get improvements and sometimes can widen roads while doing utility projects.

But that can prove difficult even with cooperation. In hilly areas, such as curvy stretches of Bellfountain Road, filling and cutting slopes would take substantially more property.

Widening the roads benefits more than just cyclists, however. Irvin said that gives motorists a larger margin of safety, as well.

One project that could help keep bicyclists safer, at least between Corvallis and Albany, is a paved path planned to follow rail tracks along Highway 20.

Next year, a state grant of about $460,000 will help with the design and right-of-way acquisition for the path, proposed by the county and the city of Corvallis.

“The whole project, we’re talking millions. It’s about 10 miles,” Irvin said. There would likely be multiple grant-funded projects over several years to complete the route.

Though Highway 20 has wide shoulders, people don’t like to ride it because the volume of traffic and the speed of vehicles make them uncomfortable.

“We think it would be pretty good for economic development to have that linkage,” Irvin said. Officials believe the path will spur bicycle tourism to the area.

Some solutions, however, don’t involve construction. Upton said he’s pushing for greater education and enforcement.

“It’s educating bicyclists so that they obey the rules of the road,” Upton said. “We also have to educate motorists that bicyclists have a legal right to the road.”

While bicycling is growing in popularity by most accounts, so is the number of motorists, Irvin said. The two groups can find some middle ground out in rural Benton County, Irvin said.

“It really comes down to all users of the road following the rules and using common courtesy and common sense.”