You'll Be Runnin' Against the Wind on Oregon Road

Going on a suggestion from a reader who commented on my first On the Run column, which featured a in Mattituck, I decided to explore Oregon Road from Mill Lane in Mattituck to Duck Pond Road in Cutchogue this week.

Of course, in my infinite wisdom, I chose to do this during the windiest, most overcast part of Saturday. Guess this is why I’m not a weather forecaster making the big bucks.

I parked my car at , a cool little pond tucked away on Wickham Avenue in Mattituck, and started off north on Mill Lane. The wind wasn’t too bad at this point and seemed to be pushing me along for the first half a mile or so.

Then I hit Oregon Road, took a right — and hit the wall, running against the wind for a good two miles. It’s funny because I’ve recently rekindled my relationship with Bob Seger and had just downloaded a bunch of his music (I’m still a Michigander at heart — it was bound to happen). “Against the Wind” hadn’t made it to the iPod sync yet, though.

I kind of like running in the wind — with or against — though. It helps you forget your own internal storm, which is magnified on perfectly still, hot and humid days.

And the scenery is dramatized. Along Oregon Road, you’ll see the windmill (which took vintners David Page and Barbara Shinn quite some time to get approval to put up) working hard for You’ll see freshly plowed farms, perfectly green blankets of sod fields and all sorts of quirky old-school farm stuff — barns, out buildings and mini-water towers from the days of Little House on the Prairie, some falling down with trees and vines poking through.

You’ll see tractors and trucks — some new and functional, some sitting and rusted. The vineyards and quaint outdoor tasting room of are also located on this route, as are greenhouses, nurseries and sod fields.

I decided to hang a left at Duck Pond Road in Cutchogue and take it north all the way to the Long Island Sound, where the old Santorini Beach Hotel and Resort still stands at the bottom of the hill to the beach. My friend Randee Daddona and I covered the story a while ago when an electrician’s union took over the hotel and made it into a private conference center. I hadn’t been there since. It’s pretty neat down there if you haven’t seen it.

I had no idea how far this route was, but the wind was at my back for most of the return trip and I was flying (literally, my windbreaker was in full-on parachute mode). And on the way back, I caught a picture of a stretch limo pulling out of Shinn Vineyards.

A limousine amongst windmills, fields and rusted tractors. Only on the North Fork.

Mileage breakdown from Wolf Pit Lake in Mattituck to the end of Duck Pond Road in Cutchogue:

• Wolf Pit Lake to Shinn Estate Vineyards: 1 mile
• Shinn Vineyards to Alvahs Lane: 1 mile
• Alvahs Lane to the end of Duck Pond Road: 1.14 miles
• One-way trip: 3.14 miles
• Total trip: 6.28 miles