It’s not about us. I am reminded of a picture hanging at our Coldwell Banker Kivett-Teeters Associates office: “Don’t count your blessings. Share them”. And that is what we have set out to do. There are so many people who would love to ride a bicycle across the United States but, for whatever reason, it’s not possible. And we understand and embrace you. We are here to be your eyes, ears, legs and voracious appetites for you! And you are the wind beneath our wings. In moments of struggle…when the weight of the bike pushes back…when my heart is pounding through my chest, I think of you. I think of of how incredibly strong you are. I think about your will to survive. And I know how blessed we are to know you and call you our friend. The first pedal stokes of any long ride can be a little overwhelming. The realization that the months of planning has finally come to fruition. What was I feeling? The most beautiful feeling of all of you praying for our safety and well-being. An amazing sense of peace and purpose…of knowing we are exactly where we should be doing exactly what we should be doing. And now, at days end, eager for the best night’s sleep so we can bring an amazing day of discovery for you. Thank you all for riding with us today. It has been unforgettable!!
It was a day of orientation. I blew into Sierra Vista and was the first tent to set up on the baseball field (right near first base). Matilda made herself right at home as any good mascot would.
The commemorative jersey is color and not ASU colors.
Met a (fast) tandem pair from Las Cruces, NM. Would see them multiple times over the next few days as they were fast and rarely in traffic!
Dinner that first night (Thursday) was a Sonoran hot dog. Something about a tube steak on fry bread smothered in Mexican taco fixings.
The map of day’s “ride” was really a warm up for the coming weekend.
Relentless
(*rewritten from an original Facebook post from 3/23/23)
This trip was the realization of a dream, a vision quest, of sorts. My nephews and I used to dream of traveling by bicycle and even did a camping trip once. We rode less than five miles from their home and camped three nights under the river bridge. We subsisted on the fish we caught and had a great time. I had the pleasure of reminiscing about that bicycle campout with my nephew, Tim not too long after Matt and I got to Nebraska from our adventure. But still, a self-contained camping trip was a dream that was largely unrealized by me. It sunk in on that first day as we rode the highways in Oregon, admiring the stark beauty around us. My dream was finally realized. Matt and I made the comment several times, “Here we are, we’re really doing it!” A dream realized, no matter the rough spots or the way it ends, is a wonderful occurrence in a person’s life. No matter what happens tomorrow, or the next day, nobody can take it away from me. The fact I was able to share it with Matt made it even more special.
From what I had in mind for myself, the trip plans changed dramatically with the addition of Matthew. I originally planned to rough it, sleeping where I might, when I might. With Matt along, finding facilities with showers, or at least bathrooms, became paramount. I had figured on longer days, maybe even riding into the night. We spoke to riders that were doing so, crossing mountain passes at night when it was cooler and traffic lighter. One gentleman admitted this strategy was possibly a mistake, as he did all the work without realizing the payoff in the breathtaking views from high atop the mountain passes. He was right, these were some of the most dramatic scenes along the way. Pictures cannot do the vistas justice and are, in fact a travesty. There is no way you can capture the pure, unadulterated beauty as well as your eye can. I look at some of the photos I took and wonder what it was I was trying to capture. Others are obvious, though I’m sure they mean more to me because my mind remembers how it really looked at the time.
This trip was an education for Matt in a lot of ways. He learned a lot about history, Lewis and Clark, the Nez Perce and the pioneers that crossed the Oregon Trail. These great Americans took great chances and their adventures made ours pale in comparison. We were truly awed by them. Since many of the tourists we encountered were teachers and since we both would love to do this again, I used the opportunity to encourage Matt academically. I pointed out he should work hard in school to become a teacher someday. That way, we could do this again and HE could pay the way! Matt also learned to be helpful around camp. He got really good about helping set up the tent and was especially helpful with stuffing sleeping bags while I made breakfast. We got pretty fast at breaking camp when we really wanted to. I think the thing he learned that was perhaps most important was there are a lot of really great people out there. We both learned this important lesson. This lesson hit home even harder when another cycle tourist from New Zealand told us the same thing. He was warned by friends at home that Americans were cold, uncaring, and only were concerned about making money. He came anyway and was rewarded with warm and caring people, willing to lend a helping hand when needed. It gave me a warm fuzzy to be included in that generalization. I was even more proud than usual to be an American, as was Matt.
As this trip progressed, I considered doing this final reflections article. The nature of the trip’s ending greatly muddied the effort. I’ve pondered the whys and how’s of this trip and finally came to the conclusion that no matter what, Matt and I had the time of our lives, met a lot of wonderful people and saw what could arguably be called the most beautiful part of our great land. Time and time again as we met west-bound cycle tourists, we were told this and we have no choice but to believe them. It saddens me to have missed the Tetons, but in driving to Nebraska, we were on parts of the route we would have ridden and we didn’t miss much. Matt and I can take solace in that much, anyway.
In thinking about what I would do differently if I could start over again, I have a number of things. First and foremost, you can never be too safe. In hindsight, I should never have let Matt ride so close to the trailer, but he was trying to get a little draft off me, and I could hardly blame him. The trailer did obscure his vision of road obstructions, but we had ridden some 1200 miles in this manner. If I had it to do again, though, I’d insist he leave a gap. I think he would readily agree.
I must say that the Adventure Cycling maps are the best thing going. They are clear, concise and take the worries out of where and how to get food, water, camping and most importantly, “When is this $%*&@! hill going to end?” If you are planning a trip such as this, these maps are a must.
The weight you carry on a trip like this is very important. We took along several things that didn’t weigh much by themselves but totaled up to be a certain amount of nothing but dead weight. For instance, we took along a plastic mallet for driving and pulling tent stakes. We did actually use it but could have gotten by without it. Same thing can be said for the solar shower. We used it twice and were darned glad to have it but could have easily lived without it. You think of all these things when pulling a 7% grade. The sleeping bag we took for Matt was perhaps the heaviest piece of equipment we took. It didn’t really seem to matter before the trip. Halfway up the first pass, it mattered a great deal more! The bottom line is, carry the lightest equipment you can. Even though touring is not a race and not a matter of grams, every ounce you have to lug up a mountain pass matters, as it wears on you and your bicycle.
Speaking of wearing on your bicycle…. Before beginning a cycle tour, check every single component of your bike. Assume nothing, go over everything. If a part is the least bit suspicious, replace it. Don’t skimp on tools you take. Make sure you have everything you need to work on your bike. Take extra spokes. Even if you don’t need them, you might help somebody that does. Carry a spare folding tire and at least two spare tubes. Pay attention to your tires. One mistake we made was not rotating our tires soon enough. Carrying the extra weight, you do on a tour puts a lot more wear on the rear tire. They can get threadbare in under 1000 miles. I should have been rotating them on our rest days, or once a week.
Regarding rest days…. Take them, whether you think you are tired, or not. They allow you to enjoy the area you stopped in more, catch up on laundry, bike maintenance and to generally collect your thoughts. These days are invaluable to you.
Do not skimp on rain gear. All we heard about before leaving was all the drought conditions and heat we were going to ride through. While the talk of drought and heat were all around, I didn’t pretend to think we wouldn’t get wet somewhere along the way. I did, however, assume the cheap, nylon raingear we took along would be sufficient. While it was certainly better than nothing, it was not by much. Were I to do this again, I would make sure we had better rain gear.
Do not carry a lot of cash. ATMs were everywhere, so it really does not make sense to carry large sums of cash or even traveler’s checks. It is a good idea to hide some emergency money somewhere in your gear or on your bike. I kept some cash in a sandwich bag, rolled up and stuffed inside my seat post. A handlebar plug fit tightly enough to keep it in place. I never needed it, but it was comforting knowing it was there. The last thing you want is to be in a town of 50 people without enough cash to eat and no ATM within twenty miles.
Food is another subject to discuss. Plan on eating lots. We had voracious appetites and still lost weight. We learned quickly that eating even just one meal a day in restaurants adds up quickly. We were riding in heavily traveled tourist areas where prices were jacked up to take advantage of the season. While groceries were also high-priced, we found that it was still much cheaper to eat from grocery stores and roadside markets than the greasiest of greasy spoons. Still, you have to indulge sometimes. Often, you are just too tired to grocery shop, set up camp and then cook dinner. Other times, that was the part you looked forward to. Camp cooking wasn’t that big of a challenge. Canned foods were easy to pick up and only required warming. Once, we didn’t even bother with the warming. On another occasion, we had a barbecue pit and a grocery store nearby, so we had barbecue! Food was an important part of the trip and perhaps our favorite. Matt and I both came to appreciate bread more than we have in the past. We came to love Big Ed’s Super Saucers, a chocolate chip cookie/ice cream sandwich concoction we found everywhere until we got into Wyoming. In reading the label, however, we are pretty sure we know how old Ed came to be known as “Big” Ed! Other favorite treats: Matthew- licorice ice cream in Twin Bridges, Montana. Mark- Moose Drool brown ale, brewed in Missoula. Mmmm, yummy!
Of all the equipment we took along, I’d have to say the Pocketmail composer was perhaps the best. People with cell phones complained they didn’t work in the rural areas. All the Pocketmailer requires is a phone to dial an 800 number and you can easily stay in contact. It was invaluable to us and we saw a lot of other people using them along the way. The trailer was another neat piece of gear. We saw quite a few trailers along the way, mostly BOB’s. I really grew to appreciate the two-wheeled trailer because you could disconnect it and still be able to access things inside. It was handy to get inside the trailer and find what you needed without rummaging through or completely unpacking a pannier. It tracked right behind the bike and was never a problem.
All in all, we had a fantastic adventure. The sights, the sounds, the smells and especially the wonderful people we met made for a great adventure. I can honestly say I would gladly do this trip again. Yes, I’d do some things differently. Many things I’d do just the same. Mostly, I’d just do it despite the shortcomings.
As much as you can prepare for the trip with gear, maps and clothes, you can never prepare for the least expected trial, loneliness. I really missed my family and friends while on this trip and was not prepared for it. I was glad to have Matt along, but still missed my wife and girls.
If you have an opportunity to do such a trip, just do it!
Well, as I suspected, the drive to Eugene was quite the experience in itself. We saw beautiful country north of Redding, CA. The Shasta-Trinity National Forest was absolutely beautiful. We tired from the drive and decided to call it quits in Weed, CA. Our motel for the night was shadowed by Mount Shasta. It was actually quite spectacular.
This is our motel in Weed California. Mount Shasta still had a fair amount of snow on it. The white Blazer (second car from left) was our rental car with all our gear in the back.
As we write this, we are firmly in Duck country, sitting right now just a few blocks from the University of Oregon stadium. Eugene is beautiful and has a very extensive network of bike paths. Cyclists can be seen all over the place!
This is the motel where we stayed in Eugene. Our hosts invited us to take part in a barbecue at poolside, so we had a real nice evening the night before leaving on our grand adventure.
Tomorrow we start riding and the real adventure begins. Will update you on all the happenings.
Tailwinds,
Mark and Matt
This picture was taken on one of the many bike paths in Eugene. This was right along the river and the university football stadium could easily be seen.
Today was the first day on the bikes and we hope we’ve had our fair share of bad luck for awhile. It was cloudy and overcast when we started, but we got under way with little problem. We got outside of town and started running a great pace, just having a blast enjoying the scenery. We were jolted to reality when we passed a sign that had towns on it that were not on our route. We immediately stopped and checked the map and sure enough, we had missed a turn-off. Oh well, we turned around and headed back a distance of about four miles. Not too bad of flub, but annoying, just the same. We made the right corner and off we went. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking as we rode along the river.
Once we got on the right road, the scenery was breathtaking!
We did a fair amount of climbing as we went, but we barely noticed. Matt pointed out his first critter sighting, “long-eared horses”. I about fell off the bike laughing. Darned city kid doesn’t know a mule when he sees one. We also sighted Canadian Geese and wild turkey along the way.
There’s a funny thing about being a million miles from home. You start hearing sounds that worry you. A piece of gravel picked up by the tire and rattling inside of the fender sounds exactly like the bike is falling apart. I no more than got used to hearing that, when another noise accompanied by a strange feel started. I feared the worst, but it only happened occasionally. It started doing it more often, so we pulled over to investigate. The bottom bracket had loosened, so I pulled out my tools to attempt a fix. My cheapie lock-ring wrench failed me, of course, so we were faced with a decision… Press on and chance it, or double back to get it repaired. The nearest bike shop was twenty miles back, or sixty miles forward with McKenzie pass between us.
This is the Chevron station where we doubled back on the first day. The picture was actually taken on the second day. Notice how fresh the white stripe along the road looks!
I was voting double back, Matt wanted to press on. Just then, the line painting truck passed us. They were repainting the white lines on the shoulder and doing a fair job of holding up traffic. That cinched it for me. I was not interested in fighting the truck and all the traffic it was backing up. We doubled back to the nearest bike shop and opted for a new cartridge bottom bracket. Hutch’s bikes in Springfield was our savior. They were backed up with repairs when we got there, but they told us they would get on it as quickly as possible. We went to a nearby diner for lunch and by the time we got back, it was ready. It turned out we made a great decision, as several of the bearings in the old bottom bracket were actually broken.
Our saviors on this day were the guys at Hutch’s Bicycles in Springfield, Oregon. Thanks, guys!
All repaired, we decided we had best lay low for tonight and not push on. We took a camping spot close to where we started. We get to do it all over tomorrow! Though it was kind of a wasted day, at least we had problems close to help. We’ll just call this our shakedown run and start the ride tomorrow. Since we both feel good, we will ride on to the foot of McKenzie pass tomorrow and be back on schedule. We’re having fun despite the problems. I think tomorrow will be a much better day. We’ll be well rested after today’s ride and look forward to getting past the sights we’ve already seen!
Our first campsite at a RV park near Eugene
Today’s stats: 64.31 miles, 13.9 avg. Right back where we started.
Mark and Matt
Last night’s camping spot was a boon. We did what little laundry we had, got a good shower and a good dinner. There was a cool breeze, so we slept really well. I got up about 5:00 to start my coffee. I had forgotten how good camp coffee tastes and smells. Once the important task was done, I started breakfast and rattled Matt out. We ate, did our dishes and broke camp. Not too bad, we were on the road by 7:00. We were kind of bummed about covering ground we had already seen, but it turned out to be worth it. We waved as we passed the place where we turned back the previous day. We noticed as we passed that the terrain changed a little. We started climbing just a little more. We toured a fish hatchery in Leaburg and got to watch them catching Steelhead from their pens to be released into the river.
These were “recycled” steelhead. They had already been to the ocean, spawned and returned. Some make the trip as many as four times.
Matt at Leaburg Fish Hatchery
Looking Downstream from the bridge that crossed from the highway to the fish hatchery at Leaburg.
We stopped to eat lunch in Vida before pressing on. The waitress warned that the next 12 miles had little shoulder and lots of traffic. Fortunately, we encountered road construction, which meant we got traffic in batches. During the lulls in traffic, we had the road to ourselves. We got buzzed by one logging truck, but otherwise had no problem. We met the line striping truck going the other way. He must have been mad he didn’t get to fumigate us the day before, because a little while later, he passed us, cut in and began spraying. We were climbing at the time, but I sprinted for all I was worth to overtake him. I caught him, passed him and that was the last we saw of him.
The evil line striping truck. Take note of the
traffic piled up behind it.
It started getting pretty warm and we were working harder than we should have. Matt started complaining of tiring at about 50 miles. We made it to McKenzie Bridge campground with 62.52 miles in. This campground is gorgeous. We’re in a forest right next to the river.
McKenzie Bridge campground. It was crude, but beautiful. The river was directly behind our camp, though you can’t see it for the trees. We cooked our dinner over the fire pit you can see just to the left of the table.
Near our camp at McKenzie Bridge, a river-rafting outfitter was taking out. The rafters were wild eyed with excitement after their adventure. Matt went into the river for a short while. The water was way too cold for Mark
The mosquitos at McKenzie Bridge seem to think we’re pretty tasty, too. Unfortunately, there are no phones here, so we’ll send this report in the morning. Oh! We ran into the first touring cyclist today. He’s near the end of his trip after eight weeks on the road. Signing off for now!
Mark and Matt
It’s really weird waking up in a rain forest. I crawled out of the tent at 5:00 again. It seemed so dark, yet you could see the sun coming through the trees. It was really cool sleeping so near the river. The sound of the water passing by lulled us to sleep. One thing about it, though…When morning came, that rushing water had another effect on me! We were on the road by 7:30, but stopped by the little store in town to use the pay phone for e-mail updates and grabbed some munchies for the road. The work started right away, but got worse. The climbing was pretty tough, but we took consolation in the fact we were at least in the shade.
The road was completely covered with old-growth trees, so we were kept cool as the sun blazed overhead.
We stopped frequently to wring sweat from our helmets, rest and eat some munchies.
We hit the 4000 ft mark, about 1/2 way up the worst part of the climb and got pulled over by a guy with lots of questions. He’s thinking about doing a tour and wanted to get information from us. I had mixed emotions. Part of me welcomed the rest, part of me wanted to get this over with. We also observed that our shade was thinning as we neared the top. In fact, the landscape changed dramatically, taking on more of a surreal lunar look. Huge lava fields ran right up to the road. When we stopped to take pictures of the Three Sisters, you could see where the lava had swept down the valley, wiping out the trees as it went.
The Three Sisters, near Mckenzie Summit
Lava flows took out trees as they ran.
The road was cut right through the lava flows.
It was an awesome sight, but kind of spooky. We made the pass, took the obligatory pictures of us standing under the sign and began the descent into Sisters.
Mark and Matt at the Summit of McKenzie Pass. We were nearly out of water and glad to be past the tough climb.
We met two other tourists going the other way. One was a German fellow that was near the end of his journey. The other guy was the first we’d seen towing a trailer, but he was far too busy to chat. We’ve taken note of the fact that all these guys nearing the end of their trips have equipment that’s extremely faded and worn. Ours looks so new and fresh. We feel like such newbies!
Entering Sisters, Oregon.
We got into Sisters and immediately sought out something to eat. We were starving and didn’t have time to cook, as we reckoned we were too near death. We found the first greasy spoon we came to. I thought the prices were a bit steep, but the food was great and we both had enough left over for dinner! So, the price wasn’t so bad after all. We both ordered shakes and they brought those to us first. I have to tell you, the taste of that shake was heavenly! I’m not so sure if they were that good, or if we were just that famished!
Sisters is a little town of 911 people, but it’s booming this week. There is a quilting convention going on, so there are quilters and quilts everywhere you look. We found a camping spot in the city overnight park. The price was pretty reasonable at $5.00. No pay phone, but we have bathrooms with hot water (I feel a shave coming on!), shade trees and thick, lush grass to pitch our tent on. Best place we’ve had, yet. Met some folks from Nebraska who are traveling with their daughter who teaches school in Apple Valley. She recognized my Redlands jersey! A small world continues getting smaller.
Our campground at Sisters. I took the opportunity to do a little maintenance.
I’m pretty pleased with the trailer. You just don’t know it’s back there most of the time. It pulled nicely on the climbs and tracked just as straight and true on the descent. The only thing that happened was the safety flag took leave of me. It splits in two by means of pressure fit. I guess it didn’t hold in place at 30+ mph speeds. Matt stopped to retrieve it and a little tape should hold it in place for a good, long time.
Many thanks to those that have written with words of support. We appreciate all of them! We were glad to hear that Bob and Virginia made it back OK.
Today’s stats: 45.51 miles, 9.5 mph avg.
Mark and Matt
Today was a pretty easy day. Easy, yes, but still productive. I’m finding that I take great pleasure in the simplest of things. I love getting up at 5:00 and getting the coffee going. The smell of the coffee percolating is wonderful, second only to the taste. I’m getting coffee down to a science. I’ve got it figured how to brew just the right amount for me and without missing a beat, getting breakfast on. It’s at this time I wake Matt up so he can start packing stuff. We eat, do dishes, pack the trailer and panniers and hit the road. We broke camp and got on the road about our usual time today and I have to add that Matt is getting better about pitching in and helping. In a few days, I think we’ll have the routine down pat.
Our scenery today changed to agricultural and flat, which was a nice break. We had some rollers and a few small climbs, but compared to yesterday, it was a cinch. We got a close up look at a deer today and saw some others off in the distance. At about twenty miles, we hit the town of Redmond. We stopped for a break, enjoyed an ice cream and checked our e-mail. We had a bit of a time getting out of Redmond, as we changed routes to take the scenic highway. Our map was right on the money, we just didn’t follow the directions correctly. After fumbling around for a while, we got underway for Prineville. The route was pretty, though more agricultural than we had seen.
The road was much flatter today, with fields and still quite a few pine trees.
Eastern Oregon has different scenery, but still quite beautiful.
There were many buttes and mesas and still a lot of pine trees. The smell of pine just permeates the air. Matt summed it up best the other morning when he crawled out of the tent and asked “Why does it smell like a Christmas tree?” We made it into Prineville with a mission. We needed to replenish some of our foodstuffs and we needed to do laundry. First things first, we spotted a Subway. We stuffed our faces and then asked for directions to a laundry mat and market. On our way to the shopping center, we encountered another father-son duo on a tour. They are bound for North Dakota, and will be following the same route as we are until Missoula. It would have been fun to ride with them, but they had taken yesterday off and were intending to make it to Mitchell today. That’s another forty miles down the road and we wanted an easier day and needed to get our chores done. With any luck, we’ll catch them in a couple days. We started our laundry and I left Matt to watch our stuff while I went shopping. I came back to find Matt talking to a couple that formerly lived in Redlands! They had left Redlands about ten years ago and had been living in Hawaii the last five years. They were so new to Oregon that their household goods had not even arrived yet. They were camping in their house and doing laundry at the laundry mat in the meantime. Matt and I finished our laundry and I went to the Mailbox, etc to ship some dead weight back home. It was nice to get the chores done, but by the time we were finished, the heat had kicked in. We only had about ten miles to our destination, but it was tough. We’re staying tonight in a campground on Lake Ochoco.
Our campground near lake Ochoco
Another shot of Lake Ochoco
Of course there is always a climb to a lake and our tongues were certainly hanging out by the time we arrived. We were shopping the campground for the hiker-biker sites and found they were all less than desireable. Our host, Skip, graciously let us have one of the primo spots, right next to his for the hiker biker price. Woo-Hoo! Best deal is… There are showers. Real, live showers with hot water. Matt went for a swim in the lake while I did some chores. Eventually, I joined him. The water was cold, but felt good once in it. We got out to get showers and dinner going. It’s so hot that by the time we walked back to camp, we were dry! For dinner, we wiped out a 2 1/2# can of stew and a loaf of french bread.
51.27 miles, 14.2 avg.
Mark and Matt
We broke camp early today, trying to escape the heat. It was a good idea, for awhile. We crossed two passes today, neither of which was as bad as McKenzie, but tough just the same.
As we left the campground in the morning, we came across a deer. I tried to get a picture, but the light wasn’t very good. You can see the deer in the distance in the other lane.
Another shot of Lake Ochoco in the early morning light
Ochoco Pass wasn’t too bad. Matt and I both were cold for a while. By the time we crested the 4720 ft. summit, though, it was warming up. On the way down the pass, we encountered a huge deer along the highway. It was a little indecisive about which way it was going to go, but scrambled into the trees rather than into my path. It would have been an ugly collision at 30+ mph! We descended about 2000 feet, then climbed another 599 into the quaint little town of Mitchell. We cooled our heels a bit and thought seriously about taking advantage of the free camping in the city park. Dayville beckoned us, however and we opted to brave the heat. Matt had some troubles climbing the 7 mile, 4357 ft. Keyes Creek Pass, but we eventually made it. We were looking forward to thirty some miles of downhill, but much to our chagrin, it was into a stiff, hot headwind. At one point I became worried about water. We had filled all our bottles in Mitchell, but the pass had depleted them and the scorching heat had warmed what was left. We spotted a ranch in the middle of nowhere and the elderly couple living there graciously filled our bottles with the coldest, sweetest water.
We found an oasis in the middle of nowhere. We filled our water bottles here and the owners graciously offered their shade tree to camp under. We were determined to make Dayville, however and pushed on.
It must have been the day for critters along the road, because as we descended this time, we saw two head of cattle on the road. They didn’t pay any attention to us as we passed. We finally rolled into Dayville and immediately ran into Garth, the father of the father/son duo we met in Prineville! He was glad to see us and at this time, just the four of us are taking advantage of the hostel hosted by the local Presbyterian church. It’s pretty neat, they host Trans-America cyclists with their facilities and only ask for free-will donations. Very nice.
There is a stained glass picture that a previous visitor sent to them! It depicts the church with a bicycle (complete with panniers) sitting out front. They also have a journal they like visitors to write a little something in. Many businesses we’ve visited keep a log-book of cyclists that have been through.
That’s about it for today. It was a hot and tiring day. We ended up with 80.29 miles and a 12 mph average.
Mark and Matt
After spending the night in the Hostel/church in Dayville, Matt, Garth, Ryan and I got up early to try and beat the heat. It was kind of nice not having to unpack, set up camp and then tear it all down again. The only down side was there was no air conditioning and it was a bit stuffy in the church. Sleep came hard and I think I sweat out all the water I took in. I woke up frequently, uncomfortable from the heat. I guess we’re getting used to this outdoor sleeping.
Shortly before leaving the Church/hostel in Dayville. Left to right, Ryan, Mark and Matt. Garth took the picture.
We hit the road about 5:30 and started hammering down the road. Ryan developed a flat about twenty miles into the ride, so we stopped in the town of Mt. Vernon to fix it. Ryan is a total novice and Garth is a recently “reborn” cyclist. He’s hoping this trip will rekindle his interest in cycling. The flat repair was somewhat of a comedy of errors. We finally got it done and headed out. The temperature was climbing the entire time we sat there, so the road was that much hotter. Garth and Ryan also requested we back the pace down a little, so we just cruised the rest of the way. We saw many deer, passing as close as three feet from one. We also saw a flock of Canadian geese take flight and pass right over us. There were no strafing casualties. In John Day, we stopped to hit the ATM and see a museum. We ran into more cycle tourists at the museum and had fun visiting with them. Leaving John Day, we pedaled on to Prairie City. Along the way, we encountered a west bound father/son duo on recumbents. We rolled into Prairie city and had lunch with Garth and Ryan before parting ways. They’re staying in a motel tonight and we’re camping.
Our luxury digs in Prairie City. We had running water and electricity. We slept on the picnic table and avoided getting all wet as it rained hard during the night.
Garth and Ryan don’t want to climb the three passes with us tomorrow, as they fear they won’t be able to keep up. They seemed plenty strong to me, but we have to respect their wishes. They think we’ll catch them on the road, if not, we’ll try to connect in Baker City. Matt and I are thinking of taking a day off in Baker City before crossing into Idaho. We’re getting a little tired, but a short day today and a good night’s sleep will no doubt make us feel better. Oregon has been having a heat wave and we’ve been seeing temperatures well over 100. It’s supposed to cool tomorrow, so we should make the ride pretty easily. If not, there are campgrounds on top of the passes. Tomorrow being Sunday, we shouldn’t have much trouble getting a spot.
Today’s stats: 46.08 miles, 12.7 avg.
Mark and Matt
Our campground last night ended up being better than we thought. When we first arrived, there was a group of people setting up for a picnic underneath a large covered picnic area. We spread our ground cloth underneath the shade of a tree and rested as the people ate and visited. As they were leaving, one gentleman told us rain was forecast and we should consider camping under the picnic shelter. We went to investigate and discovered this to be a great idea, as we had a sink with running water, lights, regular deluxe accomodations! It turned out to be good, as it did rain and it rained hard.
We got out of camp at 6:30 and started up the first of the day’s three passes.
Starting up the first climb. The writing on the pavement says “Oh shift!” It was appropriate.
We knew we wouldn’t find food along the way, so we packed along extra munchies. We crested the first summit in fine shape, did a small descent and caught up to the two cycle tourists we met at the museum yesterday. We visited with them while we replenished our water, checked e-mail and ate a snack. The other tourists were also using a pocketmail. This is the third person we’ve encountered using the same e-mail device. We parted ways as the road split and they were going another direction. We descended just a bit more before starting on the second pass. We started feeling pretty smug as the pass went quickly. Near the top, we met a pair of cycle tourists from the Netherlands. They were very nice and quite fit after nine weeks on the road. They told us that Garth and Ryan were about five miles ahead of us. We figured as much and weren’t overly concerned about catching them, though it would have been nice. We descended the second pass and thought we should start looking for water. We came across an old ghost town and decided to check it out.
The ghost town of Whitney, Oregon
We found that one of the properties was obviously occupied, so we stopped to ask for water. The young woman living there was very gracious and filled our bottles with really cold water. She told us about other cyclists that had stopped there for water and to overnight over the years. She told us the next pass was actually three passes. The nice thing was, they were spread out a bit. We made the final climb and descent, then stopped to snack again. We fought rolling hills and headwinds the rest of the way to Baker City. A storm brewed up as we approached and we sought shelter in a Shell gas station that just happened to have a pizza shop within. Yeah, that was just toooo bad. The rain stopped and we headed off to find the campground. Thunder and lightning around us made a convincing argument for making this our motel night. We found a dive motel and are high and dry for now. Tomorrow, we do laundry, bike maintenance, find that campground and prepare to ride on Tuesday.
74.98 miles, 11.2 mph avg.
Mark and Matt
We checked out of our motel pretty early this morning. Did I say it was a dive motel? Make that flea-bag. Literally. We woke up this morning just lit-up with bites on us. We cleaned up, did what we had to do and parted company post-haste. I spoke briefly with the manager about the problem, but it was fairly obvious she didn’t care much. We’ve been on the road for a week, braved mosquitos big enough to carry away your young and we get eaten alive in a motel room! After loading up, we proceeded downtown to check out the local bike shop. We didn’t need anything, just wasting time and window-shopping. Lo and behold, who do we run into? Garth and Ryan had over-nighted in Baker City also. We chatted for a while, lying about the previous day’s adventures and met another cycle tourist, John. John was following the same trail as us, but has decided to strike out on his own and parallel the Oregon Trail as much as possible. He would have liked for Matt and I to ride with him, but we have our heart set on Missoula, Yellowstone and the Tetons. We met again at the laundry mat and visited some more about the trip. We exchanged information so we can update each other on how the trip ends up. I’m pretty sure he’ll pass through Oshkosh where we’re going, so I told him how to contact my in-laws there and see if we’ve made it yet.
I’ve been thinking about the things I’ve learned and seen so far on this trip. Pacelining on fully loaded bikes is an adventure in itself. Animals alongside the road are much more frightening when you are on a bike, can’t wait to see a bear! Most cycle tourists seem to be retired, or are teachers. Maybe even retired teachers? We did run into one gentleman that only works in the winter to finance his summer cycling adventures. Hmm, I wonder if I can get a gig like that? Another lesson learned regards food. Whatever you budget for food on a trip like this… Double it! Matt and I are eating like hogs, yet our bellies are dwindling after just a week on the road. We’re learning the hard way to eat out of grocery stores day to day and avoid restaurants. Sometimes you are too tired to cook, but it’s worth it to cut corners where you can. You have to fuel the furnace, but to do so inexpensively means you have to cook. Water is another big concern. We’re carrying a lot with us, but still run out on these hot days. A water purification system would be on the top of my list if I were to do this again. Showers are another thing. Not all campgrounds have them. We brought along a solar shower for this trip. The thing weighs next to nothing empty, but works like a charm. Matt and I have been saved by it twice. Probably the single most important thing we’ve learned is that no matter what you read or hear, there are a lot of good people in this world. We’ve been fortunate to meet some of the nicest people. I think you miss that when traveling by car. You can’t exchange greetings with the guy mowing his front yard like you can when traveling by bicycle. In a motor vehicle, we insulate ourselves from what this great country is really like. We have to rely on what’s written in newspapers and magazines, where the bizarre and extreme is what sells. I just don’t believe it’s like that. Sure there are whackos out there. Generally speaking, though, I believe most people to be genuinely good.
Tomorrow, we ride again. We’re off into Hell’s Canyon, then into Idaho either Tuesday or Wednesday. I’m told by our host tonight that it’s a tough ride out of Baker City no matter which direction you travel. We’ll see.
Rest day, 7 miles
Mark and Matt
Our rest day was really nice. We got our laundry and other chores done and readied for today’s ride. We broke camp and got out of baker City by 7:00. The skies were cloudy and it looked as though it could rain on us. No matter, we wanted to get some miles behind us and rain would be a welcome respite from the heat of the past few days. It rained and even hailed on us a little last night, but we were safely under shelter. The terrain was nothing special early today. It was mostly agricultural, or scrub brush and desert looking. We descended pretty steadily most of the morning and the temps stayed cool. On one descent, it was almost chilly! We stopped at about 20 miles for breakfast number two, PB&J sandwiches along the roadside. We continued our descending and came across a cool thing, the Hole In The Wall. There was a landslide in the 1980’s that blocked the Powder River and highway 86 and formed a half-mile long lake. The landslide continues to move about 1/2 inch per day and is expected to continue doing so until 2014. The road was relocated up and over the landslide and then rejoined the old road bed.
Old road can be seen on the left
The landslide blocked the road and river
We stopped in the little town of Richland for a moment in the shade and another PB&J before the day’s climb. We headed out and immediately regretted every bit of descending we had done! This hill went on and on and on. We only climbed about 1200 ft., but it seemed really tough. From the top, though, it was a nice easy roll into Halfway.
Matt nears the end of the climb
Now, common sense usually dictates that you stay the night in Halfway where they have all services. Matt and I wanted more miles and I had another plan. From Halfway, it’s predominately downhill to Pine Creek, where there are groceries. No camping, though. Two miles down the road, there is Oxbow. Oxbow has camping, but no groceries. Seems like a piece of cake. You stop and pick up groceries at Pine Creek and move on to Oxbow to camp, right? That puts you right at the foot of the climb out of Hell’s Canyon, a brutish 2200 ft. climb. Well, best laid plans. Pine Creek ended up being an over-priced wide spot in the road. The campground here at Oxbow is nice and we’re literally a stone’s throw away from Idaho. Really, I could throw a rock across the river from where I sit now and it would land in Idaho. So, this will be our last night in Oregon. Tomorrow, we enter Idaho. I’m told to expect narrow roads, truck traffic, rugged terrain and heat. Great… And to think we lugged cold weather stuff along. I’m anxious to get past Idaho and on to Montana and Wyoming.
75.68 miles, 13.8 avg.
Mark and Matt
We had a nice time at our camp in Oxbow last night. Our neighbors took us in and made us feel really welcome, even feeding us dinner. I left them our cans of stew as I did not care to lug them out of Hell’s Canyon. We swam in the river to cool off and had a really nice visit. We even got to watch a forest fire successfully doused.
This forest fire off in the distance had everybody in the campground understandably nervous
Look closely and you will see the helicopter dipping water from the Snake River. Oregon is on the left bank, Idaho on the right
The neatest part about it was watching the helicopter with the water drop bucket swooping down the mountain to dip another load from the Snake River, not a football field length away from where we sat. I got some really good pictures.
We Hit The Road
Well, as I suspected, the drive to Eugene was quite the experience in itself. We saw beautiful country north of Redding, CA. The Shasta-Trinity National Forest was absolutely beautiful. We tired from the drive and decided to call it quits in Weed, CA. Our motel for the night was shadowed by Mount Shasta. It was actually quite spectacular.
This is our motel in Weed California. Mount Shasta still had a fair amount of snow on it. The white Blazer (second car from left) was our rental car with all our gear in the back.
As we write this, we are firmly in Duck country, sitting right now just a few blocks from the University of Oregon stadium. Eugene is beautiful and has a very extensive network of bike paths. Cyclists can be seen all over the place!
This is the motel where we stayed in Eugene. Our hosts invited us to take part in a barbecue at poolside, so we had a real nice evening the night before leaving on our grand adventure.
Tomorrow we start riding and the real adventure begins. Will update you on all the happenings.
Tailwinds,
Mark and Matt
This picture was taken on one of the many bike paths in Eugene. This was right along the river and the university football stadium could easily be seen.
Today was the first day on the bikes and we hope we’ve had our fair share of bad luck for awhile. It was cloudy and overcast when we started, but we got under way with little problem. We got outside of town and started running a great pace, just having a blast enjoying the scenery. We were jolted to reality when we passed a sign that had towns on it that were not on our route. We immediately stopped and checked the map and sure enough, we had missed a turn-off. Oh well, we turned around and headed back a distance of about four miles. Not too bad of flub, but annoying, just the same. We made the right corner and off we went. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking as we rode along the river.
Once we got on the right road, the scenery was breathtaking!
We did a fair amount of climbing as we went, but we barely noticed. Matt pointed out his first critter sighting, “long-eared horses”. I about fell off the bike laughing. Darned city kid doesn’t know a mule when he sees one. We also sighted Canadian Geese and wild turkey along the way.
There’s a funny thing about being a million miles from home. You start hearing sounds that worry you. A piece of gravel picked up by the tire and rattling inside of the fender sounds exactly like the bike is falling apart. I no more than got used to hearing that, when another noise accompanied by a strange feel started. I feared the worst, but it only happened occasionally. It started doing it more often, so we pulled over to investigate. The bottom bracket had loosened, so I pulled out my tools to attempt a fix. My cheapie lock-ring wrench failed me, of course, so we were faced with a decision… Press on and chance it, or double back to get it repaired. The nearest bike shop was twenty miles back, or sixty miles forward with McKenzie pass between us.
This is the Chevron station where we doubled back on the first day. The picture was actually taken on the second day. Notice how fresh the white stripe along the road looks!
I was voting double back, Matt wanted to press on. Just then, the line painting truck passed us. They were repainting the white lines on the shoulder and doing a fair job of holding up traffic. That cinched it for me. I was not interested in fighting the truck and all the traffic it was backing up. We doubled back to the nearest bike shop and opted for a new cartridge bottom bracket. Hutch’s bikes in Springfield was our savior. They were backed up with repairs when we got there, but they told us they would get on it as quickly as possible. We went to a nearby diner for lunch and by the time we got back, it was ready. It turned out we made a great decision, as several of the bearings in the old bottom bracket were actually broken.
Our saviors on this day were the guys at Hutch’s Bicycles in Springfield, Oregon. Thanks, guys!
All repaired, we decided we had best lay low for tonight and not push on. We took a camping spot close to where we started. We get to do it all over tomorrow! Though it was kind of a wasted day, at least we had problems close to help. We’ll just call this our shakedown run and start the ride tomorrow. Since we both feel good, we will ride on to the foot of McKenzie pass tomorrow and be back on schedule. We’re having fun despite the problems. I think tomorrow will be a much better day. We’ll be well rested after today’s ride and look forward to getting past the sights we’ve already seen!
Our first campsite at a RV park near Eugene
Today’s stats: 64.31 miles, 13.9 avg. Right back where we started.
Mark and Matt
Last night’s camping spot was a boon. We did what little laundry we had, got a good shower and a good dinner. There was a cool breeze, so we slept really well. I got up about 5:00 to start my coffee. I had forgotten how good camp coffee tastes and smells. Once the important task was done, I started breakfast and rattled Matt out. We ate, did our dishes and broke camp. Not too bad, we were on the road by 7:00. We were kind of bummed about covering ground we had already seen, but it turned out to be worth it. We waved as we passed the place where we turned back the previous day. We noticed as we passed that the terrain changed a little. We started climbing just a little more. We toured a fish hatchery in Leaburg and got to watch them catching Steelhead from their pens to be released into the river.
These were “recycled” steelhead. They had already been to the ocean, spawned and returned. Some make the trip as many as four times.
Matt at Leaburg Fish Hatchery
Looking Downstream from the bridge that crossed from the highway to the fish hatchery at Leaburg.
We stopped to eat lunch in Vida before pressing on. The waitress warned that the next 12 miles had little shoulder and lots of traffic. Fortunately, we encountered road construction, which meant we got traffic in batches. During the lulls in traffic, we had the road to ourselves. We got buzzed by one logging truck, but otherwise had no problem. We met the line striping truck going the other way. He must have been mad he didn’t get to fumigate us the day before, because a little while later, he passed us, cut in and began spraying. We were climbing at the time, but I sprinted for all I was worth to overtake him. I caught him, passed him and that was the last we saw of him.
The evil line striping truck. Take note of the
traffic piled up behind it.
It started getting pretty warm and we were working harder than we should have. Matt started complaining of tiring at about 50 miles. We made it to McKenzie Bridge campground with 62.52 miles in. This campground is gorgeous. We’re in a forest right next to the river.
McKenzie Bridge campground. It was crude, but beautiful. The river was directly behind our camp, though you can’t see it for the trees. We cooked our dinner over the fire pit you can see just to the left of the table.
Near our camp at McKenzie Bridge, a river-rafting outfitter was taking out. The rafters were wild eyed with excitement after their adventure. Matt went into the river for a short while. The water was way too cold for Mark
The mosquitos at McKenzie Bridge seem to think we’re pretty tasty, too. Unfortunately, there are no phones here, so we’ll send this report in the morning. Oh! We ran into the first touring cyclist today. He’s near the end of his trip after eight weeks on the road. Signing off for now!
Mark and Matt
It’s really weird waking up in a rain forest. I crawled out of the tent at 5:00 again. It seemed so dark, yet you could see the sun coming through the trees. It was really cool sleeping so near the river. The sound of the water passing by lulled us to sleep. One thing about it, though…When morning came, that rushing water had another effect on me! We were on the road by 7:30, but stopped by the little store in town to use the pay phone for e-mail updates and grabbed some munchies for the road. The work started right away, but got worse. The climbing was pretty tough, but we took consolation in the fact we were at least in the shade.
The road was completely covered with old-growth trees, so we were kept cool as the sun blazed overhead.
We stopped frequently to wring sweat from our helmets, rest and eat some munchies.
We hit the 4000 ft mark, about 1/2 way up the worst part of the climb and got pulled over by a guy with lots of questions. He’s thinking about doing a tour and wanted to get information from us. I had mixed emotions. Part of me welcomed the rest, part of me wanted to get this over with. We also observed that our shade was thinning as we neared the top. In fact, the landscape changed dramatically, taking on more of a surreal lunar look. Huge lava fields ran right up to the road. When we stopped to take pictures of the Three Sisters, you could see where the lava had swept down the valley, wiping out the trees as it went.
The Three Sisters, near Mckenzie Summit
Lava flows took out trees as they ran.
The road was cut right through the lava flows.
It was an awesome sight, but kind of spooky. We made the pass, took the obligatory pictures of us standing under the sign and began the descent into Sisters.
Mark and Matt at the Summit of McKenzie Pass. We were nearly out of water and glad to be past the tough climb.
We met two other tourists going the other way. One was a German fellow that was near the end of his journey. The other guy was the first we’d seen towing a trailer, but he was far too busy to chat. We’ve taken note of the fact that all these guys nearing the end of their trips have equipment that’s extremely faded and worn. Ours looks so new and fresh. We feel like such newbies!
Entering Sisters, Oregon.
We got into Sisters and immediately sought out something to eat. We were starving and didn’t have time to cook, as we reckoned we were too near death. We found the first greasy spoon we came to. I thought the prices were a bit steep, but the food was great and we both had enough left over for dinner! So, the price wasn’t so bad after all. We both ordered shakes and they brought those to us first. I have to tell you, the taste of that shake was heavenly! I’m not so sure if they were that good, or if we were just that famished!
Sisters is a little town of 911 people, but it’s booming this week. There is a quilting convention going on, so there are quilters and quilts everywhere you look. We found a camping spot in the city overnight park. The price was pretty reasonable at $5.00. No pay phone, but we have bathrooms with hot water (I feel a shave coming on!), shade trees and thick, lush grass to pitch our tent on. Best place we’ve had, yet. Met some folks from Nebraska who are traveling with their daughter who teaches school in Apple Valley. She recognized my Redlands jersey! A small world continues getting smaller.
Our campground at Sisters. I took the opportunity to do a little maintenance.
I’m pretty pleased with the trailer. You just don’t know it’s back there most of the time. It pulled nicely on the climbs and tracked just as straight and true on the descent. The only thing that happened was the safety flag took leave of me. It splits in two by means of pressure fit. I guess it didn’t hold in place at 30+ mph speeds. Matt stopped to retrieve it and a little tape should hold it in place for a good, long time.
Many thanks to those that have written with words of support. We appreciate all of them! We were glad to hear that Bob and Virginia made it back OK.
Today’s stats: 45.51 miles, 9.5 mph avg.
Mark and Matt
Today was a pretty easy day. Easy, yes, but still productive. I’m finding that I take great pleasure in the simplest of things. I love getting up at 5:00 and getting the coffee going. The smell of the coffee percolating is wonderful, second only to the taste. I’m getting coffee down to a science. I’ve got it figured how to brew just the right amount for me and without missing a beat, getting breakfast on. It’s at this time I wake Matt up so he can start packing stuff. We eat, do dishes, pack the trailer and panniers and hit the road. We broke camp and got on the road about our usual time today and I have to add that Matt is getting better about pitching in and helping. In a few days, I think we’ll have the routine down pat.
Our scenery today changed to agricultural and flat, which was a nice break. We had some rollers and a few small climbs, but compared to yesterday, it was a cinch. We got a close up look at a deer today and saw some others off in the distance. At about twenty miles, we hit the town of Redmond. We stopped for a break, enjoyed an ice cream and checked our e-mail. We had a bit of a time getting out of Redmond, as we changed routes to take the scenic highway. Our map was right on the money, we just didn’t follow the directions correctly. After fumbling around for a while, we got underway for Prineville. The route was pretty, though more agricultural than we had seen.
The road was much flatter today, with fields and still quite a few pine trees.
Eastern Oregon has different scenery, but still quite beautiful.
There were many buttes and mesas and still a lot of pine trees. The smell of pine just permeates the air. Matt summed it up best the other morning when he crawled out of the tent and asked “Why does it smell like a Christmas tree?” We made it into Prineville with a mission. We needed to replenish some of our foodstuffs and we needed to do laundry. First things first, we spotted a Subway. We stuffed our faces and then asked for directions to a laundry mat and market. On our way to the shopping center, we encountered another father-son duo on a tour. They are bound for North Dakota, and will be following the same route as we are until Missoula. It would have been fun to ride with them, but they had taken yesterday off and were intending to make it to Mitchell today. That’s another forty miles down the road and we wanted an easier day and needed to get our chores done. With any luck, we’ll catch them in a couple days. We started our laundry and I left Matt to watch our stuff while I went shopping. I came back to find Matt talking to a couple that formerly lived in Redlands! They had left Redlands about ten years ago and had been living in Hawaii the last five years. They were so new to Oregon that their household goods had not even arrived yet. They were camping in their house and doing laundry at the laundry mat in the meantime. Matt and I finished our laundry and I went to the Mailbox, etc to ship some dead weight back home. It was nice to get the chores done, but by the time we were finished, the heat had kicked in. We only had about ten miles to our destination, but it was tough. We’re staying tonight in a campground on Lake Ochoco.
Our campground near lake Ochoco
Another shot of Lake Ochoco
Of course there is always a climb to a lake and our tongues were certainly hanging out by the time we arrived. We were shopping the campground for the hiker-biker sites and found they were all less than desireable. Our host, Skip, graciously let us have one of the primo spots, right next to his for the hiker biker price. Woo-Hoo! Best deal is… There are showers. Real, live showers with hot water. Matt went for a swim in the lake while I did some chores. Eventually, I joined him. The water was cold, but felt good once in it. We got out to get showers and dinner going. It’s so hot that by the time we walked back to camp, we were dry! For dinner, we wiped out a 2 1/2# can of stew and a loaf of french bread.
51.27 miles, 14.2 avg.
Mark and Matt
We broke camp early today, trying to escape the heat. It was a good idea, for awhile. We crossed two passes today, neither of which was as bad as McKenzie, but tough just the same.
As we left the campground in the morning, we came across a deer. I tried to get a picture, but the light wasn’t very good. You can see the deer in the distance in the other lane.
Another shot of Lake Ochoco in the early morning light
Ochoco Pass wasn’t too bad. Matt and I both were cold for a while. By the time we crested the 4720 ft. summit, though, it was warming up. On the way down the pass, we encountered a huge deer along the highway. It was a little indecisive about which way it was going to go, but scrambled into the trees rather than into my path. It would have been an ugly collision at 30+ mph! We descended about 2000 feet, then climbed another 599 into the quaint little town of Mitchell. We cooled our heels a bit and thought seriously about taking advantage of the free camping in the city park. Dayville beckoned us, however and we opted to brave the heat. Matt had some troubles climbing the 7 mile, 4357 ft. Keyes Creek Pass, but we eventually made it. We were looking forward to thirty some miles of downhill, but much to our chagrin, it was into a stiff, hot headwind. At one point I became worried about water. We had filled all our bottles in Mitchell, but the pass had depleted them and the scorching heat had warmed what was left. We spotted a ranch in the middle of nowhere and the elderly couple living there graciously filled our bottles with the coldest, sweetest water.
We found an oasis in the middle of nowhere. We filled our water bottles here and the owners graciously offered their shade tree to camp under. We were determined to make Dayville, however and pushed on.
It must have been the day for critters along the road, because as we descended this time, we saw two head of cattle on the road. They didn’t pay any attention to us as we passed. We finally rolled into Dayville and immediately ran into Garth, the father of the father/son duo we met in Prineville! He was glad to see us and at this time, just the four of us are taking advantage of the hostel hosted by the local Presbyterian church. It’s pretty neat, they host Trans-America cyclists with their facilities and only ask for free-will donations. Very nice.
There is a stained glass picture that a previous visitor sent to them! It depicts the church with a bicycle (complete with panniers) sitting out front. They also have a journal they like visitors to write a little something in. Many businesses we’ve visited keep a log-book of cyclists that have been through.
That’s about it for today. It was a hot and tiring day. We ended up with 80.29 miles and a 12 mph average.
Mark and Matt
After spending the night in the Hostel/church in Dayville, Matt, Garth, Ryan and I got up early to try and beat the heat. It was kind of nice not having to unpack, set up camp and then tear it all down again. The only down side was there was no air conditioning and it was a bit stuffy in the church. Sleep came hard and I think I sweat out all the water I took in. I woke up frequently, uncomfortable from the heat. I guess we’re getting used to this outdoor sleeping.
Shortly before leaving the Church/hostel in Dayville. Left to right, Ryan, Mark and Matt. Garth took the picture.
We hit the road about 5:30 and started hammering down the road. Ryan developed a flat about twenty miles into the ride, so we stopped in the town of Mt. Vernon to fix it. Ryan is a total novice and Garth is a recently “reborn” cyclist. He’s hoping this trip will rekindle his interest in cycling. The flat repair was somewhat of a comedy of errors. We finally got it done and headed out. The temperature was climbing the entire time we sat there, so the road was that much hotter. Garth and Ryan also requested we back the pace down a little, so we just cruised the rest of the way. We saw many deer, passing as close as three feet from one. We also saw a flock of Canadian geese take flight and pass right over us. There were no strafing casualties. In John Day, we stopped to hit the ATM and see a museum. We ran into more cycle tourists at the museum and had fun visiting with them. Leaving John Day, we pedaled on to Prairie City. Along the way, we encountered a west bound father/son duo on recumbents. We rolled into Prairie city and had lunch with Garth and Ryan before parting ways. They’re staying in a motel tonight and we’re camping.
Our luxury digs in Prairie City. We had running water and electricity. We slept on the picnic table and avoided getting all wet as it rained hard during the night.
Garth and Ryan don’t want to climb the three passes with us tomorrow, as they fear they won’t be able to keep up. They seemed plenty strong to me, but we have to respect their wishes. They think we’ll catch them on the road, if not, we’ll try to connect in Baker City. Matt and I are thinking of taking a day off in Baker City before crossing into Idaho. We’re getting a little tired, but a short day today and a good night’s sleep will no doubt make us feel better. Oregon has been having a heat wave and we’ve been seeing temperatures well over 100. It’s supposed to cool tomorrow, so we should make the ride pretty easily. If not, there are campgrounds on top of the passes. Tomorrow being Sunday, we shouldn’t have much trouble getting a spot.
Today’s stats: 46.08 miles, 12.7 avg.
Mark and Matt
Our campground last night ended up being better than we thought. When we first arrived, there was a group of people setting up for a picnic underneath a large covered picnic area. We spread our ground cloth underneath the shade of a tree and rested as the people ate and visited. As they were leaving, one gentleman told us rain was forecast and we should consider camping under the picnic shelter. We went to investigate and discovered this to be a great idea, as we had a sink with running water, lights, regular deluxe accomodations! It turned out to be good, as it did rain and it rained hard.
We got out of camp at 6:30 and started up the first of the day’s three passes.
Starting up the first climb. The writing on the pavement says “Oh shift!” It was appropriate.
We knew we wouldn’t find food along the way, so we packed along extra munchies. We crested the first summit in fine shape, did a small descent and caught up to the two cycle tourists we met at the museum yesterday. We visited with them while we replenished our water, checked e-mail and ate a snack. The other tourists were also using a pocketmail. This is the third person we’ve encountered using the same e-mail device. We parted ways as the road split and they were going another direction. We descended just a bit more before starting on the second pass. We started feeling pretty smug as the pass went quickly. Near the top, we met a pair of cycle tourists from the Netherlands. They were very nice and quite fit after nine weeks on the road. They told us that Garth and Ryan were about five miles ahead of us. We figured as much and weren’t overly concerned about catching them, though it would have been nice. We descended the second pass and thought we should start looking for water. We came across an old ghost town and decided to check it out.
The ghost town of Whitney, Oregon
We found that one of the properties was obviously occupied, so we stopped to ask for water. The young woman living there was very gracious and filled our bottles with really cold water. She told us about other cyclists that had stopped there for water and to overnight over the years. She told us the next pass was actually three passes. The nice thing was, they were spread out a bit. We made the final climb and descent, then stopped to snack again. We fought rolling hills and headwinds the rest of the way to Baker City. A storm brewed up as we approached and we sought shelter in a Shell gas station that just happened to have a pizza shop within. Yeah, that was just toooo bad. The rain stopped and we headed off to find the campground. Thunder and lightning around us made a convincing argument for making this our motel night. We found a dive motel and are high and dry for now. Tomorrow, we do laundry, bike maintenance, find that campground and prepare to ride on Tuesday.
74.98 miles, 11.2 mph avg.
Mark and Matt
We checked out of our motel pretty early this morning. Did I say it was a dive motel? Make that flea-bag. Literally. We woke up this morning just lit-up with bites on us. We cleaned up, did what we had to do and parted company post-haste. I spoke briefly with the manager about the problem, but it was fairly obvious she didn’t care much. We’ve been on the road for a week, braved mosquitos big enough to carry away your young and we get eaten alive in a motel room! After loading up, we proceeded downtown to check out the local bike shop. We didn’t need anything, just wasting time and window-shopping. Lo and behold, who do we run into? Garth and Ryan had over-nighted in Baker City also. We chatted for a while, lying about the previous day’s adventures and met another cycle tourist, John. John was following the same trail as us, but has decided to strike out on his own and parallel the Oregon Trail as much as possible. He would have liked for Matt and I to ride with him, but we have our heart set on Missoula, Yellowstone and the Tetons. We met again at the laundry mat and visited some more about the trip. We exchanged information so we can update each other on how the trip ends up. I’m pretty sure he’ll pass through Oshkosh where we’re going, so I told him how to contact my in-laws there and see if we’ve made it yet.
I’ve been thinking about the things I’ve learned and seen so far on this trip. Pacelining on fully loaded bikes is an adventure in itself. Animals alongside the road are much more frightening when you are on a bike, can’t wait to see a bear! Most cycle tourists seem to be retired, or are teachers. Maybe even retired teachers? We did run into one gentleman that only works in the winter to finance his summer cycling adventures. Hmm, I wonder if I can get a gig like that? Another lesson learned regards food. Whatever you budget for food on a trip like this… Double it! Matt and I are eating like hogs, yet our bellies are dwindling after just a week on the road. We’re learning the hard way to eat out of grocery stores day to day and avoid restaurants. Sometimes you are too tired to cook, but it’s worth it to cut corners where you can. You have to fuel the furnace, but to do so inexpensively means you have to cook. Water is another big concern. We’re carrying a lot with us, but still run out on these hot days. A water purification system would be on the top of my list if I were to do this again. Showers are another thing. Not all campgrounds have them. We brought along a solar shower for this trip. The thing weighs next to nothing empty, but works like a charm. Matt and I have been saved by it twice. Probably the single most important thing we’ve learned is that no matter what you read or hear, there are a lot of good people in this world. We’ve been fortunate to meet some of the nicest people. I think you miss that when traveling by car. You can’t exchange greetings with the guy mowing his front yard like you can when traveling by bicycle. In a motor vehicle, we insulate ourselves from what this great country is really like. We have to rely on what’s written in newspapers and magazines, where the bizarre and extreme is what sells. I just don’t believe it’s like that. Sure there are whackos out there. Generally speaking, though, I believe most people to be genuinely good.
Tomorrow, we ride again. We’re off into Hell’s Canyon, then into Idaho either Tuesday or Wednesday. I’m told by our host tonight that it’s a tough ride out of Baker City no matter which direction you travel. We’ll see.
Rest day, 7 miles
Mark and Matt
Our rest day was really nice. We got our laundry and other chores done and readied for today’s ride. We broke camp and got out of baker City by 7:00. The skies were cloudy and it looked as though it could rain on us. No matter, we wanted to get some miles behind us and rain would be a welcome respite from the heat of the past few days. It rained and even hailed on us a little last night, but we were safely under shelter. The terrain was nothing special early today. It was mostly agricultural, or scrub brush and desert looking. We descended pretty steadily most of the morning and the temps stayed cool. On one descent, it was almost chilly! We stopped at about 20 miles for breakfast number two, PB&J sandwiches along the roadside. We continued our descending and came across a cool thing, the Hole In The Wall. There was a landslide in the 1980’s that blocked the Powder River and highway 86 and formed a half-mile long lake. The landslide continues to move about 1/2 inch per day and is expected to continue doing so until 2014. The road was relocated up and over the landslide and then rejoined the old road bed.
Old road can be seen on the left
The landslide blocked the road and river
We stopped in the little town of Richland for a moment in the shade and another PB&J before the day’s climb. We headed out and immediately regretted every bit of descending we had done! This hill went on and on and on. We only climbed about 1200 ft., but it seemed really tough. From the top, though, it was a nice easy roll into Halfway.
Matt nears the end of the climb
Now, common sense usually dictates that you stay the night in Halfway where they have all services. Matt and I wanted more miles and I had another plan. From Halfway, it’s predominately downhill to Pine Creek, where there are groceries. No camping, though. Two miles down the road, there is Oxbow. Oxbow has camping, but no groceries. Seems like a piece of cake. You stop and pick up groceries at Pine Creek and move on to Oxbow to camp, right? That puts you right at the foot of the climb out of Hell’s Canyon, a brutish 2200 ft. climb. Well, best laid plans. Pine Creek ended up being an over-priced wide spot in the road. The campground here at Oxbow is nice and we’re literally a stone’s throw away from Idaho. Really, I could throw a rock across the river from where I sit now and it would land in Idaho. So, this will be our last night in Oregon. Tomorrow, we enter Idaho. I’m told to expect narrow roads, truck traffic, rugged terrain and heat. Great… And to think we lugged cold weather stuff along. I’m anxious to get past Idaho and on to Montana and Wyoming.
75.68 miles, 13.8 avg.
Mark and Matt
We had a nice time at our camp in Oxbow last night. Our neighbors took us in and made us feel really welcome, even feeding us dinner. I left them our cans of stew as I did not care to lug them out of Hell’s Canyon. We swam in the river to cool off and had a really nice visit. We even got to watch a forest fire successfully doused.
This forest fire off in the distance had everybody in the campground understandably nervous
Look closely and you will see the helicopter dipping water from the Snake River. Oregon is on the left bank, Idaho on the right
The neatest part about it was watching the helicopter with the water drop bucket swooping down the mountain to dip another load from the Snake River, not a football field length away from where we sat. I got some really good pictures.
Starting up the first climb. The writing on the pavement says “Oh shift!” It was appropriate.
