Santiam Pass on Way to Sisters

Day 11 - Rest Day in Sisters

Thursday, June 5, was my rest day - off the bike, that is. Did laundry, visited the library and downloaded a bunch of pictures to Kathy (finally!), and bought a new pair of biking shorts. The oldest pair, which had very little padding left in them, were thrown in the trash. It was an interesting day as I met 4 cyclists - 2 British guys (Andy and David) going from East to West, a German fellow (reminded me of a cartoon character), and Lucas Kirby, who I've been trying to find since I heard about him over a week ago. Lucas lives in the state of Washington and is biking in my direction, West to East. We shared tales of our separate journeys and adventures and plan to have dinner together plus he offered to let me stay in his room at the Best Western in Sisters. Saw wildlife today - llamas! It's back on the road tomorrow for me heading towards Redmond, Prineville, and Ochoco Summit.

Day 10 - 50 Miles to Sisters

Dawn beckoned with clear skies and a warm and sunny day. Not hardly. It was so cold last night, it rained, and rained, and rained. Did I mention that it rained? It was awful. It was in the 40's all day long. It was snowing earlier, and also sleet. Had oatmeal, coffee, and a pop tart for breakfast and broke camp in the rain. It rained a good part of the morning, no tail winds, and it was freezing. Today's 50 miles to Sisters via Santiam Pass were tough miles, wore me down. It was so lush before the pass which became barren lava fields once I made it through the pass. Trip mileage is 539 miles. Didn't see any wildlife. The mountain peaks are covered with snow, just beautiful. I booked a room at Sisters Motor Lodge, an historic, quaint motel. Ate a burger, salad, and had a free beer (using a coupon) at Bronco Billy's for dinner. My pad seems to be deflated but I can't find the leak. I also cut my finger on a bungee cord this morning. I am tired and worn out. I think that tomorrow may be a day of rest, doing laundry, shopping at the bike store, and visiting the library. Yeah, I know you want to see pictures. Just be patient!

Day 9 - 60 Miles to McKenzie Bridge

Tuesday, June 3, began in the rain. It had rained all night long at my campsite by the truck stop and continued into the afternoon 'til about 2:00. Temperature is in the 50's. It was so hard to see that I had to really concentrate watching the white center line the whole time. Trip mileage is 489 miles. Ate a hotdog, snickers, hot cocoa, and a cappuccino in a bottle for lunch. I arrived at Paradise Campground after biking 60 miles, 50 of it climbing gradually. There are 2 other campers here in Paradise. The McKenzie River is one, amazing, fast, swift river. There are canvas-back ducks in the river. Enormous trees at least 200 feet tall hover above. Dinner was ramen noodles and package of salmon. Oh, for some good home cooking! I'm snacking on a chocolate chip cookie and hot tea. It was great to be out of Eugene and away from its traffic. Today is the first day it felt like I was trekking across America and back to nature.

Day 8 - 55 Miles to Coburg

Today is Monday. Made it to my campsite in Coburg (pop. 969) near I.5 after biking 16 miles in Eugene ("big city") traffic not at all like Corvallis which was a very biker friendly city with numerous bikes on the road. Total miles biked are 429. Went to 8 a.m. Mass at St. Mary's and had a McGriddle egg and sausage breakfast before departing. Bought a big tube (should last the whole trip) of chamois butt'r, an ointment to prevent chafing, a biker's worst nightmare if uncontrolled. Had sunshine in the morning, clouds and a light sprinkle in the afternoon. It's a beautiful, fertile area with agriculture, wheat, and strawberries. Not much wildlife today, just some ducks and dead raccoons. Snacked on an "out of the world" mocha milkshake. Boy was it good! Dinner was boring, just a package of chicken and good ole ramen noodles and a chocolate chip cookie bought at the milkshake stand. Tomorrow I plan to take Rte. 126 on the way to McKenzie Bridge. Time to do my laundry so I can get to bed early!

Day 7 - 51 Miles to Corvallis

Sunday, June 1, I left the motel at 11:00 checkout for a light day's ride but didn't find a campsite until 51 miles later. Trip mileage so far is 374. Want to say that this area is an extremely bike friendly area with bike lanes and bikers. Temperature 48-50 in the morning and low 60's later on, lots of clouds and a little mist. Wasn't planning on buying lunch but I stopped at a flea market and for $5 had a Polish sausage with sauerkraut, onions, chips, and gatorade. Don't tell my doctor! I saw more wildlife - geese, alpaca (similar to llama with fine expensive wool, saw them twice today), stellar jay, ground squirrels, and 3 dead deer. Finally found a campsite at Benton County RV & Camping. A man, Mike, who was emptying his RV tank at the campground, invited me to dinner at his nearby house (after checking with his wife, Suzanne, first, of course.) Their kids are Spencer (4) and Hannah and Kate (2 yr. old twins). I enjoyed chicken enchiladas and guacamole sauce and didn't need to eat Ramen noodles again although they wouldn't have been cold as the stove is fixed. Talked with my son Chris who finished 76th overall in the Ironman 70.3 Boise (Idaho) with a time of 4:46:49 - 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, and 13.1 mile run. Great race, Chris! I plan to head towards Eugene tomorrow.

Day 6 - 45 Miles to Salem

323 total miles since starting! Made it to the big city of Salem on Saturday. Bought the part to fix my stove, a new cell phone (yeah!), a bright strobe light so I can be seen on the road and in scary tunnels, and groceries. Got a motel room in the afternoon, did laundry (it reeked!), and showered. It felt so good to be clean. Walked to Mass at St. Joseph which had 3 nationalities of priests - one from Viet Nam, Mexican, and African American. Also enjoyed a salmon dinner in a restaurant. Forgot to mention the other nite there was no place to eat at the Indian reservation and no way to heat up my water so I had Ramen noodles in cold water and a package of tuna. Hey, you do what you have to do to eat! I've taken loads of beautiful pictures but incompatible or slow computers, limited internet time, and my limited expertise (where's Chris to help his Dad?!) have not helped. Don't worry, I'll get some downloaded one of these days. My plan is to check out of the motel on Sunday morning and bike a short distance to a campground.