June 25, 2015
Detroit Lakes - Sisters, OR
Sisters Inn, 540 US 20 W, 541-549-7829 $130.79 king last year's rate. This year is $30. more. You get what you pay for. Huge room. Nice log style furnishings. Bedspread that your mom would take off before going to bed. Very comfy chair with ottoman. Can I fold this room up and take it with me? Wi-fi I hope is fast. TV is a large flat screen, for a hotel. Dismal continental breakfast included. Toast or instant oatmeal. Coffee and juice.
Oren and i agreed to touch base this morning before leaving, but to do our own thing today. Our room was hot last night. I made my first bathroom room at 2:30 AM and never felt like I really got back to sleep after that. I gave up and got up at 5 AM. I figured I'd get on the road since it was supposed to be hot. I wasn't efficient with my time. I was ready only ten minutes before 7. Oren and I said hello and took off.
It was a little chilly this morning, but I was happy to be chilly as I knew later today it would be hot. We were riding along the river with heavy forest. It was shaded the whole way. I stuck with Oren for about five miles. Then his legs must have warmed up and off he went.
Today it was 37 miles to the top of the climb and 4,100 feet of climbing. The profile looked to be a long gradual climb. It was a turn the pedals kind of day.
We were definitely not on forest roads any more. Traffic on highway 20 was bumper to bumper. Where in the world was everyone going? Lots of RV's towing toys. Lots of trucks pulling toys. Most vehicles were towing something. Not as many logging trucks and semis. Mostly people going places. It sure was a shock to the system after days and days of forest roads. The shoulder came and went. Mostly there was a decent shoulder. I have an excellent rear blinkey light, a Dinette 300R. It has several settings. I moved it up from slow blink to medium blink.
Most of the day was a tunnel of thick trees. When I hit the intersection of 22 and 20, that's about where the real climbing started. Traffic didn't seem any heavier to me. But now there were occasional grates in the pavement, almost constant guard rails.
I've really been missing my Spiz meal replacement. I've been trying to buy drinks with calories. V-8 and Gatorade mostly to carry on the bike. I've stocked up extra on bars. It hurts my pocket book to buy bars, but the old stand by of peanut butter and jelly is now out since I don't eat bread. The old favorite Fig Newtons are also out (wheat). I like peanut butter on apples. Tonight I am buying peanut butter. I did have an apple today. I had lots of sweet things. Way too many bars. The apple. Gatorade. Blech on sweet stuff. I did have the cheese and salami one day, but that day my stomach was unhappy. I'm not so interested in trying that again on the road. It works pretty good at home where food doesn't have a chance to get warm on the bike.
So - I was climbing just fine, it was a nice steady climb. But I could tell I needed to eat and wasn't interested in more sweet stuff. I was wishing for last night's dried up left over chicken. That's pretty sad. I got to the top. No sign. Damn. Ate the apple. Wished for peanut butter. Wished for a fast downhill to town.
Hey, the advantage to all of that traffic is the headwind really wasn't noticeable with the draft from all of the vehicles. There's a silver lining in everything.
The downhill was more undulating than I wanted. I remembered I had some salted cashews. Yes! That was enough to get me down the hill to town. I pulled in at the first sign of development - McDonalds. I called Jacinto. No answer. Oren answered. He was at Subway. I went over there and ordered a salad with meatballs on top. It took a manager's permission - but I got it. I was really hungry. It was good. In the meanwhile Jacinto showed up. He wasn't too impressed with my salad, but did finish it. He left town at 9:45 and got to Sisters just a few minutes after I did. I was about 45 minutes after Oren.
Remember Graham from yesterday? He pulled in right behind Oren at about mile 15 and they played leap frog most of the day. Graham continued on to Bend.
My legs have been doing great. It's been a wonderful tour. We are getting almost half done. Soon Jim and Genny Fitch will be joining us. Yay.
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Today's ride: 58 miles (93 km)
Total: 770 miles (1,239 km)
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