August 8, 2018
8/8/18 Crooked River Ranch to Sisters: Friendly and Familiar Faces!
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As the forecast was for temperatures in the low triple digits, we abandoned our AstroTurf pad at Crooked River Ranch at 6am. Even though it was cool when we left and we only had 27 miles to ride, it felt like a slog. I am not amongst those who thrive in the desert, and I felt achy, tired and maybe a little irritable. Every time we stopped to take a break, I had that "we'll never get there" feeling. Good thing the ride was beautiful and nearly free of traffic until we hit highway 126, which has an OK shoulder but is not-at-all-fun to ride on.
We did make it to Sisters .. just in time to erase our traffic-induced bad moods with the usual 2nd breakfast! I have eaten more bacon and eggs on this bike ride than I have in any 5-year period. Hopefully the increased
activity level is enough to maintain healthy cholesterol ratios. You know ... higher HDL to go with the higher LDL.
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After breakfast we headed over to Sisters Creekside Campground and found a friendly, familiar face .. Gay, who we had not seen since July 21! When we arrived in Council, ID I had a bad cold and he had a bad tooth. Ron and I limped along for a couple weeks while I was at my phlegmy-est, and Gay sped ahead to Baker City to get his tooth extracted. And then, in true Endurance Athlete fashion, he kept chomping up the miles all the way to Springfield, OR. Since he'd ridden the TransAm route to the coast before, he decided to have his Forest Gump moment right there. He said, "I'm pretty tired. I think I'll rent a car now."
As Gay was not meeting up with his girlfriend for a few days, the plan to rent a car in Eugene was a good one. Over the past few days, he's driven out to the coast and down to Crater Lake. And with 2 days to spare before the car was due, he decided to come back to Sisters to hang out with us! We celebrated with a pizza dinner at Hop & Brew. It was great to catch up with our friend and we were so happy to see him again before the end of the tour.
Back at Creekside Campground, we met a few other biker-hikers. Adriana from Slovakia and her partner Luke from Australia were in town from the Pacific Crest Trail. Because Adriana's sleeping bag glows in the dark, she acquired the trail name, Glow Worm. Luke was happy to stop carrying extra water when they left the desert section, and put potato chips in a couple of former water storage pouches. His trail name is Pringle.
There were also a few bikepackers camped next to us (like us, but with mountain bikes and a more streamlined packing system). Three of the guys were on a 7-day loop that is predominantly gnarly single track riding. Despite the remote riding and need to carry a lot of extra water, one of the guys still packed a ukele. He played for bit before everyone went to bed ... a great way to end the day!
| Heart | 4 | Comment | 2 | Link |
5 years ago
5 years ago
Today's ride: 29 miles (47 km)
Total: 2,102 miles (3,383 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 8 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 1 |
5 years ago