Sunday, August 16, 2009
62: My Bicycling Fantasy
| Stoker's Log |
| Day Sixty-Two |
 |
| 8/16/09 |
| From Redmund, OR |
| To Eugene, OR |
| 122.4 miles |
| 12.1 avg mph |
The morning was cold, Kyle wasn't feeling well, and we were gearing up for a 120 mile day, but nothing could ruin our good moods: we were beginning our second-to-last day of the trip, and the Three Sisters mountains made for breathtaking scenery.
Plus my parents had made it to Oregon. We met up with them in the town of Sisters, which was pretty but very touristy and crowded. We stopped in at a bakery for muffins, cheesebread, danishes, and all manner of delicious goods.
While we were gaining weight, our bike was losing it: we put the trailer in my parents' car and made plans to meet up with them later in the ride. Now I know how all of those cyclists who go on supported tours feel: fast and awesome. We flew through the forests... And then we hit the mountain passes, whose steepness and switchbacks make the roads impassable by larger vehicles.
But you know what? It was a fairly pleasant climb. A fun climb, even. Yes, it was strenous at times, and yes, I would have appreciated a wider shoulder. But it was shaded and scenic and I felt like we were riding really well. (And not just because we didn't have the trailer... though that helped.) Even when my feet felt like they were on fire, I managed to enjoy the climb. And then we stumbled upon a gigantic point of interest that we never expected: an expansive lava field.
Our goal was to beat my parents to the summit (granted, they had taken a few touristy detours, but they still had a car) and we were victorious!
And at the summit was another surprise: the Dee Wright Observatory castle. It was built from the lava rock and includes viewing windows framing different Cascade peaks.
And soon my parents were there as well, bearing Subway subs and Powerade (they know us so well).
We wandered around for a bit and then made our way to what promised to be an exhilirating downhill. Unfortunately one of our brakes was sticking, again. Kyle was not about to be robbed of the best downhill we've seen all trip, so we pulled over and he wrenched it open and we went on our merry but slightly dangerous way.
It was an insane and intense descent; Kyle was having the time of his life navigating the switchbacks. We didn't have to worry about cars because we were going just as fast as they were. It would have been terrifying if I had needed to stear or if I wasn't already used to Kyle's daring descents, but I just pretended that I was on a controlled roller coaster and enjoyed every minute of it.
Our parents were waiting for us at the bottom, chatting with a pair of motorcyclists. They were all overly relieved to see us arrive safely; apparently an ambulance had charged up the hill a few minutes before, sirens blazing, and after seeing the switchbacks they were terrified that it was coming for us. We reassured them, said goodbye for now, and rode on.
We rode along, pretending to be pirates (you know, the usual) and felt great when we passed two other cyclists. We pulled into a general store to get icecream and spent a few minutes talking to a cyclist who appeared to be eating tuna from a can. We also tried to call Aaron and Laura, fellow Hase Pino riders that we met online who are gradually riding to the geographic center of every state. They seem really cool and they happen to live in Eugene, so we're really hoping to meet up with them today or tomorrow.
You might remember my hit song "The Magic of Kansas," which chronicled all of the ways in which Kansas was horrible to an almost miraculous extent (except for the people, who were legitimately magical). Today I wrote a new state song: "Oregon: You're My Bicycle Fantasy"
Or-e-gon, You're My Bicycle fantasy
Or-e-gon, you're my bicycle dream
Slight downhill, regular bathrooms, and scenery
Shoulder space, dolphin riding, and shade from trees
And so on... It's true though. The road was amazing, the perfect cycling route with shade, a wide shoulder, and a slight slope (in our favor for once). It was also along the water, which meant a nice view, cute riverfront homes, and regular bathrooms at all of the boat ramps. At the one where we stopped there were two adorable girls picking blackberries and poking a dead salmon with a stick (until their mother realized what they'd discovered). And the dolphin riding? For some reason I decided that this attractions sign heralded not only fishing and picnicking, but shark riding and dolphin riding. (I guess you had to be there.)
Once again we were racing against the setting sun, but for once it felt exhilirating to be zooming along as fast and free as possible. My parents caught up to us at sunset, but they kindly offered to keep the trailer and drive into town to find us a hotel since we hadn't heard back from Aaron and Laura yet. We still hated riding in the dark for miles and miles, but it wasn't overly cold and knowing that a hotel room would be waiting for us was a major relief. We rode and rode and raced a townie on a bicycle and rode and rode and crossed a few bridges and rode and rode and finally got to the hotel, where our parents gave us the trailer and the enthusiastic Motel 6 people gave us cookies and a room key.
It was then that Aaron called us back; it was too late to stay with them, but we made a coffee date for tomorrow morning, which should be a great way to start our LAST DAY. (Yes, we're very excited.) Our last task of the day was to rustle up some dinner, so we headed to the empty pizza place across the street and enjoyed a gigantic table all to ourselves while we waited for our food to arrive.
Here's to being almost finished!!!
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| posted at: 06:21 |
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