Hello From Dayville, Oregon!
At the end of day 3 our skin is a bit redder, our legs a bit tougher, and our butts a bit sorer. We had a great last few days in Eugene and want to give a big "THANK YOU!" to all the folks who cared for us and supported us while in Eugene and while preparing for this trip. It was sad to say goodbye, but we know we will see you again. After a great send-off from Grace and Bob and Kathy drove away with all our stuff to store for the summer, the reality of the trip hit. We sat in a bare house with just the bike and five bags of bare necessities pondering the immensity of what we had committed to. So instead of hanging around for another day, we headed out on Tuesday.
Great ride on Tuesday up the McKenzie. It got hot towards the end and we hit a steep climb, but made it in at around 3:00 for a laid back afternoon. We started the next day with a steady climb up Santiam Pass to about 4,817 feet. A nice cruise down and some flat scenic miles led us to Prineville, Oregon...a nice little town at the base of the Ochoco Mtns. I deposited a couple of checks at the bank in Prineville with my helmet on and the astonished teller heard all about our tour plans and the need for clean water in the third world. Our appreciation for this precious resource is growing as we have come down the backside of the Cascades and it is very dry.
We met our first fellow cyclist at the campground outside Prineville. Stefan from Germany had just ridden a 104 mile day so we just chatted briefly while he scarfed up a huge bowl of pasta and chili.
Day 3, today, started with a steady grade up Ochoco Pass for the first 23 miles. We passed through a few nice mountain meadows and followed a bubbling brook for most of the way...great riding! We met Phillip from Kent County, England during a roadside chat. After a break in Mitchell, Oregon and my first official "fruit pie" purchase, we headed up a STEEP climb to Keyes Creek Pass. The challenge of the climb was not lessened by the 90-degree heat and bright sun (lather up with SPF 45!) , but we made it. We truly felt like a team. Doing everything from talking about random things to singing to encouraging each other with random yells and grunts helped. And it was definitely worth it because we enjoyed a nice downhill ride for the last 32 miles.
We got tipped off to a little church in Dayville that leaves their building open to cyclists. It is a huge blessing! We have unloaded and are doing some laundry now. We got showers in and are going to relax for a bit before meeting up with a friend of Jenny's from work. A cold beer sounds really good right now! It is amazing to see how this church is reaching out to travelers and showing them true hospitality. We met a brother-sister duo in Mitchell and they just arrived so we will have some company for the night. It is a cool bond that forms when you run into a fellow adventure cyclist and it's very interesting to hear everyone's different story.
As for mileage, we started our odometer two days before we left so we carried over some miles from training rides. We rode 70 miles on day 1, 83 on day 2, and 77 today. We have a total of 325.9 miles on our odometer...only 4,674.1 to go!
We send our love to you all. We'll try to post some pictures next time, we've already seen some amazing places!
Love,
Scott and Jenny
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