Blogs from Oregon, United States, North America - page 9

Oregon Report 2. Christopher had told us not to leave our bikes unattended in Portland without a D lock as they would be stolen so advised that we take the bus if we cannot watch over them. Since it was an independent day with no planned ride or activity we finished building and checking our bikes. Andrew, Bill and myself decided to ride out to Mt Tabor Park and keep our bikes in view. We took one of the many Bike Friendly routes through the suburbs, which are very leafy and contain many very expensive and extremely attractive old houses. The Mount houses some reservoirs half way up and is quite high above the city, giving some good views around but could be better if the felled a few trees from the higher ground. We stopped ... read more

It’s done. I finished the last leg of my three month tour today in Florence Oregon. It was quite an adventure. Tonite I am celebrating with family and friends. I’ll put up my after action report soon. Tonight, party on!... read more

As Bruce clarified a couple of days ago, one goes through several stages of mood swings while on a long distance ride like this. The first month, ( Virginia, and Kentucky), I was excited by the adventure. There were some extremely hard days, but I was determined to complete this challenge, so I met the steep climbs and hot and wet days with determination and confidence. Stage two was when I settled into the routine and peddled on despite the challenges. ( Illinois and Missouri). The Ozarks were definitely tough, but Bruce was there to enjoy those challenges with me and we had some great times. Stage three was the most difficult by far. (Kansas). I was past any excitement and to far along to quit. However, I really suffered through the headwinds and sameness of ... read more

Today was a really great bicycle day for both of us. We rose early knowing we had 67 miles to ride for the day. At 0630 we started out with a downhill for about four miles and then began a serious climb for another twelve miles until we topped Ochoco pass (4592’). It was a pretty consistent 5-6% all the way to the top. As we were snacking and enjoying the summit, young Issac from Boston joined us at the top. We took some pictures together and then set off to finish the ride. Once over the summit, it was a glorious downhill day to Prineville where we stopped for a quick lunch. I loved the Ponderosa Forests along the way. From that point, we left the Trans America Bike Route to make our way to ... read more

Today was a day we have both been been looking forward to for many days. It was going to be a recovery day after the last two hard days. It was a downhill day from the start following the John Day River downstream from Prairie City to Dayville. It was a beautiful ride through the John Day valley. We passed huge ranches filled with lush grazing grasslands. Although we were told we would most likely see some wildlife, we saw none. The traffic was very light so that was a big plus! I did pull a complete bonehead mistake today! It is silly in retrospect, but sure had me going for a bit. Right from the start today, I just didn’t have it. It was supposed to be downhill but every pedalstroke was an effort. Sometimes ... read more