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Published: September 17th 2018
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Oregon 2018. Madras
What a day? One of the best. It was a cool start at not much above zero at 8am so leg warmers and full gloves. Not long after leaving town we saw a lovely group of deer by the side of the road, looking like they were heading for the farm sale down the lane. The route delighted us all day with its continually changing scenery and wildlife delights. It started off with a lightly wooded area with good houses in the clearings. Looking back we had a great view of the three sisters with a little cloud around the Peaks and streaks of cloud leading towards it. Then we experienced arable farms with most fields having irrigation devices keeping the crops green. Again we had several novelty post boxes of tractors and axes etc. Also we, or should I say I, saw several old tractors and lorries by the roadside. One lorry amused me by saying on the door, ’Caution,ear protection required’. We need those when many pass us, never mind in the cab. Just around the corner we saw some cannabis growing with a sign by the Field saying ’Rattlesnake in Field’. Oh yeah! A
bit of a climb and we saw a small canyon in the middle of nowhere which was quite dramatic, followed by a massive field full of Alpacas. We had a coffee in the town of Terrebonne and some (me) bought a ham salad sandwich at the local cafe. Straight after this we went to Smiths Rock which is a caldera on the Crooked River. The view was most dramatic and well worth the visit. Leaving here I got a front wheel puncture with a piece of glass in the tyre, which was soon fixed. Working out way round to Culver next by taking Highway 97 and then the old road into town. Whilst there around 10 of us went to Beetle Bailey’s cafe. Big mistake, good food but so inefficient it made me want to weep. Serving out of order and taking forever to make the orders is indefensible in my book and deserves some stiff training. Only three wanted hot food and the rest were having pie and ice cream which took an hour to deliver with two women working. If working is what you could call it. Dead lice could crawling off them they were that slow. Complaint
over - for now. Following this we went through the town past a timber yard and warehouses and factories into a very strong wind across the plain, before coming across the Cove, or should I say a mini Grand Canyon. This was absolutely amazing, a deep gorge with a lake at the bottom stretching for miles. It was a shame that the light had gone dull and the photos are not as sharp as they could have been. Just before we left a Harley pulled up with a lady on the pillion with two little dogs peeping out of her rucksack, which seemed to be enjoying the ride. A few lumpy, windy miles later we descended into Madras (pronounced Madraa) finding the Inn at Cross Keys’ on the edge of town. A good evening meal at the Wild Wind Station, where we got 10% off by being the Inn guests, enjoyed by 11 of us as two were late in. Back to the hotel where the internet is negligible so no blog or FaceTime available. 69 miles ridden today with 660 metres of ascent.
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