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Bike from Oregon to Virginia, June/July 1999 Day 0: Eugene, Oregon Last night at 8:30 pm I met Kevin, Ned and Jim at the Berkeley, California Marina and we boarded a Green Tortoise bus. It was 2 years ago, when I graduated from Berkeley that I rode with Kevin and Ned plus a few other guys (Keith and Jeremy) from Berkeley to Santa Ana down the Pacific Coast Highway, covering 600 miles in 7 days. Now, 2 years later we are trying to go across the entire country in one summer. As I see it we have only one problem, food. On our previous trip we had a "sag wagon" in the form of Ned’s girlfriend; this time we are on our own and I must admit, totally unprepared. We don't know what to buy, how much to buy, how to cook, etc. Kevin is of the idea that we ought to buy weeks worth of food before hand and then keep it stocked up. I would prefer to buy as we go. I seem to be the odd man out on this one as everyone else has brought with them a whole box of Powerbars (a box has 24 bars). They like the idea of saving a little money by buying in bulk, I would rather buy bars as I go and save weight. The Green Tortoise is a company that has retrofitted a fleet of buses so that you hang out during the day and get to actually sleep horizontally at night after converting the tables to beds. And sleep I did, rather well in fact. The best part of the tortoise trip though, was stopping in a remote Oregon location for breakfast. The land is owned by the founder of the Green Tortoise and he has built a sauna next to a river. We made breakfast consisting of blueberry pancakes and fruit salad (in another converted bus, of course) then I went into the river, followed by the sauna, and then the river again. It was quite nice but I am too worried about the food situation to be excited about the first day of riding tomorrow.
Once in Eugene we met up with another participant in the California coast ride, Keith. Although not joining us for this trip, we spent our final night before the start of the ride in his apartment. We also took advantage of the big lawn in front of his abode to spread out all of our gear and see what we all had. All in all I think we sent about 10 pounds of gear home. Some of the more interesting items found on the lawn that day included a box of AA batteries (40 total) courtesy of Jim while Kevin brought martial arts numb chucks and an electric hair clipper. Most of the batteries went away although Kevin kept his clippers and martial arts weapon.
Day
1: Eugene, Oregon to McKenzie Bridge Campground, Oregon Today
we rode 70 miles along the McKenzie River, which we are now camped at.
Even in June, Oregon has a lot of rain.
We spent most of the day chasing blue skies. We could always see the blue sky, but quite often we got
dumped on. It's a vicious
cycle, get teased with beautiful weather (so you change clothes
accordingly) only to get caught in a cloudburst.
Then you are all wet so there isn't much point in putting rain
gear on. But you do anyway and then the sun comes out. Regarding food, the situation is a bit better but we are still very low on the learning curve. We spend way too much time doing nothing. We really must get more efficient. This part of Oregon is pretty but very … soggy, for lack of a better word; too much so for my taste. The mileage was quite painless for me today. I feel sorry for Kevin since the weight of my bike and gear is less than the weight of the gear in his bag only!, not counting his bike or trailer. But then again, he is super strong and won’t complain. Tomorrow we have a steep 20-mile climb right away so I will try to go to sleep (8:30 pm). Day 2: McKenzie Bridge, Oregon to Sisters, Oregon
Greetings from some unknown highway at Summit Santiam Pass (elevation 4817 ft). We awoke at 7:00 am and left camp around 9:00 am. Must work on efficiency. Currently it is 1:50 pm and I am lying on my foam-sleeping pad in the snow (actually it is snowing lightly around me). I think I just rode up one side of the Cascades but I am not sure! At any rate, a 5-hour ride is something to be proud of. I have no idea when the other fellows will show up.
Regarding my clothes, I am extremely pleased. Not only am I using all of them but after the 5-hour climb I was able to change into warm dry clothes. By the way, tell my brother that the items I got from him work great, especially the pants. For the first time since this trip began I was content. It happened before the serious climbing started as I was admiring the trees. Suddenly I was aware that I wasn't worried about what I brought, the food situation, etc. I was just happy with the knowledge that I was on an incredible journey and regardless of what happens I can go home to people whom I love and who love me. Just a quick note while waiting on the summit for the guys regarding how cold it is. Have you ever broken a spoon by repeatedly bending it back and forth until it yields? That is how I have to eat my Powerbars. As you might imagine, my jaw is quite sore. It is now 9:00 pm and we are in Sisters, Oregon. Enough cannot be said about how nice it is to cycle in the sun. The east side of the Cascades is much drier than the west, and very beautiful. Blue skies, pine forests, and rolling green fields as far as the eye can see. This is the first place that we've been that I would consider living in. Day 3: Sisters, Oregon to Mitchell, Oregon Ochoco
Pass (4,720 feet) at 4:30 pm We left Sisters this morning and set off for… actually, I don't know. Ned has the only maps and I haven’t seen them yet; I don’t even know where we are going to end up at on the east coast! What amazes me most about today’s ride is how different the terrain is compared to the previous days. We have gone from mossy and soggy forests to high desert country. If you were blindfolded and set down in this region you would swear that you where in New Mexico or Arizona. Plateaus are everywhere, along with cows. I saw a newborn cow (calf?) and started getting in position for the perfect picture but the mama cow became perturbed and blew my opportunity. The
others have arrived so I've got to go and get down the pass.
Greetings from Mitchell, Oregon. This little town of about 200 has character. Well maybe I won't go that far but it is small and… falling apart, which makes it neat. We rode over 90 miles to get here, the last 16 or so where downhill, which is always a nice way to end the day. Today is the epitome of how I believe the bike trip and route should be. Ride through wonderful scenery and end the day in a little town where you can walk down the middle of Main Street, camp in the park and not see any fast food or chain stores. Next go into the general store and buy your dinner, along with breakfast and lunch for the following day. I cleaned myself for the first time since we left Keith's apartment on day 0. All I had was a small washcloth and a sink that only saw fit to exude cold water. First I stripped and with the washcloth wet, wiped myself down. Next I squeezed some liquid soap into the washcloth and lathered myself up, and finally I rinsed myself off, once again with the washcloth. I have only two sets of clothes, one for riding during the day and the other for changing into after cleaning up after the days ride. It feels so good to take of the tight, synthetic cycling shorts at the end of the day and put on loose, cotton boxer shorts. Ah, the simple pleasures of life. Day 4: Mitchell, Oregon to John Day, Oregon
I left camp at a quarter past 8:00 am, which was good news because I awoke a bit before 7:00 am. Ahead of me was a 6-mile climb, a nice way to start the day. For the first time it was warm enough to wear only my cycling jersey although I still have my tights on. Riding up to the summit I heard shots. I thought for a second it could be backfires but there were not any cars around. I crossed to the west bound lane an peered over the edge to find a good old boy in his pickup truck with 2 dogs in the back having a grand old time. A quick "howdy" on my part and we were introduced. As I trudged up the hill he got back in his truck and sheepishly drove off.
Zipping down the pass I suddenly felt at bump… bump… bump, then a really loud BANG! In an instant I knew I had blown my rear tube. Upon pulling over I realized it wasn't just a flat tube but rather a 1-inch gash running parallel right down the center of my tire. Now I can fix flat tubes but tires are a whole different story. To make matters worse the last decent bike shop was in Sisters, well over 100 miles away. According to the maps the next bike shop ahead of us was also over 100 miles away in Baker City.
Duct tape comes in handy. I taped up the inside of the tire, put in a new tube, blew it up and was ready to go my merry way but decided to be extra sure by duct taping the outside of the tire as well (the riding surface). This got me to Dayville although I had to disconnect my rear brake. The grocery store there had recently changed hands and was now being run, for the last 3 weeks, by Steve who biked through the area while making a cross-country trek many moons ago. Turns out he was in the process of setting up a small bike shop in the back corner of the store. He had everything, except a tire. In desperation I asked if anyone in town had a road bike and would be willing to sell me the tires off of their bike. To make a long story short Steve sold me a tire off of his own bike and I was on my way. It doesn't really fit because it rubs the front derailleur clamp and I will have to get a new one but at least I am still riding.
After the tire fiasco Kevin and I had a good chat. Turns out that myself, Kevin and Ned all wish that everyone would work more for the group. Mainly meaning that Jim should do something. As it is he doesn't cook, shop, set up tents, etc. We both felt a little better after venting. Reminder to myself, yell at all the bike shop people who saw my bike and didn't say anything about going cross-country on my tires! Finally, tonight we are sleeping in a tee-pee! It cost $28 a night for all of us whereas a normal spot would have been $16. I'm a bit surprised I had to talk the other guys into it. Oh yes, while washing clothes in the restroom sink I met a man who told me he was the original equipment manager for the Grateful Dead. He was washing his hands because he just changed the tire on his 1947 Cadillac; a car Jerry Garcia gave him on his 50th birthday.
Day 5: John Day, Oregon to Prairie City, Oregon Short day, rode less than 30 miles. All of us have screwed up knees. Highlights of Prairie City include: a logger burger that had 3 patties, cowboy guy in the burger place, and the man with the "old fart" hat who wouldn't leave us alone after dinner. We camped next to a little museum and I took some fun pictures. I am very worried about my knees. Will see how they work tomorrow. Not happy.
Day 6: Prairie City, Oregon to Baker City, Oregon Three big hills to start the day, knees bad at first then OK later. Struggled with tires. We got up early, which worked out well. We should be in Idaho tomorrow. |
