Day 7- Rainbow to Sisters

The organizers of Cycle Oregon promoted the last day
of the ride as "going out with grand finale" . They
were not kidding. This day was one of the most
enjoyable days of the ride for us.

We started our day noting that it had rained over
night and that it could rain again during the ride.
One seasoned rider made a loud announcement that there
could be sleat falling once we reached the pass.
This was enough to convince us to dress warmly. The
first thirty miles would be uphill, but the last
fifteen downhill and if the weather was not right, it
could be chilly.

Our ride started following the McKenzie River and
continued on Highway 242 to Sisters. It was nice
that there was a posted sign encouraging "through
traffic" to use a different route. The road was
narrow and full of sharp turns near the top which were
hard enough to handle on bike without the added
confusion of car traffic.

After our second water stop, we found ourselves in a
very unique stretch of the trip. Near the top were
lava fields. In the background, were the famous
Three Sisters, Mt. Washington, Mt. Bachelor, and
others that belonged in the Cascade Range. Our
final water stop was at Dee Wright Observatory. If
you have never been to this observatory, put it on the
top ten places to go in your lifetime! The rock
structure beautifully frames the mountains though
glassless windows and then identifies these mountains
through plaques placed under the windows. Literally,
we could have spent a day just sitting and enjoying
the view. Since it was almost a clear day with blue
skies, the views were postcard perfect!

The last fifteen miles were fun. Steep at times but
fun. They were all downhill miles that took us back
to Sisters. The people and businesses of Sisters
treated us like royalty. The Sisters athletic club
put together goody bags for each rider full of
certificates to entice us back. The Quilt shop had
beautiful quilts on display and there was band
entertainment while we ate our last meal of Cycle
Oregon.

We are glad we went and feel this was a well organized
event. It is hard to fathom all the details that
had to come together to make this such a great, top
notch cycling event. On driving back from Sisters
we talked about the possibility of doing another Cycle
Oregon. We believe we will do one again, but are
not sure if it will be next year. We may check into
doing the Cycle Oregon weekend ride.

Statistics: This ride was 45.5 miles long and 4,188
ft. gain in elevation. We rated this a one Mary's
Peak ride.

Overall we felt the whole trip was the equivalent of
12-13 Mary's Peak rides. Most days our average
speed was 12 m.p.h and we offten cycled 5-6 hours
during the day to reach the next campsite. We ate
more food and did not gain weight than I care to tell
people and drank at least two-four bottles of water
per day. Every morning we awoke between 5:30 and
6:15 am. On average we left camp around 8am.
Usually, we were to the next site by 5pm. Most
evenings we were in bed between 8 and 9pm. Total
miles: 481 and an elevation gain of 28, 463 feet.

List of names of the different tandem brands that we
saw:
DaVinci
KHS
Burley
Santana
Co-Motion
Ibis
Seven
Rans
Jim Teester
Davidson
Yokota
Bike Friday
Canondale
Trek
Calfee
Meridian

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Day 6- Oakridge to Rainbow

Until this trip we had no clue that there was a place
in Oregon named Rainbow. But this is where our ride
for the day would end and we would pitch our tent for
the last night of Cycle Oregon.

This ride could have been renamed the ride between two
rivers. Most of the path followed the Middle Fork of
the Willamette River or the South Fork of the McKenzie
River. The water and the beautiful forests that
surround the banks made for another perfect ride.
Everything was so green and from the road the
diversity of plant life could be seen from our tandem.
We noted that the sword fern and maidenhair ferns
co-existed nicely with the other vegetation. We
could only imagine how this stretch of the course
would look in Spring when the trillium and dog-tooth
violet were in bloom. Maybe we will have opportunity
to return some day and see in person.

The road itself was a nice gradual incline until the
lunch stop. Preceding lunch about five miles, we
climbed 8.4% grade until we reached the top peak
(3,131 feet) . After lunch, as we followed the
McKenzie River it was all downhill. Out of
necessity, we had to stop and cool our brakes. We
found that warm breaks make great hand warmers. The
coasting after lunch left us a little chilled. Later
on we discovered that some riders actually tucked
cardboard boxes in the jerseys to block the wind on
the decline. This trick we would have to remember
for later rides.

This part of Oregon was so incredibly beautiful that
it is hard to describe in words. Pedaling in the
midst of such beauty made it easier for us. At one
of the rest stops earlier in the day, I over heard
another biker say that this latter part of the trip
was about survival. On reflection, I noted that the
energy level and eagerness had mellowed over the week
and that we were relaxing and enjoying the beauty of
our surrounding more than focusing on "getting there".
However, we did note that as much fun as we were
having, we were ready for a break.

When we reached Rainbow, we walked under a rainbow of
balloons that were anchored with gold painted rocks.
We found our bags and pitched our tent near a
semi-truck on the edge of the camp. This would
guarantee we were close to the bag drop in the
morning. (the truck we camped by for the night)

Our dinner conversation this night was the best. A
seasoned C.O. couple sat across the table from us and
shared their wisdom with us. They were just like us
the first year--not knowing what to expect, under
equipped, focusing on speed instead of enjoyment.
They shared how their thinking had changed---staying
warm is key, going a good pace, taking time to really
enjoy the scenery. What drove the man's point home
was one phrase: "So if a biker pushes to go a couple
of miles faster on a course, over the day he might get
into camp thirty minutes earlier, but his body really
pays for the speed." We could relate because our
pain set in after racing others and pushing hard the
day we spent in Cottage Grove. The next two mornings
were slow moving. Our dinner friends advised us to
dress warmly and go a good pace so that we could enjoy
the scenery of the ride. The other golden piece of
wisdom was to sign up for the porter tent service.
That way, the tent is set up and the bags are
delivered to the tent. We wouldn't have to spend so
much energy after the ride doing these things.
After dinner, the entertainment was a female vocal
group who sang folk songs, many of which sounded Irish
in origin. We listened from the warmth of our tent
until we fell asleep.

Statistics for the day: 65 miles and 3,300 ft. gain
in elevation

Weather: Cloudy with the threat of rain.

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Day 5- Dorena Lake to Oakridge

After the ride from Dorena Lake to Oakridge, Randy and
I developed a rating system. The base for the
system was a "Mary's Peak". We rated this ride a
2-Mary's Peak day!

The morning started mild but wet. This was the first
morning with a significant amount of moisture to
actually note that it had rained during the night.
In fact, there was almost a mist in the air as we
packed up the tent.

Dorena Lake has some wonderful paved paths and we were
blessed to ride the smooth pavement for about twelve
miles. After that we were following a road by Brice
Creek. Although we did not stare at the the water,
the soothing sound of the water flowing was
rejuvenating. We needed the miles of a refreshing
uphill ride as soon enough we started a climb of over
eight percent for over ten miles.

There were two peaks. The first was 4,782 feet in
elevation and the second was 4,834 feet. Between the
two, we had a nice little downhill stint before we
started climbing again. The last downhill was not as
steep as the previous day, but there were sections of
9% grade where our brakes had a workout.

We basically coasted in to Oakridge and set up our
tent in the track of the high school. The weather
was threatening us with showers and clouds. Both
Randy and I were tuckered out. We contributed our
exhaustion from not pacing the day before and racing
other riders. The result in soreness and lack of
energy were evident on this ride. The main stage was
set up several blocks from the high school. We never
made it to hear the performers. The night was spent
resting after dinner. I don't think we were alone in
this activity.

At dinner, we had one of our most interesting
conversations to this point on the trip. A seasoned
Cycle Oregon rider sat across the table from us. He
came from Dallas, Texas and this was somewhere around
his thirteenth ride. He had a friend on the board
of Cycle Oregon who told him 48 of the 50 states had
riders and several countries had riders in Cycle
Oregon. It has become the model for other biking
events. People want to know their secrets for
success. Then the conversation switched to
different types of bikes. Randy was in heaven. I
listened and learned. Slowly I am picking up what
brands are reputable and how the workings of the
frames and materials make a bike top notch.

A comical moment: Remember our noisy neighbors from
La Pine? They decided they liked us so much that
they pitched their tent next to ours again! Lucky
us! However, this time they gave us space. That and
the fact we were exhausted helped us to sleep soundly
through the night.

Statistics: This was a 55.5 mile day. We gained
5,227 feet in elevation. Our average speed was 12
miles per hour.

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Day 4-Diamond Lake to Dorena Lake

To be honest, what was a strong draw to go on Cycle
Oregon was the chance to be on the North Umpquq River
again. This river over the years had become a place
of hiking, fishing, and friendship for me (Julie) and
I wanted to share that with Randy.
We started the morning with eating hot food since it
was another cold morning. Packing up and loading our
gear was not bad as the truck had parked right across
the street from our tent! Bonus!
Our ride along the North Umpqua was a chilly one.
Randy wore my wool gloves and still we found ourselves
stopping a few times to get heat back into our arms
and hands. The temperature was not bad in the sun,
but in the shade we noticed frost along the side of
the road. Our morning chant was "Love the Sun".
We coasted pretty much the entire 45 miles to lunch.
Along the way, we stopped at White Horse Falls. Due
to the shade and water, we did not stay long. We did
agree that this is an area worth returning to in the
future on a camping trip during the summer when it is
warm.

After lunch we followed Canton Creek on an old forest
service road. The scenery was nice in the forest and
the creeks we past added a nice soothing atmosphere
for our ride. Toward the highest part of our climb
the pavement turned into a chip seal. Since this is
basically gravel stabilized by a little asphalt, the
sharp edges were murder on tires. We ended up having
a slow leak in our rear tire that we had to change.
After the ride was done, we contributed our tube
change to the safety of getting us down the backside
of the pass. Several people got flats as they were
descending down the 10% grade. This was a dangerous
stretch where several people were hurt. At the time
we reached the top, riders were allowed down in groups
of ten. The road was steep and windy, so it was a
slow process to stay safe. The other obstacle was
breaks would overheat. We stopped to cool our
breaks. Not cooling them could result in a tire
blowing...not good on any bike but especially a tandem
which has more weight with the two riders.
As the road flattened a little we found ourselves
drafting with another rider. He would lead us and
block the wind resistance and then we would trade
positions. We kept this fast pace for about ten
miles when we stopped for water. After the water
stop, we found another group and road in to the Dorena
Lake Camp together.
As we were heading for the line with the chocolate
milk near the finish, I heard a lady yelling at Randy
that his brother-in-law was looking for him. John
and his son, Arthur, came to greet us and help us set
up camp. We found a perfect flat spot for the tent
and the tree next to it was a perfect spot for John
and Arthur to place a blanket for the dinner picnic.
Randy had a little helper as he worked on the bike.
Arthur was so interested in the bike pump and tools.
He watch his Uncle Randy with large blue eyes. The
conversation and the music playing helped make setting
up camp a lighter task.

Statistics for the day: Our ride was 87.9 miles and
our elevation gain was 1,048 feet. Our average speed
was about 12 miles per hour.

All the racing and drafting drained us. We slept
soundly in our tent.

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Day 3--The Big Blue Bonus

The ride to Crater Lake was an optional one. Some
people took a rest day and stayed in camp at Diamond
Lake, some road twelve miles to lunch on the rim and
then returned to camp, and some of us chose to ride
the rim after lunch. This day was one of the most
rewarding days of the trip. There were definite
tough climbs and fun desents, but the scenery of
Crater Lake was spectacular!

Our day started with us able to sleep in a little.
The temperature was probably in the 40s and so was
tropical compared with the other two mornings. We
were able to take our time eating and did not have to
pack up the tent or haul our bags to a truck. What a
luxury!

We noticed that the first twelve miles to the rim had
many riders. It felt like a regular Cycle Oregon day
with the majority of the people taking an opportunity
to see Crater Lake. The twelve miles to the rim
were all up! We did stop at the Pumice Desert
Viewpoint and take some wonderful shots of Mt.
Thielson. It was fascinating how not much has grown
in the pumice over the years. As far as we could see
it was pretty brown.

Lunch was served at a viewpoint right where the access
road meets the rim road. It was hot and so we sought
out a log in the shade for our picnic area. We found
ourselves saying "love the shade" during this part of
the trip. Truly, the ability to cool off in the
shade or ride for stretches in the shade became key
for making this day an enjoyable one.
By noon we had to be riding around the rim or they
would not allow us to go. We found out there was a
strict contract with the park service to even allow us
the ride there at all. We had to ride clockwise.
Anyone riding the opposite way was breaking the
contract and could have been ticketed.
Words cannot describe the shade of blue at Crater
Lake. The whole day was blue, even the sky and our
bike. But a surprise to us was how much we enjoyed
the backside area by Mt. Scott. At this point in the
rim path we could not see the lake at all but could
see beautiful meadows and mountains that surround the
lake.
One thing we noticed right away was that many people
did not ride the rim when we went. This allowed us
to feel we were kind of in a smaller tour. We found
ourselves bonding with another tandem team--KHS --at
many stops and snapping photos. For the most part,
there were around twenty to thirty bikes at each stop.
This was in contrast to the hundreds we were used
to.
The Phantom Ship was a great structure. The trees at
the viewpoint framed the ship for perfect photos.
Wizard Island could be seen from every vantage point
of the lake. Truly this was a day of fabulous views
for our eyes.
A little note: when we woke up, I (Julie) was not
sure I wanted to ride the rim. Taking a break
sounded great after the grueling Day 2 ride.
However, I was so glad we went. That is the deal
with being on a tandem. If I stayed at camp, Randy
would not have had a chance to see Crater Lake.
There were a couple of days when I honestly thought
taking a trip in the sag wagon sounded like fun, but
in the end, I knew unless we had a mechanical issue
with the bike that was not going to be an option.
Looking back on the trip now, we can honestly say we
cycled the entire time without sagging.

A funny note: People back at camp were a little bit
more rested and we noticed more noise outside our
tent. One man stood right outside our tent and had
an intimate conversation with his girlfriend/ wife.
It cracked me up. Finally, Randy unzipped the window
on the tent and the man moved. As soon as that man
left and the noise died down, we were out for the
night...asleep on pinecones!

Statistics; Crater lake was 59.8 miles from Diamond
Lake, around the rim and back again. We gained 6,470
feet in elevation. (no wonder we were tired!)

Interesting tidbit: Diamond Lake was formed as a
result of the formation of Crater Lake. The volcanic
activity formed the land that trapped the water that
makes Diamond Lake.

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Day 2- from La Pine to Diamond Lake

This day we nicknamed the "day of extremes". It
started with waking to 27 degree temperatures.
During the night Randy became a sleeping bag mummy and
Julie found a hat, wool gloves, long johns, sweats and
any article of clothing to put on to fight the cold.
The morning was cool and cold! Stars were still out
and we found Orion's belt. That and the two dippers
are about the extent of our ability to identify with
accuracy the stars.

Our strategy was to eat breakfast: hot oatmeal, hot
coffee, hot eggs, hot water, hot anything and warm up.
Then it was back to pack the bags and tent.
Normally this would not have been too bad of a task
but there was frost on the grass and frost on the
tent. This made for starting the with cold hands and
feet. Since the weather was forecasted to be in the
90s, we didn't want to leave wearing a ton of clothing
that later would need to be removed. Looking back,
that was a mistake. We left LaPine with the
temperature most likely in the 30s but did not have
the wool gloves with us. We had Julie's biking
gloves which we ended sharing. Randy had the left and
Julie the right. At least one hand could be warm.
It was only super cold until the first water break and
then the temperature started to rise and we were
warming up.

The ride for the first 70 miles was pleasant: cool
mountain clean air with pine trees off on the sides of
the road. The scenery was not as spectacular as the
first day which was the Cascade Range and Descutes
River. However, it was better than biking in the
city. We did note that there was a lot of busy
traffic including semi-trucks and large pick-ups as we
pedaled on the side of Highways 97 and 136. The
safety bumps along the white line of the hwy made
passing other bikes a difficult task. The bumps
could easily make a bike tire turn out of control so
we had to be careful when we tried to pass.

A touching story from this ride actually took place at
one of the rest stops. We noticed a group of riders
that had "Candlelighters" printed on their jerseys and
then names velcroed on the back. I asked one man the
story behind the group. He told me they were a group
who were riding as a fund raiser for children with
cancer. The names they wore were the individual
children they were representing. This brought tears
to my eyes as the story hit home for us and our
concern for our friends' son, age 4, who has been
undergoing surgery and chemo and radiation treatments
all summer. We talked with the group about Josh and
they added him to their list of names to pray for
recovery. For the rest of the trip I marveled at
this group who was using their love of biking to serve
others.

On a funny note, when we reached Chemult we posed by a
sign to have our picture taken. As Randy looked at
the photo on the digital screen, he noticed a man in
the background in bright yellow. (You guessed
it...the line to the blue rooms were VERY LONG!)
Anyhow, we caught him on film!

At the last rest stop we were super hot so we dumped
water on our jerseys and applied sunscreen. It was
only about 12 miles from Diamond Lake, but in this
weather, drinking water and staying cool were key.

About ten of the last miles were uphill along the
Crater Lake/ Diamond Lake Highway. It was a mental
game against the hill. We were tired and kept on
pedaling up, up, up... WE MADE IT...not so
fast...false summit...keep pedaling up, up, up...WE
MADE IT....not so fast...false summit! This happened
five or so times that we just had change our thinking
to we will at the top when we actually start going
down.

After 92.5 miles, we were ready for the time to get
off the bike. We pulled in on the south side of
Diamond Lake and found a little spot tucked between
trees, far but close to the blue rooms and far away
from other tents. Trees prevented anyone from
pitching a tent next to us so we thought we would be
able to sleep. This would be home for two night.

The main stage and dining areas were set up on the
boat ramp of Diamond Lake. It was beautiful and
after our showers we enjoyed the scenery of the lake
and Mt. Thielson. (however, the bugs were a little
thick.) When we finally went back to the tent, I
think both of us were out as soon as our heads hit the
pillow.

Fun facts: We rode 92.5 miles in distance and gained
1,036 ft. Our average speed was around 12 miles per
hour. The temperature was warmer at Diamond Lake than
at LaPine over night! Yeah!

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Checkin and Day 1

http://julieandrandy.blogspot.com/

Our adventure to Cycle Oregon actually started before
we arrived in Sisters. Friday night we drove to
Corvallis to stay with my parents over night and
celebrate my mom's birthday before we left for the
trip. We timed our drive beautifully and zoomed
through I-5 in Portland and Salem right before the
four lanes of highway were converted to one lane for
night construction. Soon after we arrived at my
folks' house, we discovered that Randy's wallet was
left at our home in Everett. We were a little
nervous that check-in with picture I.D. for Cycle
Oregon would be tricky, but it turned out to not be a
big issue. I had my wallet and had pictures of Randy
in it in case they really needed a picture.

After we checked in we had our first adventure in
packing our 65 pound bags and finding a place to pitch
our tent. Most of space on grass was taken so we
ended up sleep near a shed that we felt was in a great
location. ( Quickly we discovered the benefit of the
high school sports teams that were helping with bags
as a fund raiser. Throughout the week we used them
and supported their teams. After riding an entire
day, the energy to lug bags around dwindled. ) We ate
dinner, played cards, listened to the music and
announcements on the main stage and then when to
sleep....or sort of slept. In the middle of the
night we discovered that our great location was not so
great. We were too close to the "blue rooms" and as
people had calls of nature, we heard the doors bang
close all night long.

The other issue we discovered the first night was the
cold. Our mindset was for the warmer summer
temperatures but we forgot we were in Central Oregon
in the Fall. It was in the low to mid 30s when we
woke up. Most of the camp at some point migrated
into the heated lodge at Five Pines and warmed up.
Once we left camp it was in the 40s and we were fine.

Our ride on Sunday was gorgeous! We meandered down
the back roads from Sisters to Tumalo and then to Bend
for lunch. Lunch was served in the Les Schwab
Amphitheater. After lunch we cycled by Lava Butte
and Sunriver and eventually ended our ride at La Pine
High School. At the finish line we discovered that
riders are handed chocolate milk as a recovery drink.
This was a treat after 60 miles that ended in
temperatures in the 80.

LaPine also was our first experience with finding our
bags in the sea of bags that belonged to 2000+ riders!
Ours had bright orange ribbon with R+J Carver
inscribed in permanent ink! We found a perfect
location for camping in the middle of the baseball
field between first and second base. The football
team had their sled (the one coaches stand on and
players hit) conveniently placed so we could prop our
DaVinci for the evening. it was going to be a
perfect night of sleeping on lush flat grass.

When we returned from taking showers in the portable
shower semis, we discovered our new neighbors. They
pitched their tent probably six inches from our tent
where our head would be when we sleep. The funny
thing was there was all sorts of land on the other
side of our new neighbor that never had a tent placed.
It would not have been so bad but they talked like
they were at home with thick walls of insulation until
close to midnight. This quickly became a couple we
wanted to not be near again.

On a fun note: we saw our first other DaVinci. it
was red fiberglass and the owners lived in Salem,
Oregon. We also met the owners of the second
DaVinci. The captain (front) was a seasoned Cycle
Oregon rider. I think this trip was somewhere in the
mid teens for him. However, this trip was his first
trip on a tandem. His stoker (back) was his eight
year old daughter and it was her first trip.

On a cool note: the night and morning stars were so
close! It was a night where I wish my dad was
camping with us so he could tell us what stars and
planets we were seeing. The light from the stars
was so clear and crisp. I noticed when I needed to
take a trip to the blue room around 2am that i was
able to see clearly by starlight and moonlight.

Statistics: We rode 60.5 miles and gained 2,509 ft.
in elevation. I think our average speed was between
16 and 18 miles per hour.

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Fwd: Emailing: Cycle Oregon Sept 8-15, 2007 094, Cycle Oregon Sept 8-15, 2007 097, Cycle Oregon Sept 8-15, 2007 110, Cycle Oregon Sept 8-15, 2007 004, Cycle Oregon Sept 8-15, 2007 017, Cycle Oregon Sept 8-15, 2007 025, Cycle Oregon Sept 8-15, 2007 030, Cycle O

Here are some pictures. Our blogspot address i told
wrong earlier...

It is julieandrandy.blogspot.com

Note: forwarded message attached.

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Cycle Oregon Blog Intro

julieandrandy@blogspot.com

Hi All,

We made it back home last night at 10pm! Cycle
Oregon was fun, challenging and a test of physical
and mental endurance. The route was beautiful with
high desert and deep forests with rivers and streams.
We cycled our tandem 481 total miles through the
Central Cascades. Sunday we peddled out of Sisters
and then the following Saturday we coasted in to
Sisters to complete a big loop which took us down to
Crater Lake, Diamond Lake, North Umpqua River,
MacKenzie River, Middle Fork of the Willamette River,
and up the switchback trails throught the lava fields.
We plan on posting the individual days events on
our blogspot as we have a chance to write them The
address is above if you are interested in reading
about the adventures.

We do have pictures that may or may not post, so we
may send those separately as we have a chance.

A little interesting fact from the trip: we saw at
least 16 different brands of tandems. Probably we
saw between 20-30 tandems on the trip. We had no idea
there were so many different varieties. Two of the
tandem teams came from Japan. One came from Hawaii.

We will leave you with that for now. As we mentally
and physically recover, there will be more.

____________________________________________________________________________________
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Duffle bags

When we went to the Army surplus store, we never
imagined the size of duffle bags. We bought one that
was big by our standards that was the floor model and
then another that was folded up in packaging.
Surprise! The second bag was at least twice the
size: it holds our tent, two sleeping bags, two
pillows, two spongy mattress pads a bike pump, several
flashlights, a box of mineral water, .....and other
items we were able to tuck in the cracks. And all
that for 60 pounds! The other smaller bag we are
packing clothes. I think it will be a project to
load and unload the gear every morning and night. So
arm muscles will have their workout, too.

____________________________________________________________________________________
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