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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