First week on tour update.

September 7 - 14, 2015

Garmin GPS Data - with maps   

Portland to Mt. Angel

Mt. Angel to Sweet Home

Sweet Home to Lost Prairie Campground

Lost Prairie Campground to Sisters

Sisters to Ochoco Lake Campground

Ochoco Lake Campground to Mitchell

Mitchell to Dayville

Dayville to Prairie City

Ready to ride!

Zero, zero!

Wow, the start of a new tour. It wasn't an easy decision about when to start riding. After Labor Day means less traffic on the roads which makes for more enjoyable cycling. This time of year can also be very hot and this year there was the added complication of terrible, historic fires in Washington and eastern Oregon. These fires had devastated many, many communities. Luckily, the week before I started there was enough rain to make riding through Oregon possible. Originally, I was going to ride north through the Olympic peninsula and then east in northern Washington but the fires made that route impossible. I changed the route so that I go through Boise instead of Missoula.

A big consideration for my route planning included making sure I would get to a birthday party on time. One of the main reasons I wanted to ride in the US is I have friends and family celebrating big birthdays this year.  It will be much easier to fly-in for a weekend from the US than out of the country. The first birthday party I'm going to attend is for an aunt in Los Angeles. She is turning 90 and I really needed to figure out where to get a flight from. It's not easy to calculate where to ride so I can get a flight to Los Angeles at the right time.  First, I needed to get to a town big enough to have an airport, and hopefully, an airport big enough that the flight wouldn't be too expensive. Eventually, I settled on riding from Portland to Boise starting on Labor Day. I would have 520 miles to ride in 16 days. Barring any mishaps, that should be very doable. Hopefully,  when I get to Boise I will find someone able to store my trike and gear while I go to the birthday party. 

Starting out the driveway to begin a tour across the US.

So, with everything set I was ready to start riding. Bags were packed and it was time to go. My friend Annie saw me off and took some video. And that was it, I was flying down the hill to start my tour from Portland to meet triking friends in Mt. Angel. It was a beautiful day and the ride was easy except for one small section around Oregon City. I had to ride up and over a good hill to avoid a dangerous section of Hwy 99. The road put me back on Hwy 99 with a couple of miles of less than ideal conditions. I had very little room with grumpy, heavy traffic. But after that it was smooth sailing.

Connie and Jerry with the chicken flag in Mt Angel

Connie and Jerry have lived in Mt. Angel for a long time and they are very involved in the community. Mt Angel is especially famous for it's Octoberfest. This small town of 3,700 people sees 350,000 people attending it's festival. Connie and Jerry proudly fly a large chicken flag they found in Germany to commemorate the festival. They showed me the important chicken dance and sang me the theme song that includes yodeling.  Connie made a wonderful meal with lots of veggies fresh from her garden and Jerry opened some nice wine.  Jerry also told me that Wednesday was international-bring-your-local-priest-a-beer day. He had a very special present ready for his local priest.

Jerry's gift to his local priest.

In the morning, Connie took me on a tour of Mt. Angel and then escorted me with her trike out of town. She also gave me a delicious gourmet food package for the road. Thanks for the wonderful visit!!

With Connie getting ready to tour Mt. Angel

Covered bridge in Scio

On the road to Sweet Home

Warm Shower hosts in Sweet Home

My destination for the day was Sweet Home to stay with Warm Shower hosts.  About half through the ride I left them a message to expect me around 5 pm. The ride is 54 miles which is a lot for me. The scenery was great and the terrain wasn't very hilly but the surface turned to chip seal that really slowed me down. I didn't arrive until almost 7:30 pm. Jonathan and Almut warmly welcomed me and had a fantastic meal ready. They had been to Newport and picked up tuna right off a fisherman's boat. The tuna was grilled with lots of delicious veggies. They have a very comfortable set up for cyclists with a separate guest house. Thanks for your hospitality and opening your home Jonathan and Almut!

Cyclist guesthouse in Sweet Home

Ron, 1st trail angel

Hand pump at Lost Prairie campground

The next day I had picked out a campground on my way up and over Santiam Pass. The scenery was beautiful and there wasn't much traffic. There was a lot of climbing though. At about 5 pm I looked at the map and saw I had close to 5 miles to go. Climbing at 2.5-3.0 mph meant it could take me another 2 hours to get to the campground. Then a woman rolled down her window as she passed saying the sun was shining right into driver's eyes making it difficult to see the road much less me. She suggested I be careful. Hhhhmmm...  She was driving a truck and could have at least offered me a ride! I rode for another 1/2 mile and decided getting a ride was a very good idea. I flagged down the first pickup truck and Ron generously helped get Myrtle and me to the campground. Boy was I happy I flagged him down too. It turned out the campground was more than 9 miles. Lost Prairie is a somewhat primitive campground with a hand pump for water and pit toilets (with toilet paper!). No one else was camped and I had the place to myself. 

First camp meal

1st camp site - Lost Prairie on Hwy 20

I had packed enough food to make a nice meal. Online, I read there was only a hand pump for water and wasn't sure what that meant so I filled 2 bladders carrying 6 liters just in case. I'm glad I did too. The water was safe and drinkable but had a strong, unpleasant mineral taste. It was fine for cooking but drinking on the road would have been less than ideal.

Mt. Washington

This year I upgraded most of my camping gear and was more comfortable. I have a bigger 2 person tent, 25 inch wide pad and plush 20 degree down sleeping bag. In the morning I made my usual oatmeal with a strong cup of coffee before getting packed up to start more climbing to summit the Santiam Pass. The downhill was great and I was in Sisters sooner than expected.  I stopped at Ray's Market for some supplies and called my next Warm Showers hosts, Karen and Steve.

Terrific WS hosts Karen and Steve in Sisters

This couple has done a lot of touring, mostly on recumbent tandem. What a surprise to find out I had met them before, a few years ago at the recumbent retreat. They made me a fantastic meal and gave me lots of info about the road ahead. I was now on the Trans Am bike route and there were lots of interesting places to see and options for places to stay. 

View from Warm Shower host's home

The next morning Steve showed me on the map where to take the O'Neil Hwy which parallels Hwy 20 but is much quieter with lovely scenery. After a few pics, I said goodbye and pushed off. Karen and Steve have a fantastic view of 7 surrounding mountains and lovely farms.  It was another beautiful day. I easily found the O'Neil Hwy outside of Redmond and enjoyed every mile riding into Prineville. I stopped at a market and ran into a group of cyclists from Portland who were just beginning a week's ride. It was already after 2 pm and I was surprised they were starting out so late in the day. Even though there would be a lot of climbing to their destination at Ochoco Pass, they were young and strong enough to make the campground before night fall.  

Old time scenery on the Trans Am

My destination was the hiker/biker sites at Ochoco Lake campground, only another 7 miles beyond Prineville. I registered paying the $5 fee. The campground is in a beautiful setting overlooking lake Ochoco. The bathroom is spotlessly clean and the shower has very hot water. I also found an electrical outlet outside the bathroom to charge up my electronics. The only issue with the hiker/biker area is it sits on a sloping hillside. Luckily, there weren't any campers in the RV sites and I was able to put my tent at the top of the hill on even ground. I made another nice meal frying up veggies and cooked rice from a pouch.

Lake Ochoco

Everyday I've had a tailwind and it really helped me get up and over Ochoco Pass the next morning. It was Saturday and probably a third of the cars that passed me had fancy bikes on the back. These bikers were on their way to the start of Cycle Oregon. This week long ride starts on Sunday in Baker City. I even saw quite a few recumbents.  Coming down from the Pass was fun and fast. Boy o boy was it hot though. I think the temperature went up 15 degrees from one side of the mountain to the other. Many people had recommended taking a detour to the Painted Hills. I really wanted to but I was frying in the 100 degree heat and was just too hot. I ended the day's ride at the city park in Mitchell where the cyclists I first met in Prineville were already camped. This is a group called Cycle Wild who do long weekend and week long rides around Oregon. Yesterday, they had used a company called Bike Concierge to take them from Portland to Prineville and they would use the same company in a week's time to take them from Baker City back to Portland. This company will take bikers pretty much anywhere in Oregon. I thought that sounded like a really great idea.  

Mitchell Park

Staying at the park was really fun. There was the Cycle Wild group, a couple of other cyclists, people car camping and even hikers staying. I think we counted 15 tents set up. It costs $5 per tent. There is a gazebo with lots of electrical outlets and a public bathroom across the street. No showers but the bathroom door can be locked. I took advantage and rinsed out my cycling clothes while taking a sponge bath. It was so hot getting the clothes dry was no problem. Mitchell is really cute and there were a few restaurants open. The grocery store had a sorry selection of veggies but I managed to find enough to restock my supplies.

Cycle Wild cyclists caught me at the top of the climb out of Mitchell

The next morning the Cycle Wild folks were busy making a hearty breakfast of pancakes. We had the large picnic table crowded with hissing canister and alcohol stoves. I was packed and on the road about 8:30. One cyclist, Jimmy from Philadelphia, was still asleep in his tent when I left. There's a 6 1/2 mile climb out of Mitchell and the Cycle Wild group caught me close to the top. Everyone passes the turtle. There was a wonderful downhill for miles and miles. It went through the John Day fossil beds and Picture Gorge. Amazing scenery and, boy o boy, it was hot. I stopped to chat with a cyclist, Don from Idaho, coming westbound. He highly recommended staying at the church in Dayville which was my destination for the day. Jimmy from Philadelphia passed just as I got to Dayville. It was fun seeing everyone throughout the ride.

At Dayville, I stopped at the grocery/bike service/souvenir shop where I met up with the Cycle Wild group again. They had detoured to the John Day Fossil beds and looked about to collapse from the heat. I also met the new family from Portland who owns the grocery store. The husband was a bike mechanic in Portland for 10 years. Simon asked if I needed any help mechanically with my trike. In fact, I had been hearing a pinging sound from my rear spokes and wondered if the wheel needed truing. I unloaded the bags and he took a look. He said my rear wheel was really strong and totally true. He noticed I had black spokes and said the coating is known to cause the spokes to 'sing'. Fantastic. Nothing was wrong and I didn't need to worry about that anymore. I said goodbye to the Cycle Wild people who were going another 22 miles to Mt. Vernon and made my way to the Dayville Community Presbyterian Church a few blocks away.

Dayville Community Presbyterian Church

Sleeping in the chapel.

This church is famous on the TransAm and I was excited to stay. Rose Saul runs the place and lives a few doors away. She came over introducing herself and showed me around. The church is like an oasis for TransAm riders. All cyclists are welcome 24 hours a day. The doors are never locked and the fee is by donation only. Over the years, through donation, the church has been able to slowly add amenities and now has everything a cyclist could want. There's a washer/dryer with detergent, hot shower with towels, full kitchen with anything you could need for cooking and wifi. They even offer all the fixins for pancakes in the morning. The appliances had little plaques saying they were purchased with biker donations. Bikers set up their sleeping mat and bag wherever they feel comfortable in the chapel-just not on the pews. I was the only person staying and had a very peaceful night. It felt luxurious to have all my laundry done. It's interesting how the hiker/biker sites ask for $5 and it never occurs to me to leave more. The church is by donation and I left them $30 feeling like that was a great deal. What a terrific concept and wonderful example of 'true' Christian action.

Donations help the church purchase appliances for cyclists to use

I had been on the road over a week when I took off in the morning from the church. Even though I slept well, I could feel I was ready for a rest day. Today's ride would be 44 miles with a gradual incline to Prairie City. The skies were overcast and it was nice to ride in cooler temperatures. The scenery was very beautiful with soft hills and lots of lush green farm land. As I arrived in Prairie City, I could see evidence of the large fires this area experienced very recently. There was still some smoke rising in the distant Strawberry mountains. Every business had a sign in the window thanking firefighters for saving the small town. 

A few cyclists had recommended a charming, old-time style hotel in Prairie City and I decided to take a couple of rest days here. I was very behind on my Internet stuff with lots of photos and video to upload. I also needed to get a journal update posted. Just as I rolled into town it started to rain lightly. My timing was perfect. Considering I had only spent $40 for accommodation up to this point, I didn't feel too guilty spending the extra money for a hotel splurge. There is also a campground in town but I really wanted to have a good rest.

While I take my rest days, I'll be trying to arrange for a host in Boise that can take care of Myrtle while I go to Los Angeles. I'm hoping to meet some triking people there too. 

This first week of touring simply couldn't have gone any better. The roads and weather were good, there wasn't much traffic, I had fabulous scenery and ate well, met lots of wonderful people and I found a safe place to sleep every night.

Video update of first 8 days of the tour

So far I've ridden 350.80 miles. Not bad for an old turtle, eh?