Life Spoke

I made it to Burns, OR this morning. There is so much to say I can barely think straight.

This is the most difficult thing I've ever done...EVER. Hill after hill, trucks going 65 only a few feet off, the heat, the cold, the spooky lonely nights.

My eyes well up on average three times a day. This is scary as hell. Who am I? Am I insane? Why would anyone choose to do this alone, at this time of year, without a plan on where to stay every night? I miss Tracey incredibly.

But...there are times when I feel invincible. When the honk of a passing car and a shaken fist of encouragement fire me up and make me feel like everyone is a friend. When a trucker pays for my breakfast out of admiration. When I stop at the top of a pass and look out on a beautiful day in a beautiful place that is totally and completely new because I have a unique perspective that I've never had before.

If I wasn't experiencing both sadness and minor triumphs in the same day, in the same hour even, it wouldn't be so real.

I'm sore. My thighs feel like they need two massages, a hot tub and a week of rest. Without either I resort to self-massage, stretching and little else. Luckily, my knees feel pretty good. I've iced them a few times and use the topical Ibuprophen/Lydocain (spelling?) that was prescribed before I left. I'm slightly worried because there is a twinge of pain in the place I occurred during training, but it's not severe at all.

So to recap my progress:
Sunday 9/10 - Eugene to McKenzie Bridge, 59 miles over 7 hours. It was a nice ride except for the construction east of Vida, which basically left the road shoulder less. I rode with my buddy Todd. Tracey and Todd's girlfriend, Rebekah drove up to meet us and camp with us. We had a nice night playing dominoes and cards.

Monday 9/11 - to Cold Springs Camp Ground, 4 miles west of Sisters, 41.5 miles over 7 hours. This was the toughest day of riding I've ever had; up and over the McKenzie Pass at 5250 ft. or something. My uncle Roger drove up with his wife Joyce and they brought my grandfather. It was nice too see them before I got too far from Eugene. I also ran into my friends Robert and Taylor as they were driving up the pass for sightseeing with Taylor's sister.

I made the top of the pass going about 4.7 mph the whole time. It took about 6 hours to top out. The views of the Three Sisters and Mt. Washington to the north were well worth the effort. The lack of traffic justified taking the much steeper and narrower highway than the Santiam Pass. If ever you are in Oregon you have to drive over the McKenzie Pass, it's awesome.

Anyway, 35 mph the whole way down to the campsite. My first night camping out alone on the trip. It was certainly spooky; glowing raccoon eyes out in the bushes, scavenging all night long making enough noise to keep me awake off and on. Then when I finally did fall asleep I woke up to this incredible thumping that was getting louder and faster and bearing down on me. I woke in a panic and threw my hands in the air with a shriek. The thumping changed course and trailed off into the bushes. I was heart attack scared and reached for my headlight but couldn't see anything out there. When I finally laid back down I heard the thumping off in the distance a few times every minute. I imagine it was a deer or an elk that had no idea I was sleeping right on the ground without a tent.

Tuesday, 9/12 - to Millican, OR, 51 miles, 12.7 mph ave, 8a-6:30p I packed up camp and rode a few miles to the town of Sisters. I grabbed a bagel and got back on the road toward Bend. I was pretty sore from climbing the pass on the previous day. I felt it acutely on the steep hill between Tumalo and Bend. Made it to bend my 11a and went into Target. I looked at a map and bought a pair of cheap fleece slipper for around camp. They are totally useless, I should have held out, oh well.

I ate lunch behind Target in the shade of a maple tree with a Cascade Mountain backdrop. Back on the road...I was on the east side of Bend by 1p. I filled up on water and some gasoline for my stove and headed east on Hwy 20. At about 2:15 I realized the heat would kill me so I stopped and made Mac n' Cheese then took a nap until about 4:15. A regular siesta.

A little note on my route through Oregon: I knew which highway I wanted to take so I neglected to bring a map. What I didn't plan on was this whole 'desert thing' that exists in central Oregon. I mean it's a bonafied desert with sand, coyotes, cold nights and most importantly, blistering hot afternoons.

Basically, I got 25 miles east of Bend to what I thought would be a town with at least water. Millican is only a town because there is an abandoned store that says 'Millican Store' on the side. I had one quart of water to make dinner and get me to the next town in the morning.

I hauled the bike off the road, through the desert to the barbed wire cattle fence on the edge of BLM land. Took the bags off the bike and lifted them and the bike over the fence. I camped at the base of a 12-foot tall rocky wall that hid me from the highway. I slept better that night, but the pack rats woke me up a few times. When I woke up I found they'd eaten a huge hole in one of my gloves and ate some of my helmet straps. Salt is a tasty treat.

Wednesday, 9/13 - to Riley, 80 miles, 14.9mph. I got up, hauled the bags and the bike over the fence to the edge of the highway. I packed the bags back on and got back into the cockpit. I was in Brothers in an hour eating eggs and talking to a truck driver who paid for my breakfast. Filled up on water and headed east to Hampton. Fries and ice cream and more water.

It was starting to get hot again and I didn't want to spend another spooky night in the desert alone. Despite my fear of running out of water I left Hampton and headed east again. I developed a method of hopping from shade to shade. I ride for 30-45 minutes looking for the next piece of shade and then stop there for 15-20 minutes. It's a hard to force myself to stop but obviously it worked. I made it to Riley after 8 hours, riding 80 miles. There was a moderate tailwind pushing me across the desert for which I will be forever grateful. Thank you for sending it my way!

Thursday, 9/14 - Got rained on last night. Didn't matter. I was camped in the back of an RV lot near the Riley Store. They owner graciously let me have a shower last night and I got to rinse out my riding shirt and one pair of shorts. I slept in this morning to 7:30 and leisurely rode into Burns 25 miles away.

After I'm done typing this I'm going to head back out on the road and camp somewhere in the Steens Mountains...I have no idea where right now. There are two passes between me and Idaho but they should be ok on me now that I understand how to stay cool and how to pace myself. It's pretty chilly outside right now, but I guess once I get back on the road I will warm up.

I'm a little sunburned and have a week of scruff on my face. I'm getting skinnier already but have been eating as much as I can stomach.

So much to say. Basically I miss friends and family. I miss Tracey especially but hearing her voice on the phone is a blessing every day.

Your names on my bike have been inspirational. It makes me happy to see you all there, but what I didn't expect was that it would make me incredible sad by magnifying the distance I am from all of you. Think good thoughts and plan for success, I'm out here, out there.
-Drew