Day 18: Temporarily Bewildered

Day 18: Sisters to Cougar Dam

“How do you calculate upon the unforeseen? It seems to be an art of recognizing the role of the unforeseen, of keeping your balance amid surprises, of collaborating with chance, of recognizing that there are some essential mysteries in the world and thereby a limit to calculation, to plan, to control.”
― Rebecca Solnit, A Field Guide to Getting Lost

This was a BIG day. Much has been written and said about McKenzie Pass and while it is a hefty climb it turned out to be the less challenging part of our day. The pass is part of the TransAmerica cycling route, so for many cyclists who are starting their trip it is the first major challenge. But we were approaching from the East, which is "easier."

My knee was beginning to hurt a bit and got worse as we climbed. Todd is a generous man and luckily we are nearly the same size, so we switched bikes. I felt immediate relief; the pain disappeared.

Body Aches and Pains: It's very common to have a variety of aches and pains when you ride your bike every day. The challenge for me is to figure out which ones need tending and which ones are simply part of riding a lot and will go away.  I get anxious about this. Since Todd has ridden a lot more in his life, he can often put my mind at ease by telling me things like, "Oh yeah. Over this many miles you will probably feel some pain in your neck and shoulders." Most pain comes from a poorly fitted bike, which can be remedied by adjusting saddle or cleat position or stem height or distance. My knee pain was due to a change in my Q factor, the width of my stance from pedal to pedal. For some bizarre reason, Trek decided to increase this distance by 2 cm between the time Todd's Trek was made and mine. You can feel the difference when you get on the bike. It feels like you are mounting a horse.  I adapted my riding style to enlist my butt muscles more and that helped, but now, 700 miles or so into the trip, the pain is pretty constant. 

As you approach the top of the pass, the landscape turns into a moonscape-- a huge lava flow for miles. It is quite stunning with views of the major mountains of the region: Sisters, Washington, Hood.

At the top is a lookout constructed of the lava rocks.

As you can see, the sky is as clear as it is every day. The heat is so dry that sweat evaporates immediately, making it a more comfortable experience.

The descent was outrageous! It took us about an hour and ten minutes to descend. Descents are very pleasurable in the West. The grade is less steep than the East and the curves are banked so that you feel like you are on an amusement park ride as you swoop around the curves. This photo gives you a good idea of what you see as you come into a 15 mph turn.

http://www.whitbazemorephotography.com/

We came out at McKenzie Bridge and fueled up at a small store where we received directions for a short cut to the Aufderhide Drive, the next part of the trip. Well, it turned out the directions were lacking a few turns so we ended up becoming involved in a tiring, but funny detour.

First we went down a road that turned into dirt -- wrong way. Then we got on the right road, but since the directions missed some turns we ended up at the base of a huge dam. They had told us we had to go up and around the dam so we scanned the near vertical walls for a way to get up it. There was a dirt track on the left side that seemed to switchback its way up the wall so we both decided to go for it. What a coup that would be to get up and over this beast with our fully loaded bikes.

We skidded our way up and up and up the dirt track. As we went higher and deeper into the mountainside my mind rested on the rocks in front of me, the sound of my steady breath--in through my nose, out through my mouth, the view of Todd's wheel 5 yards ahead. Getting "lost" is something we both have invited into our experiences, whether on the bike or cross country skis, we enjoy venturing into unknown landscapes. So neither of us wanted to turn around, but eventually it became clear we had to -- the dirt track was not going anywhere near the dam now,  so we reluctantly skidded back down. 

Back down on the road, we saw a hippie van driving towards us. We waved it down and there was a lovely middle-aged hippie woman who was happy to be the one to tell us how to get where we were going even happier to be the one to let us know about the very "shanti" hot spring pools we had to visit along the way. "This is why I am here right now! This is my purpose... to tell you about these springs." We weren't sure about hot springs on a hot day but we were happy to be filled up with her spirit. The Aufderhide is a beautiful road. Even in our fatigue we could appreciate the beauty:

We found a lovely campsite along the South Fork of McKenzie river, bathed in its very cold, very clear waters, ate a huge pile of food and went to sleep. I was completely whooped... the most tired I've been the whole trip. I was out as soon as my head hit the pillow.