I laughed to myself as I thought of how convinced I was that we would not make it, that the road would be too hot, too wide, that my legs would fail. How many times do I have to learn this lesson. I think I know the end of the story but I don't. I can never know. So why do I keep making up the end of the story? -- Annie
We had planned our trip pretty solidly up until Sisters. We arranged for WarmShowers hosts and identified campsites up until that point. But we weren't sure how we would feel once we hit Sisters - so we left the last days open. Would we want to stay up in the Cascades and go North to Detroit Lake or head West to the Willamette valley for flatter, albeit hotter weather?
Todd came up with a great route that took us over the McKenzie Pass, through the Aufderhide Drive to Oakridge and on to Fall Creek, Sweet Home and then Scio. The plan was formed once we found out that Roger, the man Todd bought his bike from, was eager to help us out by getting bike boxes ready and then driving us up to the airport. Thanks Roger and May!
Today, our goal was a WarmShowers host in Fall Creek, but because we got lost yesterday it meant we had more mileage to cover, about 80, and a big climb. We identified some campsites that might serve us if we didn't have it in us.
We headed out early on beautiful quiet roads to the ascent over the Aufderhide. My legs felt very tired so the pace was slow. I also felt some apprehension about the day's goal. Since the trip was winding down, we had to get certain mileage in order to get to Scio on time. But.. as is always the case with me, as soon as we got through the approach got on the climb itself I was fine. I like climbing. Everything goes by so slowly you can look closely at plants, insects, birds. You can talk to each other. Up and up we went. And down and down through big trees and morning light.
We took a delightful break at a swimming hole we had both seen through the trees. Bright green-blue water indicated a perfect spot for lunch. It would be the last time we would be deep in the woods in Oregon and we waned to savor it. Soon we would be down in the hot and flat Willamette Valley. Beautiful in its own right, but not the same as these Oregon woods and rivers.
Refreshed and well fed we headed to Oakridge where we discovered a stark, open, hot town. A kind young person at McDonalds (wifi stop) told us about a festival going on in town and a bike race. So we followed the one long wide strip of road to the town proper where we discovered a small cordoned off section of road with a band performing and people selling crafts and food. After roaming around a bit, we were approached by an older gentleman. "Are you Annie?" he asked. It was our WarmShowers host for that evening who was in town with his family for the event! What a kind man.
I wanted to tell him that we would see him later, but it was so hot and I was tired, that riding the 37 miles to his house seemed outside my comprehension. I imagined this wide hot road with a head wind blowing just going on and on for all those miles. I told Todd, we should make another plan based on how I felt. So.. we saw where the campsites were on the map and headed out. Well, 5 miles later the road came under the constant shade of big trees, the road tilted slightly down hill and before we knew it we had travelled 20 miles. Having met our host and experienced his kindness we were both motivated to get to his house. So we made it with the help of some blackberry bushes along the way.
I laughed to myself as I thought of how convinced I was that we would not make it, that the road would be too hot, too wide, that my legs would fail. How many times do I have to learn this lesson. I think I know the end of the story but I don't. I can never know. So why do I keep making up the end of the story?
Clarke, Lynn and their grand children welcomed us in like family and fed us royally. We had such a lovely visit and conversation long after dinner. Again, people's kindness on this trip overwhelmed us.
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