Around two in the morning, nature called. It was raining hard as I climbed out of the tent and threw my shoes on. Somewhere while looking for the port-o-pots I decided that I should book more luxurious vacations. It was in the middle of this thought that I realized I didn’t have my glasses on and couldn’t distinguish large tents from port-o-pots. I finally did, but the wandering in the rain, sockless in my sneakers caused some serious blistering.
The alarm rang much too early for vacation. We headed up for breakfast and coffee and joined all the other cyclists for the day. It was a fun group of people, all there to ride their bikes and have a good time. The atmosphere was fantastic.
We hit the road a
nd so began some beautiful cycling. The ride started off with some small rollers, around mile 25ish things got serious- a steady 7% grade climb. My leggies were used to the flat farmlands of Indiana. It felt like my thighs were going to explode, but the view was breathtaking. The descent was spectacular: winding roads and tall pines trees. The lunch sag had a live band and it was good to take a break from the bike. Cycle Oregon did a great job making sure trash from the lunch sag was recycled or composted. The live bands we encountered so far have been fantastic.
After lunch was another serious climb with an equally awesome descent. Oregon is a beautiful state. The day was slightly overcast, making it perfect for riding. 68 miles logged in for the day. After we pulled into OSU’s campus, we biked to the rec center so Tamara could swim (I don’t know how anyone could feel the need for extra exercise) and I could relax in the hot tub. After my microbiology course, I make it a point to avoid public hot tubs, but this was a welcomed exception. I took a hot shower and headed back to the tent. Unfortunately, I had great difficulty locating our tent. This was turning into a theme. It turns out our tent had blown over and moved a bit.
Could have used a few more stakes to secure the tent
Getting things rearranged, I headed up to the main area for dinner- burgers, baked beans, and a brewsky. Again there were live bands at the main stage. The ride didn’t have the hardcore roadies who swagger around oozing with bravado and tend to make touring rides a lot of no fun. The weekend was a fun, family oriented, easy, love of cycling type of weekend. I made a quick trip to the grocery store to pick up some essentials- namely a jar of baby dill pickles (one of my favorite post ride recovery foods) and some ear plugs.
Despite a torrential downpour for most of the night, my ear plugs were a fantastic purchase and I slept like a baby.
Day One of Riding