He said: did i say i found one texas tack? i guess i found 2 , the second one about a mile into my ride. i stopped to take a picture of the cascades, towards which i was riding, got back on the bike and my rear tire was flat. changed it and was off . nice ride up through the Mckenzie and Willamette national forests to Mckenzie peak. a little short of the peak there was a pulloff where you could see a lava flow from about 1500 years ago. pretty neat. up to the pass (the last one) and more interesting stuff.( see pictures) then a 16 mile mostly downhill ride interrupted by yes another flat. Sharon says the bike doesn't want the ride to end so it is prolonging it. the ride was very "scenic" (read curvy, windy, no shoulder etc.) and i had no problem keeping up with the speed limit for one of the few times on the trip. with all the tire changes, when we stopped for lunch at 12:30 i still had over 50 miles to go. the afternoon roughly followed the Mckenzie river , but for the most part there were trees or vegetation between it and i, so i really couldn't enjoy it. after lunch Sharon went ahead to Eugene and i plugged along. about 28 miles from Eugene i got flat numero tres for the day, more in one day than i had for the whole trip. guess i should feel lucky. Sharon stayed on rt 126 all the way into Eugene and she said it became a very fast and busy interstate. my route, while adding probably 4 or 5 miles detoured me through a nice area on back roads to the northeast edge of Eugene. we met up, ate, planned tomorrow and are now relaxing at 9 to get ready for the last day of the ride. it went fast in retrospect, kinda like life. looking forward to the next part of the trip, and especially seeing family and friends at a wonderful occasion, Liz and Carl's wedding. Here's to a good finish tomorrow. 100 miles
She said: Met up with Paul just a mile or so out of Sisters to give him a spare tube to put in his pack as he had to use the last one he had. Went to the bike shop to get another tire and a few tubes to ensure tires wouldn't be a problem for the last two days. Good thing, as it turns out Paul not only needed the tubes, but the tire as well. Stopped at a pull off about 5 miles from the summit of McKenzie Pass....what an interesting spot....had no idea about this lava flow from 1500 years ago. The lava continued along the side of the road from there to the pass and well beyond. It was just amazing. Met Paul for lunch about 25 miles from the pass and then went on to Eugene. I thought we had been to Eugene before, but I was mistaken-it was Corvallis (home of Oregon State University), Eugene is the home of University of Oregon and a lot larger than Corvallis. Can't believe we will be at the Pacific Ocean tomorrow---still more adventures to come on the ride home. Looking forward to our trip up to Washington...will see you soon Janet, and seeing the family next week.
The view of the mountains in the morning...scene of flat tire #1.
We have been seeing these gates as long as we have been out west and in the mountains..they actually close the main roads when the weather is inappropriate..I guess they try to keep people away from their worst instincts..."I can make it over that pass!"
It is ironic that I came upon this sign at probably the first time I haven't had wind the whole trip.
Mount Washington-this Mount Washington is about twice the height of the Mount Washington we know-the foreground of the picture is all rock from the lava flow.
More lava flow
The explanation of the lava flow.
The last pass! See the trailer on the left? The road is really narrow and somebody in an SUV wasn't sharin the road. As a result some lava hit the tire on the trailer just as we were taking this picture. Kapow-went over to see if he needed help (I saw he was packing, and figured he was already pissed off and if I headed down the hill before him-I wanted to maked sure I was on his good side). They have limits for total length of vehicle and what they are towing on this road. Going around some of the hairpin curves with 15 mph speed limits you can understand why. He's about maxed out.
At the top of the observation tower-the Three Sisters in the background. Picture taken by a former CT resident now living in Santa Rosa, CA
Looking out from the observation tower, zoomed in from the road below. See next picture for Rapunzel.
Pretty cool. The tower is made from rock from the lava flow, steps and all. In the bottom section there are lookouts placed to view the different mountains in the distance.
She said: Met up with Paul just a mile or so out of Sisters to give him a spare tube to put in his pack as he had to use the last one he had. Went to the bike shop to get another tire and a few tubes to ensure tires wouldn't be a problem for the last two days. Good thing, as it turns out Paul not only needed the tubes, but the tire as well. Stopped at a pull off about 5 miles from the summit of McKenzie Pass....what an interesting spot....had no idea about this lava flow from 1500 years ago. The lava continued along the side of the road from there to the pass and well beyond. It was just amazing. Met Paul for lunch about 25 miles from the pass and then went on to Eugene. I thought we had been to Eugene before, but I was mistaken-it was Corvallis (home of Oregon State University), Eugene is the home of University of Oregon and a lot larger than Corvallis. Can't believe we will be at the Pacific Ocean tomorrow---still more adventures to come on the ride home. Looking forward to our trip up to Washington...will see you soon Janet, and seeing the family next week.
The view of the mountains in the morning...scene of flat tire #1.
We have been seeing these gates as long as we have been out west and in the mountains..they actually close the main roads when the weather is inappropriate..I guess they try to keep people away from their worst instincts..."I can make it over that pass!"
It is ironic that I came upon this sign at probably the first time I haven't had wind the whole trip.
Mount Washington-this Mount Washington is about twice the height of the Mount Washington we know-the foreground of the picture is all rock from the lava flow.
More lava flow
The explanation of the lava flow.
The last pass! See the trailer on the left? The road is really narrow and somebody in an SUV wasn't sharin the road. As a result some lava hit the tire on the trailer just as we were taking this picture. Kapow-went over to see if he needed help (I saw he was packing, and figured he was already pissed off and if I headed down the hill before him-I wanted to maked sure I was on his good side). They have limits for total length of vehicle and what they are towing on this road. Going around some of the hairpin curves with 15 mph speed limits you can understand why. He's about maxed out.
At the top of the observation tower-the Three Sisters in the background. Picture taken by a former CT resident now living in Santa Rosa, CA
Looking out from the observation tower, zoomed in from the road below. See next picture for Rapunzel.
Pretty cool. The tower is made from rock from the lava flow, steps and all. In the bottom section there are lookouts placed to view the different mountains in the distance.
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