Saturday, July 25th, 2015
Start/End: Bend/La Pine, OR
Mileage: 30.7
Weather: Cool and slightly windy
Today we had a very short ride ahead of us, but we we excited about the route we had ahead of us, knowing some cool landmarks we would pass. So we slept in until 7 and then started our day. We are so thankful to the First United Methodist Church in Bend, OR for generously opening their doors to our team for the past few days to let us stay there and use their facilities. It was nice to not be camping!
Today as we prepared to leave, we dedicated today’s ride to the dad of one of our rider’s friends, Liz. Liz’s dad passed away on this day from stage 4 esophageal cancer. He is dearly missed and so on this day, we are riding for Brian Masterson. Dedications like this are always tough, knowing that this parent was taken too soon from their family.
As we left Bend, we said goodbye to a town we came to embrace, as well as beautiful roads with bike lanes as we got on Us-97 heading south. It appears to be the only major road that takes this route which we will be taking. We are thankful, because even though it is busy, there is a very generous shoulder in which we can ride. For a short ride, it sure did come with some hills that reminded us that we have been cycling for quite a while now. Before long, we passed the High Desert Museum, which some groups stopped and checked out, while others continued on to the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. Some rider’s climbed the Lava Butte and saw a great view of the area. Others explored the rocks that came from the most recent eruption from 1,3000 years ago! We learned that this is actually still considered an active volcano which is monitored for seismic activity. After seeing that part of the park, most of the team went down to the Lava River Cave, which had been formed by lava tubes. It was very dark and a nice, cold 42 degrees. So with jackets and bike lights, we explored the cave, walking 1.5 miles to the back of the cave. We did not see any of the bats that apparently live in the cave, but I don’t think many people minded.
After that, we had about 18 miles left for the day so groups got rolling as they were ready. It was primarily downhill at that point, but did have some inclines. We continued through the Deschutes National Forest which was lined with huge pine trees. There are still some very large mountains that we can see from the Cascade Range, but we did not have any significant climbing today.
We are so thankful for our wonderful hosts who donated a delis ours pasta dinner with garlic bread and Kool-Aid to drink! It tasted amazing. Some of the riders headed back to Bend tonight to watch some of the time trial bike races this evening, while the rest of us are hanging out here, relaxing, getting caught up with things. Tomorrow we get to go to Crater Lake, which we are definitely excited about, but it may be a long day. Oh. And I think it may be the last day of camping on our journey. Here’s to not wanting to accept that we are getting close to our destination…. Also, in case you missed it, be sure to check out a blog post a few days back about details for our arrival and lunch. If you are planning to meet us and would like to order a boxed lunch, the information is available!
-LAH