The blogs have been suffering recently due to all the camping we have been doing with no service. Because of this I am doing a combined blog for yesterday and today. Yesterday the team rode 65 miles from Gilchrist to Crater lake,Oregon. Due to forest fires in the area we rode through some pretty smoky areas until we reached the entrance of the park. We then climbed several miles through the beautiful pines that surround Crater Lake. There was smoke all around which created a eerie feeling (hence the blog title). Once we reached the top we saw the beautiful lake and all its glory. It was so much larger than I ever would have pictured it and even though it was not in its clearest state it was still a sight to be seen. After several stops at gift shops later we arrived at the campsite and hung out for the remainder of the evening.
Now on to today, we rode 90 miles from Crater Lake to Grants Pass, Oregon. The first 30 miles were a breeze of straight downhill. The rest of the day was some up and down hill that were pretty easy however, the day seemed long and we ran into smoke again which leaves you winded even when it is not a difficult ride. We all made it and got to St. Paul’s Lutheran Church where our friendly hosts greeted us and provided us with showers and food. It was above and beyond what we could have hoped for. We really appreciate all that they did to help prepare such a nice stay for us!
The ride was dedicated to Maggie’s cousin who survived stage 4 breast cancer.
~Tailwinds~
Mandy
Flat count: 0
Song of the day: Smoke on the water
Memorable moment: Today we celebrated an old I4K tradition, Christmas in July. This is when every rider gets a secret Santa and they gift them with a $ 5.00 gift and a gag gift found on the side of the road. We exchanged them today and it was great to see all the gifts people received!