So we had a slight change in plans to our route as you may have noticed. Originally, we were supposed to go from Crescent, Oregon to Crater Lake National Park, and then the next day ride into Grants Pass. Unfortunately, there was a forest fire that went through the Crater Lake area and caused some damage to our campsite we were due to stay at. So instead of biking to that campsite, we shuttled from the viewpoint at Crater Lake into Grants Pass. Thankfully we still got to see beautiful Crater Lake, we knew about our campsite being closed before we biked there and we got a full refund, and the stayover hosts in Grants Pass were so kind and let us stay here an extra night and during our impromptu rest day today.
Our ride to Crater Lake was dedicated to Patricia Nelson. Patricia is a family friend of Viraat’s who hosted him back when we were in Cleveland. She recently found out that she has breast cancer, which is an impossibly difficult thing for anyone to find out. We biked with her and her family in mind as they process that news and begin the fight ahead of them.
Riding into Crater Lake was stunning. I know that many of us did not know what to expect, and at mile 53 when the lake finally came into view we were amazed. Crater Lake is a really cool area formed from volcanoes and rain/snow water deposits. The water was so unbelievably blue! I know that everyone always says that about any body of water, but seriously it was SO blue. While one group of riders shuttled to the stayover, the other group stayed and saw the sun set over the lake.
Our wonderful generous stayover for the past two nights has been St. Paul’s Lutheran church. They not only let us stay two nights on short notice, they also cooked us two dinners and two breakfasts. We are so thankful for them! They also arranged for us to have showers and laundry which was above and beyond anything we could have asked for. We were thankful for everything and for having a place to stay out of the smoke.
With two days passing I have two teammates to brag about!
First up: Jonathan (Jon as many of us call him)! Jon is a great teammate and a really strong biker. On the road, he is very deliberate with communicating with cars, and you never question what he is doing. He packs our van every single morning with all of our stuff, and he does an amazing job at it. Jon is also not afraid to speak up & out on his own behalf or the behalf of his friends. He is hands-down the most fashionable person on the team and somehow packed his entire stylish closet in his one backpack?? Not sure how he did that, but it is awesome and so is he!
Next up: Sisi. Sisi is a person who just gets more and more interesting the more that you talk to her. She has had so many life experiences and has a lot of stories to share. She loves sailing and enjoys deliberately getting lost in order to have an adventure. She is full of surprises and never fails to keep a day interesting! Sisi is also almost done with her PhD with is incredibly exciting. She does research on Ovarian cancer which is important and relevant to this trip.