Climbing!
Courtesy of Colleen at the YMCA in Eugene, we started the day off right with enormous and delicious breakfast burritos, fruit, and coffee! Our route today was marked by three large hills, all of which paired well with the heat to make us really feel those climbs. General consensus was that that's the sweatiest we’ve ever been! A highlight of the day was stopping near a coffee shop for lunch that gave out free pastries to first time customers: cookies, scones, pumpkin bread— you name it, we ate it! We also had some wild downhills that had us hitting high speeds (for a bike, not for a car) and tailwinds that helped propel us through the last stretch of the day.
This route to Roseburg was originally supposed to be to Crater, OR. But since the fires around Crater and Crater Lake are still creating smoke, we though it’d be best not to risk cycling in it or worse— having to shuttle. So instead, we rerouted to Roseburg, cut a few miles, added a rest day, and are getting to drive to Crater Lake. We’re able to stay in Roseburg thanks to Ryan’s family, and are loving the river and relaxation time— thank you so much to Les and family! Tomorrow we are going to see the National Park, do laundry, bike maintenance, and probably take a dozen or so naps. I’ll be back with regular posting after tomorrow and will continually update the last week!
— Marielle
