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Heceta Head LighthouseBecause of the problems caused by my bike's delayed arrival at Maureen and Art's in Klamath Falls, I had a couple of days to explore the coast around the location where we were starting the trip. This lighthouse is on the coast line a short distance north of Florence, OR. |
The Beginning of a Long RideHere I am at the Pacific Ocean getting ready to start the tour East. We dipped our rear tires in the ocean and Art collected a small model paint bottle full of ocean water. He would dump this in the Atlantic at the end of the tour. The mile or so ride from our campsite to the ocean was an adventure for me. It was the first time that I was on a fully loaded bicycle. Everything seemed to be shaking and wiggling. I thought for sure my frame was damaged during shipping. My three riding companions assured me that everything was fine and I would get used to the feel of a loaded bike. They were right. By the end of the first week I was even able to reach for a swig of water from my water bottle while I was still riding. |
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The Majestic CasacadesThe Cascade Mountains are so green and lush. Despite the grey look from this early morning photo, we had clear blue skies every day during our crossing of the mountains. We would have liked to ride through MacKenzie pass to see the lava flows but it was still closed from winter snows and blowdown. We used Santiam Pass instead. |
Mt. WashingtonThe prominent Mt. Washington peak played hide-and-seek with us on the day we crossed Santiam Pass. Either directly in front of us or darting in and out behind the picket fence created by the Cascade forests a view of this mountain was with us almost the entire day. |
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A Rainy Day in the Oregon DesertAfter crossing the Cascades with no rain we entered the Oregon High Desert and got stuck in four days of steady rain. Blue skies in the Cascades and rain in the desert - go figure! Many locals we spoke with were complaining that they have had to mow their lawns for the first time in ten years. They had had two months of rain so far. The weather teased us because quite often we could see patches of blue sky around us but never on top of us. This photo was taken on the rainiest day. I had never been out in such heavy rains during any previous outdoor activity. There was a town of Ironside marked on the map. We decided to put up in a motel here for the night. When we got there, all there was to Ironside was this beat up abandoned building under which we sought cover and a post office. Art is wringing out his gloves in this picture. After drying out and having some warm liquids we pressed on in the rain. By mid-afternoon the rain stopped and that was the last time we rode in the rain for the entire trip. |
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