Cycle Oregon Day 2.

Route Overview:

Only 70.7 miles and 3200 feet of climbing today.....no problem!  Looks like we get most of the "work" done in the morning and then it's just another pleasure cruise.

One of the early morning water stops.

The morning pace line for the steep climb!

The reverse shot.

Wifey wasn't minding the challenge!

Posing for the picture at the top of the climb.

Lunch stop at the picturesque Silvies Ranch...which extends for an entire 35 mile valley!  This was the old schoolhouse for the valley back in the day.

They even had some on sight "rangeland goats" that make better use of the valley pasture than cattle.  They eat the grass and the weeds and produce more meat in the process.

 After the days ride, we ended up in the town of Burns, Oregon.  A cute little place where Cycle Oregon officially took over the town.  Closing most every street, setting up our main stage in the center of town, and pretty much every establishment had special things going on....including a BBQ dinner at the local Elks Lodge where we ended up!

The BBQ line up at the elks lodge.

Their excellent outdoor dinning room.

Complete with microbrew beer from Worthy Brewery!

While we were there we sat next to two random guys....who turned out to be the crew that my buddy the Preacher usually rides with.  He was supposed to ride, but a move to Bend threw a wrench in the plans.  What are the odds of meeting his buddies!  As you can see....there were very friendly once introductions were made!

It also happened to be Wifey's birthday and word got around (to the band playing) and announcements were made on the PA.  Soon one of the local Elks members was at our table with a special brownie complete with a candle!  Now that's local hospitality!

The main stage in the middle of the town's 4-way intersection and the end to a good day.

Puddles in the Plaza!

Well, I just wasn't really expecting this mornings ride.  Things were really hectic at work yesterday evening and wifey needed to get home by 5:30 pm.  She's headed out for 60 miles of walking to support breast cancer research and needed to meet up with her ride.  Long story short, I left the xtracycle at work and beat feet for home, planning to ride the mountain bike in the today.  Needless to say, as I walked out the door I was thinking, "It will probably rain tomorrow".

Go figure....

The first part of the ride was just fine.  Some residual puddles from last night, but no worry about getting a stripe up the the back due to water.  And hey, how often do you see puddles in the plaza in Reno?

Just East of Reno in Brodhead park it really started coming down.  You can even see some of the rain drops streaking through the picture!  Against all odds, it continued all the way to work.  Which is where the bicycle with fenders and my rain coat were cozily stored.

The result was some damp cloths (seriously not a big deal).  In fact, for a ride in Reno this was actually pretty darn refreshing!  And the xtracycle makes a great drying rack here in the office.  So if you got caught in the rain, congratulations, we "earned our stripes" today!

(And if you not a rider this means we had a wet / dirty strip up our backs due to the spray off the rear timer.)