Day 13: July 18, 2024 - Sisters, OR, to Prineville, OR
End: Prineville, OR
Miles: 39.9
Feet climbing per mile: 34
Record of the day's ride: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/203347642
Scott and I left his place at 5:40 to drive back to Sisters where I would resume riding where Scott had picked me up the day before. I was on the road at 7:00 and the temperature was 55. This would be a relatively easy day, with a short distance and not much climbing. Throughout the day I would usually be on highway 126 which almost always had a shoulder with an excellent surface and a width sufficient for when cars would pass. When trucks passed there were many times I wished the shoulder were wider.
At about mile 12 I saw that someone had lost a tent pole, so on several Facebook biking groups I posted a picture of it and a map showing its location. I hope the person who lost the tent pole sees one of my posts and recovers it.
The scenery throughout the ride was often gorgeous.
Who needs a truck?
Do you want the one on the left?
Or the one on the right?
I stopped at the Starbucks in Redmond to have a hot chocolate and a brownie. While I was there I had a conversation with a sheriff in which he told me he loved to drive two-lane and four-lane roads and that it was a great way to see America. I asked him what was meant by “sunken grade” which I’ve seen on several signs. He told me it’s a place where the road and sunk, and that I wouldn’t notice it on a bike but that it’s noticeable going faster in a motor vehicle.
I find horses to be such majestic animals.
This was the most timid group of cows I have ever seen. When I first approached them they all backed away.
The curving descent into Prineville starting at mile 36.8 offered spectacular views. I will post the video I took if I can find a way to do so.
I stopped at the Dairy Queen shortly before arriving at my motel. They usually put a large sundae in a cup too small to prevent it from going all over the table, but I managed to get them to use a larger dish.
I arrived at the Executive Inn in Prineville at noon and the temperature was now 85. After a shower, shave, change of clothes, and a nap, I walked a half mile to Pioneer Park to work on my blog posts at one of the picnic tables in the pavilion I had seen on my ride to my motel.
Regarding my blog posts: As of yesterday, day 12 of this trip, I had published posts only through day 8. I’ve been trying to catch up and feeling vexed by writing about what happened a few days ago instead of the immediate day. So today I decided that I would write each day about that day, and then, if I had time and energy, work on a post for one of the previous days in the backlog. I will publish posts as soon as I finish them (provided I have an internet connection). For a while this will leave a gap in the published posts. As I publish posts from the backlog I will give them (incorrect) publication dates that will have them displayed on my blog in the correct order.
At the park I almost finished writing this blog post, and then wrote and published my post for yesterday, day 12. My new method is working!
After leaving the park I went to The Sandwich Factory for dinner and then walked to Ray's Food Place where I bought three bars of dark chocolate for the coming mornings.
Tomorrow I'll be up at 5:00 and on the road at 5:30, a little before sunrise, so that I can arrive in Mitchell before it gets too hot.
See all of my daily routes here: Cross Country 2024
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