Day 63 Mitchell, OR to Bend, OR

We had a great breakfast at the Mitchell School (felt like being back in K-12 education... wow that was a lifetime ago for me).  After dedication circle, we headed out of Mitchell... which was an initial downhill, for a few miles, but then a big climb out for the next 16 miles.  Thankfully I think our legs are finally adjusted to this kind of climbing (long but pretty gradual) so it wasn't too bad.

Actually we were glad to be able to just bike through this area at all, because just a short few weeks ago, this area had suffered a forest fire and we weren't sure if we would be allowed to go through it at all.  Last night's (Mitchell School) had actually been a FEMA center for a little awhile...

Remnants of the forest fire

Still really beautiful views from the top

Ok this is kind of a random picture, but there was a grate at the TOP of the mountain, which to any cyclist is kind of funny.  Grates might seem meaningless if you've never biked, but to a cyclist, they can be really annoying and or dangerous (try running over one... if you're lucky you get away with it, sometimes you get a flat, even worse your wheel gets stuck in it and you bend your rim...).  So I couldn't help but think it funny to find one at nearly 5,000 feet up...

Obligatory team pic at summit

So after we made summit, we were all very excited to descend down the mountain... except it turned out to be incredibly gradual, far more gradual than the climb had been.  This meant that the ride down wasn't so much exciting as... very very relaxing, and our team became tired for a good bit.  We talked to each other and yelled at each other to make sure we all stayed away.

After a bit of difficulty as to where exactly we would have it, we ate lunch by a local school, just maybe 22 miles away from our destination of Bend, OR.  We had a big surprise there when Brady's family (Brady is actually from Oregon) surprised him.  By "we had a big surprise," what I really mean is that all of us on the team knew they were coming... we just kept it a secret from Brady.  It was very nice to finally meet his mom - about whom we've all heard so much.  Pretty much the entire team will be staying over at Brady's house after the trip, at least for a day or two, so we'll definitely be seeing her again soon.

We had a bit of a hectic entrance into Bend, because the weather took a turn for the worse.  We started drizzling just a little, so our team quickly made our way to the host.  We were definitely glad to have been able to do so, because as soon as we made it to the host it started raining even more, and eventually we saw hail bigger than I've ever seen in my entire life.

We have a very unique host situation tonight, since we have homestays, but they are not through a church or any school or any central organization.  Instead, one of our riders, Kelsey, her brother's girlfriend's friend is our main host contact for Bend.  A very tenuous connection I know, but hey on the 4K you'll take whatever you can get.  And by whatever you can get, of course, I mean a great host with Kirk and Rochelle Schueler.  This is the lovely view from the deck.  As usual, the pic doesn't really do justice.

After a great dinner of chicken and potatoes and green beans, we just had a relaxed evening of chatting about 4K, talking about our remaining riding days, the Schueler family (who are quite accomplished by the way... as Aaron put it, "what don't you guys do?").  My blog is finally caught up (we'll see how long that lasts, even though there is only a week left).

Although we won't really get to see much of it, Bend reminds me of Boulder, CO.  As soon as we entered the town there was a great bike lane that continued through most of the town and up to the house.  It's too bad we don't have an extra day here to see what sights, but at least we're getting a taste of the area.