Down to the Valley- Eugene OR

Ashland found us in the hands of the Family Boehnke. We were fed, beered, cookied, and given all the comforts of home. Susan went across the states in the 80s for the bikecentennial, that makes two we've met, with Donn King back in Santa Rosa. The bike keeps us moving but the people we meet keep us grounded.

Dead Indian Memorial Road out of Ashland took us 3000 ft straight up out of town, what a way to start the morning! A descent into Rogue River National Forest took us on a ride through forest country, wildlife refuge, and winding rivers. By lunch three of the four remaining were ready to call it a day, but a curious ground squirrel awoke us from a post lunch coma and we decided to press on. 50 miles and couple rain storms later we rolled into the small town of Prospect, OR population: very small. Most of the township were at a Anna's birthday party at the local saloon, so we rode through the quiet town up to our site at Mill Creek after stopping at the local gas/market for essentials: chips, beer, pastries and oatmeal. That night, we fell asleep to the light patter of rain on our tents and flowing water of the creek.

Sun filtered through the wet trees in the morning as we geared up for our ride to Mazama Village, our 'rest' day of 28 miles and 3500 ft of climbing. At the base of the climb, filling up on water, corn nuts, and M&Ms we met a solo bike traveler Harmony. She is on an adventure from San Diego, CA to Missoula, MT biking the Sierra Cascade route to Bend and connecting with the TransAm trail- look up Adventure Cycling Routes
We biked up the mountain with her and shared a site at Mazama Village. Dinner, Rogue River beer, and a warm campfire rounded out the night as we shared stories from the road and delicious anecdotes from Ryland.

The deep blue water of Crater Lake renewed our spirits and our legs as we dropped several thousand feet down from the mountain top. Following the descent, we rejoiced in the tailwind we had for most of the rest of the day. We stopped at a market/post office that had a fantastic soundtrack to get water. Got some info about nearby camp sites and settled on one a few miles up the road. The temperature plummeted as the icy winds swept across Odell Lake. We set up to sleep under the stars, but as the evening pressed on, there was a looming cloud, seemingly filled with water, being blown directly towards us. In a hurry we set up our tents, undercooked our rice, overcooked our bean/vegetable paste and call it a night.

We woke up to an even colder Odell Lake than we experienced the night before. Covered in shade and beaten by water-chilled wind, we freeze our way into our chamois and eat whatever we can manage. As soon as we get back onto Highway 58, the temperature rises 15 degrees. We climb a couple hundred feet crossing the Willamette Pass into Lane County. The rest of the day consisted of 4500 feet of elevation loss over 70 miles into Eugene where we came to Kurtis and Madison's home. The rest of the day consisted of drinking homebrew, making and eating pizza and listening to vinyl.

See you in Salem!
Matt and Ryland