Sunday, August 2, 2009

Saturday. Redmond to mckenzie bridge 56 miles. Last night in Redmond we had a surprise visitor. Ollie, our fallen comrade and his wife joined us for dinner. They have a cabin nearby. It was great to see Ollie and even better to see him mostly mended from his injuries all the way back in Virginia. An incredible ride today with no extra curricular excitement. Out of Redmond we had a nice gradual climb through the high desert to Sisters about 20 miles away. After second breakfast we embarked on a chancy ride over mckenzie pass. This is a seasonal road that has been closed due to winter damage. Some folks we met on the road told us we could blow through the barriers and cruise over the pass. We decide to take a chance hoping we wouldn’t get turned around and have to go back adding about 30 miles to the ride and an extra high pass to climb. The climb up was gradual through mostly forest the all of a sudden it opened up into a huge lava field. The whole area of mountains were created by volcanic activity. As it turned out we negotiated with the construction crew that we met and we had a once in a lifetime 20 mile ride on a newly paved road with absolutely no vehicular interference. The ride ended with a 3500 foot descent down a narrow road through a forest with huge evergreen trees. It was really something.

1 comment:

  1. i'd love to hear that negotiation. i can't imagine how that worked out , given all the liability issues. but i'm glad it was settled easier than Nicholson ordering his sandwich in "five easy pieces". it has been really, really, REALLY somethin' alright! love, david and ann

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