The ROUTE
As I headed east out of Bend this morning it didn't take long for the manicured and watered lawns to give way to juniper and desert.
As I neared Powell Butte irrigation began to turn the sageland green.
This was the road I had mapped. Obviously a change of plan was called for!
My stop in Powell Butte for snacks. If I had known this was the last opportunity for 60 miles I would have stocked up!
Pretty desolate country
Except for the greenery this reminded me an awful lot of the Furnace Creek 508 route.
A hoped for opportunity to hydrate was dashed when I saw that the Millican Store had not been in business for quite some time.
I was hot, thirsty, and tired. It didn't help that the scenery reminded me of crossing the Mojave Desert on the Furnace Creek 508!
Any resemblance to looking back at the Panamint Valley from the start of Townes Pass?
no water in the river!
I was pushing against what turned out to be a 17 mph headwind, temps reached a new record for the day, 100 degrees. I had drained all three water bottles quite some time ago and was parched. I rode well over 25 miles without any water at all.
I stopped at the first house I saw. I rang the bell but there was no answer. The garage door was open but either no one was answering this brightly colored stranger or there was in fact nobody home. I said "thank you" anyway and filled two bottles from the hose that was attached to the outside of the house, as well as drank as much as I dared straight from the hose before pedaling off.
In about another 15 miles I reached the outskirts of Bend
and a much needed slushy 5 miles from the end!
UPDATE:
I didn't bring lube with me and my chain was in need of some TLC. I rode a meandering route to REI late today to get a bottle of lube and in the process added 8 miles to today's total.
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...............Road Bike.....LifeCycle.....Total Miles
Today...........101...............0................101
Jan total.......501.....+.........30.......=.......531
Feb total.......614.....+.........0........=.......614
March total.....860.....+.........0........=.......860
April total.....790.....+.........0........=.......790
May total.......901.....+.........0........=.......901
June total......543.....+.........0........=.......543
July total.....1322.....+.........0........=......1322
August total....765.....+.........0........=.......765
Year to date...6355.....+.........30.......=......6385
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