Out and back, out and back

Followers of this blog will likely remember that I am not a big fan of out and backs. I just love seeing new scenery, or at least new that day. Today I rode two out and backs, but they were both surprisingly fun!

I started out riding from Bend to East Lake. I delayed my start a bit because there was frost at 7AM and I was not prepared to ride in freezing temperatures. I eventually got on the road and made my way towards La Pine. Just before reaching La Pine (which is up hill from Bend!) I turned eastward and began climbing in earnest. The climb from Bend is one of those mean things that starts out gentle and just keeps getting steeper and steeper. By 40 miles in I was climbing 12% grades.

It was a beautiful day though. I played tourist around Paulina and East Lakes for just a bit then took the fun run back DOWN to Bend.

When I reached the outskirts of Bend I stopped at the intersection of China Hat Road. I had seen this road on the map and had wondered if it was paved. It certainly was here in town! There were a few folks standing on the sidewalk. I asked them if the road was paved after it got out of town. They informed me that it was paved as far as the cave. My ears perked up, "a cave?", I said. They told me that Boyd Cave was about 10 miles out of town, and Arnold Ice Cave was just a bit farther down the road after it turned to gravel. I decided that a look see of Boyd Cave was worth the pedal out there. I had time to spare, and the weather was perfect.

Again, my card reader is not with me so you'll have to wait until I get home to post the photos of today's ride.

I had expected to ride a few miles less than yesterday's 100, but with the little side trip to Boyd Cave I ended up with a few more. Yipee! Bonus miles!


............BIKE............LIFECYCLE.....ROLLERS....TOTAL
Today.......112...............0...............0..........112
Jan........618...............0................0..........618
Feb........692...............0................0..........692
March......940...............0................5..........940
April......934...............0................0..........934
May........905...............0................0..........905
June......1152...............0................0.........1152
July......1020...............0................0.........1020
Aug.......1000...............0................0.........1000
Sept.......212...............0................0..........212
_________________________________________
TOTAL.....7491...............0..............5.........7496