Day 8: Paradise Campground, OR to Sisters, OR

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Distance: 37.66 miles
Ascent: 3806 ft
Weather: clear, sunny

Starting time: “11:30am.” I woke up around 6am after about 6.5 hours of sleep, which I would consider to be good for camping. Morning activities (breakfast, bathroom, packing, …) took much too long as usual. I tried to use my dad’s screw-on bike pump on my front tire, except it unscrewed my valve core upon removal, thus deflating the tire entirely. After pumping up the tire again, I got on my bike only to find my front brake lever to be completely floppy. I had adjusted my front brakes during the rest day in Corvallis, and I think I must not have torqued down the cable bolt properly. I am thankful this happened before any serious descending. We also spent some time adjusting my dad’s saddle.

Morning in the woods.

Road conditions: car-free. We took our chances with McKenzie pass, and it was the right call. The roads were pretty much clear of hazards/debris, apart from a few short sections of snow near the summit of the pass. We encountered only one construction vehicle near the beginning of our ride, and it ignored us.

This sign won’t stop me because I can’t read!

Slightly sketchy loose-looking rock face.

Food: breakfast was (overly sweet) instant oatmeal. During the ride I constantly ate trail mix and beef jerky. For dinner, the “Patty Melt” (if I remember correctly) from The Gallery in Sisters, with an extra patty. Reminiscent of a Reuben except with 2 smashed patties and no kraut.

Highlights: biking up the Old McKenzie Highway without encountering a single car. Looking back at the forest as we ascended. Reaching the lava fields at the summit and taking in the alien landscape. We also ran into a few bikers on the way, with most of them descending west after climbing up the east side. Shoutout to Jordan from Eurosports in Sisters, who we ran into at the summit and gave us good lodging advice. Descending the summit was fun too, but a bit chilly.

Looking back at the forest, after a few thousand feet of climbing.

Entering wildfire area.

The sisters hide behind the clouds. Lava field in the foreground.

Dee Wright observatory - a little fort built out of lava rocks.

Peeking at one of the sisters from inside the observatory.

Lowlights: the morning was stressful. I really don’t like waking up at 6 only to set off 5 hours later. I hope we can get better at this. My knees continue to be an issue, and they don’t seem to be getting much better. Unsurprising, since we aren’t really lowering our biking volume. I found some PT exercises online which I hope will help.



Day 9: Rest

I goofed up the Strava embed, here it is properly formatted:



Today we’re taking a rest day to rest our knees. My dad dropped off his bike at Eurosports in the morning to get the shifting checked out. They tuned it up in a few minutes free of charge. Great shop!


We’re staying at the Best Western in Sisters. It’s definitely one of the nicer hotels we’ve been to so far: excellent complimentary breakfast, garden hose for our bikes, laundry, and alpacas.


After sorting out my dad’s bike, we wandered around town for a bit. I wanted to find a pair of lightweight quick-drying pants to replace my current pair, which ripped unfortunately right in the crotch. I was not successful. We headed back to do our laundry and hose down our bikes + re-lube the chains. Around this time I started feeling unwell, like a cold was coming on. I still don’t feel great, but I’m doing better after some pizza and salad.


Tomorrow we head to Lake Ochoco, which should be ~50 miles away with very mild climbing. Hopefully a good night’s rest and acetaminophen will fix me up!