Day 2
June 2, 2005
Well I think each day will become it’s own little victory. Just making it to Eugene yesterday was cause enough for a party in the streets and today was no different. Eugene did feel like an accomplishment, today wasn’t that bad, I was just glad to get it over with.
Pop quiz:
1. What’s a sure fire way to kill your momentum? …a flat tire.
2. What’s a sure fire way to kill your nerves? …two flat tires.
It wasn’t as bad as it may seem. The first one came just as I was almost out of Eugene. It took me little over a half hour to patch it, which wasn’t too bad I didn’t think. The patches I have are simple little stick on jobs and I wanted to be sure to get it on nicely. The second one came 14 miles out of Blue River, where I am staying tonight. And the thing that killed me about that one was, it was the same hole. The patch gave out. And I don’t think it was my inability to patch the tire. I think they are horrible patches. I’ve patched two tires with them and they both gave out. So instead of repairing the patch, I put my spare tube in and will fix that one when I’m able to come across better patches, in Sisters tomorrow I hope.
Another outcome of those awful patches is that I broke a piece of my bike while I was tightening my front wheel after replacing the tube. I can’t think of what it’s called, but it’s the spindle that goes through the wheel and keeps the wheel nice and tightly attached to the fork of the frame. Well, evidently I was trying to get it a little too snug and I snapped something as I was trying to lock it into place. It’s not that big a deal, it just makes for a shaky, inefficient front end. The only bad thing about that situation is the timing of it.
Tomorrow I have my first real challenge. I have my choice, I can either cross McKenzie Pass, like I was planning/fearing, or I can take the alternate, stay on 126 and cross some other pass, I forget the name. McKenzie tops out at 5,320 feet, the other reaches 4,800 feet. I’m thinking either way it’s gonna be rough and I may as well go for McKenzie like I was originally thinking. But the guy working the campsite tonight said it is a bear, pretty steep. So we’ll see what happens in the morning. It would just be real nice to have a prime bike to tackle my first real hurdle. I guess we’ll just have to limp over it.
And yes, tonight is my first night of camping out. Thank you, thank you… After all the maintenance madness I got to the site just before 6. I stopped at a little grocery store for lunch and got two corn dogs a Snickers, a 3 Musketeers, 2 sleeves of sunflower seeds, and a Pepsi. I ate the corndog there, and stretched the snickers and half a sleeve of seeds the rest of the way here. So when I got here the first thing I went for was the corndog. After I ate that, I set up the tent and got situated.
June 2nd will also be remembered for the day I almost set Delta Campground ablaze. Tuesday, before I left Florence, I picked up some Ramen noodles and Oatmeal. Well, tonight was the first time I ever attempted to use my little stove and it was one to remember. It runs off any white fuel, a.k.a. gasoline. I accidentally got too much gas on the stove when I first went to light it. I lit it and I thought it was gonna blow up, seriously. Then, acting on instinct, I wisely decided it’d be a good idea to blow it out – nope. I blew on it and almost caught my map on fire – it was nice. I finally turned off the gas, let it burn off, and reset for a smarter approach – reading the directions.
Today was alright, I made it through the tire fiasco which was nice. But I did have a little lonesome spell, poor me... Maybe it’s just being out here camping all alone. The swarm of mosquitoes tried their best to keep me company, but it wasn’t the same, let me just say while we’re on the topic, I hate mosquitoes! I was just noticing the effects of the solitude, as I was about to set the picnic table on fire, when the ranger came by to sign me in and take my money. It was nice to chat with him for a while; it was a weird little boost. Just kinda interesting to notice the affects of a little interaction with someone.
But again, tomorrow will be interesting. In some weird way, I’m looking forward to it. I’ll have to let you know how it goes. I’m hoping to be on the road by 8 so I can take my time and have all day. If I take McKenzie it’ll be 48 miles and if I go the alternate route it’ll be 62. We’ll see…
And incase you’re counting – Today: 60.75 miles. Total: 132.72
Well I think each day will become it’s own little victory. Just making it to Eugene yesterday was cause enough for a party in the streets and today was no different. Eugene did feel like an accomplishment, today wasn’t that bad, I was just glad to get it over with.
Pop quiz:
1. What’s a sure fire way to kill your momentum? …a flat tire.
2. What’s a sure fire way to kill your nerves? …two flat tires.
It wasn’t as bad as it may seem. The first one came just as I was almost out of Eugene. It took me little over a half hour to patch it, which wasn’t too bad I didn’t think. The patches I have are simple little stick on jobs and I wanted to be sure to get it on nicely. The second one came 14 miles out of Blue River, where I am staying tonight. And the thing that killed me about that one was, it was the same hole. The patch gave out. And I don’t think it was my inability to patch the tire. I think they are horrible patches. I’ve patched two tires with them and they both gave out. So instead of repairing the patch, I put my spare tube in and will fix that one when I’m able to come across better patches, in Sisters tomorrow I hope.
Another outcome of those awful patches is that I broke a piece of my bike while I was tightening my front wheel after replacing the tube. I can’t think of what it’s called, but it’s the spindle that goes through the wheel and keeps the wheel nice and tightly attached to the fork of the frame. Well, evidently I was trying to get it a little too snug and I snapped something as I was trying to lock it into place. It’s not that big a deal, it just makes for a shaky, inefficient front end. The only bad thing about that situation is the timing of it.
Tomorrow I have my first real challenge. I have my choice, I can either cross McKenzie Pass, like I was planning/fearing, or I can take the alternate, stay on 126 and cross some other pass, I forget the name. McKenzie tops out at 5,320 feet, the other reaches 4,800 feet. I’m thinking either way it’s gonna be rough and I may as well go for McKenzie like I was originally thinking. But the guy working the campsite tonight said it is a bear, pretty steep. So we’ll see what happens in the morning. It would just be real nice to have a prime bike to tackle my first real hurdle. I guess we’ll just have to limp over it.
And yes, tonight is my first night of camping out. Thank you, thank you… After all the maintenance madness I got to the site just before 6. I stopped at a little grocery store for lunch and got two corn dogs a Snickers, a 3 Musketeers, 2 sleeves of sunflower seeds, and a Pepsi. I ate the corndog there, and stretched the snickers and half a sleeve of seeds the rest of the way here. So when I got here the first thing I went for was the corndog. After I ate that, I set up the tent and got situated.
June 2nd will also be remembered for the day I almost set Delta Campground ablaze. Tuesday, before I left Florence, I picked up some Ramen noodles and Oatmeal. Well, tonight was the first time I ever attempted to use my little stove and it was one to remember. It runs off any white fuel, a.k.a. gasoline. I accidentally got too much gas on the stove when I first went to light it. I lit it and I thought it was gonna blow up, seriously. Then, acting on instinct, I wisely decided it’d be a good idea to blow it out – nope. I blew on it and almost caught my map on fire – it was nice. I finally turned off the gas, let it burn off, and reset for a smarter approach – reading the directions.
Today was alright, I made it through the tire fiasco which was nice. But I did have a little lonesome spell, poor me... Maybe it’s just being out here camping all alone. The swarm of mosquitoes tried their best to keep me company, but it wasn’t the same, let me just say while we’re on the topic, I hate mosquitoes! I was just noticing the effects of the solitude, as I was about to set the picnic table on fire, when the ranger came by to sign me in and take my money. It was nice to chat with him for a while; it was a weird little boost. Just kinda interesting to notice the affects of a little interaction with someone.
But again, tomorrow will be interesting. In some weird way, I’m looking forward to it. I’ll have to let you know how it goes. I’m hoping to be on the road by 8 so I can take my time and have all day. If I take McKenzie it’ll be 48 miles and if I go the alternate route it’ll be 62. We’ll see…
And incase you’re counting – Today: 60.75 miles. Total: 132.72
posted by SuperByron3000 at 6/04/2005
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