Memorial Day Away From the Flock

After our extended waiting period to get into our rooms yesterday we really didn't want to end up in the same situation today.  Linda (the smart one of the crowd) had called today's hotel yesterday and they weren't prepared to promise anything before 4.  With only 40 miles to cover today we could have left after lunch and been here in time.  So....... breakfast was officially at 8 and most folks left soon after.  Cindi, Linda & I stayed behind for a later start.  I left about 9:30 while Cindi & Linda left about 10.  I poked around Ashland for a bit (very cute historic downtown), but nothing other than coffee shops was really open yet.  We were on the Bear Creek Greenway bike path for about 13 miles from Ashland to Medford.  Very nice - meandering mostly along Bear Creek, but also next to the freeway or close to orchards at times.  It was nice to see it well used.  Not crowded by any means, but lots of people out biking, walking and jogging.

Once in the town of Medford the bike path went through U.S. Cellular Park, which had about a half dozen beautiful ball diamonds.  There was a kids tournament going on so I stayed to watch about 3 innings of a 10-year-old game.  Great skills for their age and fun to watch.  I had never seen baseball played on artifical turf before.  Interesting; wonder if they get rug burn if the slide to catch a ball or steal a base.

Although I had let Kat (our SAG driver today) know that I would be off the grid today, she was still waiting for me at the designated 16.2 mile SAG stop.  Nice......  Medford is a sizeable city (about 75,000) but our route was through quiet residential areas for the most part.  Really pretty gardens, especially the roses.

We could see Mount McLoughlin off to our right (east) as we left Medford.  I'm guessing this is the same one we could see yesterday as Mount Shasta was being left behind.

We then followed a few secondary roads until we came to the Rogue River.  I stopped at a small day-use and boat launch area to have my lunch and just sit and enjoy the river.

Met Cindi after I rejoined the route.  Rode in with her and then went into Shady Cove for a huge ice cream (she had a diet coke).

We're staying at the Edgewater Inn tonight.  Right on the river and with a little park next door which I will explore after dinner.  We even have an osprey nest right in our parking lot!

Had a really nice mellow day and absolutely no Memorial Day traffic issues.  Big climbing day into Crater Lake tomorrow!


Stats for the day:
68 km / 42 miles from Ashland OR to Shady Cove OR
1881 feet up
2164 feet down
Weather:  lovely.  Started at about 15C and got up into the high 20sC.  Bright sunshine all day.

Into Oregon

After leaving San Diego on May 5th, we're finally out of California!  What a fine day we had. We had  an early start to the day since we had lots of miles and elevation to cover. I understand why we do this - to give people lots of time to complete the ride. But - it can be frustrating. I've been waiting for my room for over two hours now.  Poor Ann laid down on a bench outside and Emily thought she looked like a homeless person.  All clean now, though, and almost time for margaritas.

We saw an amazing diversity of terrain today. From the pine forests of Mount Shasta down into agricultural valleys and rolling barren hills and then back up to Siskiyou Summit, across the PCT and down, down, down through largely deciduous forest, more agriculture and finally the booming metropolis of Ashland, Oregon.  A beautiful ride.......  With the more open terrain on the north side of Mount Shasta we had great views of the mountain behind us for about 45 miles.  Mount Shasta is a beautiful and imposing mountain, but I suppose I have even more of an affinity for it since my boots made a summit attempt earlier this month.  My friend Tami was wearing them at the time, but still......  And no sooner did we look south to see Mount Shasta, but we could look north and see the next snow-covered, volcanic looking mountain in the distance.  Not sure yet which one it is.

One of the best things about today's ride was the utter lack of traffic - heaven!  We went about 14 miles on North Old Stage Road and probably saw a half dozen cars in all that time.  Mostly rural residential areas.  We had a little bit of early climbing and then a gentle downhill for miles and miles.  We were on old Hwy 99 and a variety of backroads that eventually took us into the little town of Montague for a SAG stop at 36 miles.  Below are some views along the way (and diminishing views of Shasta) and some photos at Montague.

A long stretch on a quiet Ager Road/CR A28 which took us over the Klamth River and through Hornbrook toward a 7 mile stretch on I-5 into Oregon.  A steady climb on the interstate and I raced a transport truck which was really struggling to make it up the hill.  He won, but was a good sport about "racing".

Shortly after we passed into Oregon we took Exit 1 to continue climbing to Siskiyou Summit on Old Hwy 99.  Poor Sheila, our Scottish rider.  She knew we were to take exit 1.  The first exit we saw on I-5 was exit 793.  Poor girl thought she was going to be on the highway for days.  Patty had failed to explain that each state has their own series of numbers and once we crossed the state line the numbers would begin again at 1.  Anyway, once off the interstate we continued to climb for another almost 4 miles.  We got up quite a bit higher than the interstate travelled.

We crossed the PCT twice shortly after the summit and then had a most fabulous winding traffic-free descent for about 12 miles.

Seems I can't load any more pictures right now for some reason.  Oh well.....  might get a few more in here tomorrow.  Or not.....

Our guide Patty will be going home in a few days.  As per the plan, our new guide Katie arrived today.  They'll overlap for a couple of days and then Patty will leave from Crater Lake.  A short day tomorrow.

Stats for the day:
127 km / 79 miles from Mount Shasta CA to Ashland OR
3827 feet up
5347 feet down
Weather:  Stellar.  Started about 6C and reached a high of mid-20sC.  Sunny with a bit of high cloud. A bit of a headwind on the last 5 miles into Ashland.

Starting the Second Half

Well, after a rest day in Burney CA we have officially embarked on the second half of the trip. My, how time flies!

Patty drove a vanful of us to see Burney Falls yesterday.  The second oldest state park in California and stunning waterfalls.  Also the Pacific Crest Trail passes through the park.

Oh - and Fiona took some great pics of osprey in their nest.

We had a nice, distant view of Mount Shasta from our hotel in Burney.  I was looking forward to seeing improving views as we cycled toward the town of Mount Shasta today.

Friday was probably a good day to have off the bikes.  It is Memorial Day weekend here in the US and it seems that many people make it into a 4-day weekend and use Friday as a travel day.  We got out Saturday morning about 7:30 and had only light traffic for the first little while.  Thankfully no logging trucks today, although still some transport trucks.  We were on US 89 most of the day.  The shoulder was good in places and non-existent in others.  Travelled through pine forest again today with lots of rolling hills.  We had a couple of good climbs, including one for 5 miles from miles 50 to 55.   A few of us stopped for snacks in McCloud and were surprised by the number of RVs parked in town - the McCloud Mushroom Festival apparently!  Not too many pictures today.  Every once in a while Mount Shasta came into view, so that was definitely picture-worthy.

We couldn't get into the hotel until 3PM, so I had to join Linda for tea and eat her leftover carrot cake (yum!) and then take a ride to downtown - a very funky little town.  A few views of Mount Shasta from town and from our hotel.  And no, Tami, I didn't see any lemurians.

Stats for the day (approximate since my Garmin ran out of juice at 60 miles):
102 km / 63 miles from Burney CA to Mount Shasta CA
4200 feet up
3800 feet down
Weather:  delightful!  Started at about 6C and climbed steadily to about mid-20sC. Bright sunshine all day!