DAY 6: Flats, Fruit & New Friends (Prineville, Oregon)

UPDATES FROM MARK & MELODY

MARK:
When the air goes out of your tire, the wind goes out of your sails.
Day 6 destination: Prineville, Ore.
Today’s mileage: 40. Total: 304

A short day of easy riding. I rode 20 miles in the rain to Redmond, Ore., where I feasted on a great breakfast. Upon leaving the restaurant, I put my gloves and helmet on and prepared to depart. Pffffft. Flat tire.  Tube was damaged, but so was the tire — pierced by a sharp stone that was still embedded in the tire.  (Read the rest of Mark’s post here on his blog).

MELODY:

Happy to have a morning to myself when Mark took off from Sisters, Oregon.  I went for a run, organized our things (have I mentioned that we are living out of our car for the summer?) and then met Mark in Redmond just in time for his flat tire.  Later, I stopped by a fruit stand and stocked up on fresh fruit and ate some of the most amazing cherries I have ever had (Mark agrees!).  Had a nice conversation with Jordan, the guy who owns the stand. He had some interesting insights about life, which I will share with you later once I get a chance to edit my footage (for now here is a pic of Jordan). He has owned the stand for 2 years now and loves it because it buys him freedom to travel in the winter.  If you are ever in Powell Butte,  Oregon,  you should stop by and say hello (you can also follow the fruit stand on Facebook here).

It’s still really cold so we decided to stay in a motel tonight and when we checked in we were told there was a guy from Israel who is also biking across the country.  So of course Mark knocked on his door and introduced himself and they became fast friends! In fact, Yoram and Mark will bike together tomorrow!  One of the small pleasures of biking across the country is connecting with strangers.

You never know who you will meet in a motel!

I am enjoying seeing this part of the country.  The majestic beauty of Western Oregon is very different than where we are now. The town we are in tonight (Prineville) seems to be something out of the Wild West– lots of ads for rodeos, guns and steak.   Yesterday in Sisters felt more like Vermont. Lots of outdoorsy types in this region, that is for sure.

Also, I’m starting to get more used to seeing Mark flying down the curvy and dangerous roads with very little shoulder. Just starting to accept it, I guess, now that we are almost a week in on  #OregontoDelaware.

More stories to come!     M & M

We enjoy motel life, especially when it’s too cold for camping (it went down to freezing tonight!).