Day 4 - Sept 11th

In the morning, we were treated to an unwelcome surprise.  It got so cold that frost formed everywhere.  Water bottles were frozen.  The clothes I had left out were frozen.  Later, on Day 7 I’d hear someone’s bike making creaking noises every time he climbed, and he would blame today’s frost.

At least it wasn’t raining anymore.  But still, while we wanted to get an early start (since this was the longest day in terms of mileage), it was just too cold to get going.  We didn’t end up leaving until about 7:50am.

After getting stuck behind a school bus for a while, a group of us formed a paceline of 10-12 riders, making really good time in the morning mist on Burgess Road.  Technically we weren’t supposed to have more than 7 in a paceline, but I wasn’t going to say anything to the riders behind me.

I really liked some of the forests we went through here, but we were going too fast for me to stop to take any pictures.  We skipped the first water stop, covering 18 miles in the first hour even after getting stuck behind that school bus.

It was starting to warm up now, so I dropped off some layers at the first rest stop.  The so-called “gear drop” lets you drop off a jacket or other layer, gloves, etc. that you won’t need later in today’s ride, and get it back at camp after the ride.  I hadn’t thought I would use it, but since it was so cold this morning I didn’t have much choice but to layer up.

We next went past Wickiup Reservoir, then through a burned forest near Davis Lake.  After a rest stop we turned onto Highway 97, my least favorite part of the ride.  Big semi trucks whizzed by, some too close for comfort.  After a rest stop, we passed through Chemult, where there was construction on the road.  At one point we had to get off our bikes and walk around some machinery.

Finally, we turned right onto State Highway 138.  There was still some traffic, but not as much, and not as many big trucks.  On the other hand, this road was frustrating in that it was straight but contained so many false summits.  We climbed and climbed, thinking we would reach the top soon, only to find yet another false summit.  By this time it was warm and I kept drinking but couldn’t seem to quench my thirst.  I would say I survived this part of the ride, just putting my head down, going at my own pace (which was slow at this point).

Finally, we made it over the top and turned right to start the descent to Diamond Lake.  We had a nice view of the lake as we descended.  We arrived at the finish to get our now customary chocolate milk (handed out to all riders).  After getting my stuff from the gear drop, I biked over to our tent, which was far away.  We were staying at a campground and everything was really spread out here, but it was my favorite camping spot on the trip.

The stage and food was near the lake, and the tents were a 10-15 minute walk away, but the sun was shining and everything was good.  Best of all, we had a layover day:  no need to pack our stuff away in the morning, as we’d be staying here for 2 nights.