Day 11: Burns, OR to Bend, OR
Today was the easy day I was hoping to have yesterday. I woke up and whatever stomach issue I was having yesterday was still there, but I resolved to ignore it since the doc couldn’t find anything, eat regular meals and see if it got better. I slept in a little, till about 9am, and then packed up the bike and made it to McD’s for breakfast, where there were several other riders on their own journeys. Apparently the Oregon BDR is fun? I don’t even know what BDR stands for. I am a little in awe of the more experienced riders; here I am, I can do 300 miles max in a day and they’re out there doing that many miles off pavement. But comparison is the thief of joy, so let’s ride our own ride, shall we?
Filled up on gas and this was a first for the trip, the whole day was well within one tank of gas. Yesterday I ended up using one of my reserve bottles, need to remember to refill that tomorrow. 60oz total reserve fuel will get me 25ish miles if I ride slow. I really should have a gallon can but didn’t have time to source it before the trip. Anyway. I left Burns around 11, it was a little cool but not terrible, mid-50s. Even at that, I’m still marveling that I rode for many hours hovering in the low 30s a few days ago.
You get out of Burns and there’s a filling station at Riley and then no more fuel til Bend, a 100ish mile gap, give or take. A couple places used to exist, as recently as 2018, but the store at Brothers was closed when I passed by, with ‘No Trespassing’ signs out front. Maybe it’s temporary, as google seems to think they’ll be open on Thursday.
It’s another empty place, though; miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles. There are some off road courses, and a few farms, but a lot of nothing. I paused a couple times to take photos of the hills. Not as dramatic as the Rockies, but still really nice.
The riding was pretty unremarkable, except one moment, where there was a guy in a truck with one of those drop in campers, towing a trailer with a chopper on it, going about 60 in a 65. Two lane road, so passing is somewhat dicey but possible. I was behind and waiting for a moment to pass, and then the bus behind me decided they had time, and so I thought I’d just get behind them and also get by. Only the van behind them had the same idea, and I didn’t see them until they were right next to me, maybe six inches from my handlebars. I somehow didn’t target fixate and pulled back into the right lane. Anyway always check your blind spots, kids.
There was a rest area maybe five minutes from there, so I pulled off to find a calmer spot in the traffic pattern. Five minutes later and I got back on the road and it was just me and the sagebrush again, the rest of the way into Bend. Of course I did pull off a couple times for photos too, so a two hour trip really took more like three. I can’t help myself.
Got into Bend, checked into my room, and it’s a real nice one this time. Mcmenamin’s is apparently a local-to-oregon chain of bars and hotels, and this one is in a remodeled catholic school. They have a soaking pool, which means after 11 days on the road I was able to get in the hot water and feel the tension come out of my bones. Muscles, I guess. The room is super quiet, comfy, and has a really nice overstuffed arm chair I’m writing this in. The on-site bars serve really good food, too.
I walked around Bend a bit, looking for a knife sharpener, as my pocket knife has gotten dull (probably from cutting the kevlar bead of the mountain bike tire I sacrificed to make foot-peg rubbers) and taking in the town. It feels like it’s been built up considerably since the last time I was here, six years ago. Lot of new condos, expensive shops, that sort of thing. Doubtless some of the Bay Area tech diaspora are here. I didn’t find a knife sharpener, despite going to several stores that you would think would have such a thing (fancy kitchen store, REI, etc). Walked along the river for a hot second, though, and looked up the prices for the houses that backed up to it. Roughly two bay-area shacks per waterfront property (average of about $2M).
Came back to the hotel, had a soak, went back to the bar for a nightcap by the fire, and now I’m here in the overstuffed arm chair in my room, writing this. Tomorrow hopefully Crater Lake and down to Klamath Falls, OR. Stomach is better right now? Maybe just like, regular food and not skipping meals is helping? Who can say.
Also, addendum: I took my ten-thousandth photo with the Z8 today. Still going strong.
