Day 4: Dayville to John Day

We set out for an easy roll back to John Day after a lovely breakfast of leftover steak and potatoes with an egg on top...oh yea, I forgot to mention that it is totally worth it to have some restraint on dinner at the Dayville Cafe and take the leftovers home for breakfast! Nicole earned her touring name Cokes because well, it seemed every time we lost her, she was stopping to get a Coke. And Natalie earned her second touring name Road Soda as she popped a leftover hard cider as we rode into John Day.

One last flat tire!

In no time, we loaded ourselves back into the truck and celebrated our ride and recounted all the stories of the tour at Tiger Town Brewing Company in Mitchell. We reminisced over triumphing over mechanicals, the serendipity of unexpected changes in plan, and the kindness of Richard and Silver. 

A victory shot of mescal!

Day 3: Long Creek to Dayville

We were greeted in the morning with hot coffee and the promise of eggs in the hole braised in ghee on the deck, a speciality of Richard's (his other speciality is his world famous marinara, which had had JUST missed the day before). We reluctantly pulled ourselves out of our tents at Richard and Silver's to cloudy skies... we knew we would have rain, but we didn't realize just how much! As we packed up our tents, there was stop and go sprinkles. Luckily, the skies held out for this lovely breakfast and then opened up as we bid adieu to our new friends.

Elisa loved the tiny toasted hole from the eggs in the hole. Also, this adorable tablecloth.

Bundled up in our rain jackets... we did not want to leave!

So much rain.

Richard had checked the weather for us. The rain was supposed to stop by noon. So we sang songs about sunshine and rain, put our heads down, and churned the cranks. We made our way resolutely with the promise of a dry place to sleep as we had arranged to stay at the bike hostel (aka the Presbyterian Church) in Dayville. 

We found some shelter at the city park in Monument as the rain started to subside.

Rain gave way to sunny skies and poofy clouds with big views.

Crushing it!

The last push to Dayville...

The promise of a hot dinner at the infamous Dayville Cafe and making sure to get to Dayville before the Mercantile closed so we could restock wine and beer lit a fire under everyone's *ss and we made it into town with time to spare! We checked in with Rose from the Presbyterian Church and settled in, and then it was time to eat. Not only had Pastor Skip from the church recommended the Dayville Cafe, but so had Richard and Silver. 

The church has a long history of hosting bike tourists! Check out this sweet stained glass art...

The infamous Dayville Cafe... a 5 course meal complete with homemade pie was only $25. I had the ribeye steak, mashed potatoes + gravy, salad, fresh bread, soup, and lemon merengue pie (which was supposed to be coconut cream pie).

They sent me home with a slice of coconut cream pie anyway. It was the real winner of the night.

A few notes for bike tourists:

• We will no longer frequent the store in Kimberly. The clerk there was incredibly rude to Elisa when she asked if she could buy water. We weren't sure if it was because of racism, because Elisa was wearing a mask (no one else in the story was), or because she was in cycling gear. At any rate, it was the one blemish on our trip.
• You will want to check in with Pastor Skip and/or Rose before staying at the Presbyterian Church. They will want to know to expect you! We were the first cyclists of the season... the church has a full kitchen, shower, and you can sleep inside if the weather is cruddy!
• The Dayville Cafe closes at 7 pm as does the Mercantile. You have been warned. Go early to miss the dinner rush!

Day 2: Middle Fork Campground to Long Creek

Part of what I love about bike touring is when the unexpected happens and you find yourself with a completely different tour than expected, often for the best. And that is exactly what happened. When I did this tour four years ago, we had a group that was pretty experienced and ready for some big miles, and so I had it my mind to try to do something sorta similar. When we ended up stopping early the first day, we decided we would find somewhere to stay in Long Creek to make each day feel a little more manageable and to give Poke's digestive another day to literally get all the shit out.

We had a glorious day of empty quiet backroads and gorgeous scenery. We all agreed this was our favorite day of riding and we were happy to be able to savor it at a more leisurely pace.

No cars all day!

Big Bang's tube did not hold and we were lucky that Poke had a spare that was actually the right size.

One of the more harrowing sections of this route is hopping on the 395 with minimal shoulder for a short amount of time... but right up a hill. At this junction, the most magical trail magic happened. Big Bang was running low on water and then we saw this little stand with a cooler filled with bottled water and a recycle bin! It also had a note for bicyclists that if anyone was in trouble or needed help, to call some folks named Richard and Silver. 

The joy!

As we rolled into Long Creek, we eyeballed the RV Park, which was the only official camping there... we did not love the look of it, but figured we could make it work if needed. We continued onto the store to get snacks and beers and scope out any other camping options. The clerk at the store was open carrying a gun and kept calling us "madam"... and while he kindly offered for us to dry camp on his property, we didn't feel great about that either. On a whim, I told him that we were really thankful for Richard and Silver for the water, and he mentioned that they lived just down the road across from the town park. We decided we would go thank them for the water and see what they had to say. We all hoped that maybe they were really nice and would let us camp in their yard.

I was exhausted but Elisa (Big Bang) offered to go knock on their door... and lo and behold, we had an invitation, a shower, and ended up having a lovely evening full of stories, wine, and camaraderie. It turns out Richard and Silver used to host bike tourists a lot through Cycle Oregon to be able to meet new people and even tried to get a community center started in Long Creek. 

The door to Richard and Silver's place.

A beautiful fenced in yard, complete with a lovely garden, bird feeders with a lot of happy birds, and friendly old doggo.

Moments like this are what restore my faith in humanity and remind me why I love bike touring. Whether it is the joy of an unexpected shower, kindness in moments of need, or just a night of sharing stories, these are the things that keep me pedalling!

A few notes for bike tourists:

• Although the town park looks very inviting for camping, there is no camping there and we were told the town residents will sometimes turn the sprinklers on folks there.
• Richard and Silver told us to tell our friends about them... all are welcome! While they aren't officially hosting through Travel Oregon or WarmShowers, they will welcome anyone. 

Day 1: John Day to Middle Fork Campground

It had been four years since I last toured the Old West Scenic Bikeway, and I felt the itch to do it again. Because there are so many amenities along the way and Travel Oregon provides great intel on where to camp, get food, water, and everything in between, it also makes for a great "Level 2" bike tour for newer folks getting into bike touring. With the pandemic still in full swing, I curated a small group of vaccinated badass lady cyclists who were hankering for something a little bigger! We would slowly earn our touring names... me (Jet Pack), Nicole (Cokes), Elisa (Big Bang), and Natalie (Road Soda (fka Poke)).

Ready to head out to John Day... all clean and full of stoke!

The Kam Wah Heritage Site was not open, but we checked it out anyway.

Just seconds after this photo was taken, Elisa earned her touring name Big Bang when the seal on one of her tubeless tires blew. We tried to take it to the local bike shop in John Day, but it is only open on Saturdays and turns out the guy who works there just does it as a side gig. We decided to throw a tube in it and hope for the best. The weather was HOT and we got started off right in the heat of the day. 

It was a hot, slow, sweaty climb to the Big Wagon overlook... but at least we got these amazing views of the Strawberries!

Working my way towards the summit.

Still some snow patches up here... great for cooling off.

Refilling water from a glorious stream by the side of the road...

Natalie also earned her first touring name early on after a poke bowl gone slightly bad caused some digestive issues... she had a great attitude about it, but had to stop and dig a hole every so often. While I had originally had planned us to do a bigger day of 50+ miles and get to campground slightly off route, we ended up biking 30+ miles and shifting our plan... in part because the primitive BLM campgrounds along the Middle Fork were just too damn inviting! There was not a soul in sight and we had the entire campground to ourselves, complete with a perfect stack of firewood and kindling that we were able to start with just a single paper towel! 

Sometimes it's worth it to stop early when you find the perfect campsite.

Happy hour with... crowns!? Poke likes to get a lil fancy.

Seriously, these perfect stumps and a campfire just topped off the day. 

A few notes for bike tourists:

• If you do this route early in the season, the Kam Wah Heritage Site will not be open, but I called the number on the site and confirmed we could park in the empty lot next door as it is open year round.
• The Austin Junction store was also not open this early in the season, so you cannot depend on it for water or huckleberry ice cream. The Bates Campground was also not open yet either. Just before the turnoff to the Bates Campground though, on the right hand side of the road, is a random pipe sticking out with luscious spring water gushing out for your drinking pleasure. 

Bikepacking Overnight: Strawberry Mountain Loop

Sometimes life presents unexpected opportunities that throw a wrench in the best laid plans. One of my greatest fears is to be stuck complacently on the hamster wheel of life. I have the illusion that I'm going to live a life less ordinary and that somehow, there will be that day when I find the perfect balance of meaningful work and life. When I need to make big decisions or talk myself in circles about the meaning of life, there is nothing better than a really long bike ride to mull it all over.

So I found myself for the third weekend in a row on a bike tour, this time in Eastern Oregon. I had already done various versions of the Old West Scenic Bikeway, but had yet to explore the Strawberry Mountains. After a little research, I decided to explore the Strawberry Mountains Scenic Road Tour and try to add on some hiking, since at 74 miles, it was a little short for a two-day bike tour. I may have been a little overambitious and nothing quite went as planned, but I had a lovely adventure and learned a lot about myself in the process.

Since I had prepped everything during the week, I bolted from work and made the three hour drive out to John Day to find somewhere to camp so I could get an early start on Saturday. Since it was the weekend before the Fourth of July, everywhere I passed as I got close to John Day was full. I figured that worst case scenario, I would grab a hotel, but made one last ditch effort at the Grant County Fairgrounds, which has $15 tent camping. As I pulled up, I realized there were hundreds of motorcycles and tents already set up. Turns out, I had accidentally crashed a BMW sponsored motorcycle rally. Whoops. It was already 8:30 pm, so I decided just wing it and stay. Everyone at the rally welcomed me with open arms and I had a lovely evening chatting around the bonfire.

Who knew the Grant County Fairground would be so popular!?

I ended up chatting with folks until almost midnight, with conversations ranging from "you're a pretty girl, I wouldn't be bike touring alone" (...uh sir, I'm nearly 40 and can take care of myself) to waxing philosophic in Spanish with a nice Mexican guy from Salt Lake City about the best Mexican food (huaraches!!!!).

The whiskey and camaraderie from the night before kept me up until nearly midnight, but that didn't stop me from waking up with the sun by 5:30 am. Since the rally was comprised of older folks (mostly over 50 years old), everyone was already stirring as well. I savored my coffee and made a hearty breakfast, then pedaled off to beat the heat of the day.

Prairie City is quaint and has an adorable main strip. If I didn't have such an ambitious schedule, it would have been a lovely place to stop for breakfast.

On quiet roads heading straight towards the Strawberry Mountains.

This was like a scene from The Birds, only better. All the little holes in the cliffside are bird homes and hundreds of birds were darting in and out of them. It was kinda surreal.

First burrito of a 3 burrito day... Indian spiced eggplant with quinoa, pepitas, and romaine.

There were SO MANY FLOWERS. Did I say that before? Purple flowering wild chives, indian paintbrush, daisies of all colors, lupine, yellow salcify, red colombine... and SO MANY BUTTERFLIES. That is all.

So I made it to the Big Creek Campground by 1:00 pm and set up camp shortly thereafter. I thought I would make it there by noon because it was only about a 40 mile ride and I had left so early. What I had failed to do was look at the elevation chart which showed that almost all the 4000+ feet of climbing on the route would happen in these 40 miles. I stubbornly decided I could still do another 13 miles to get to the trailhead with how long the days are this time of year. And yet again, I failed to look at the topography of those 13 miles. Turns out it was about 3 miles of gentle rolling hills and 10 miles of climbing straight up a gravel road. After battling the climb in my granny gear for 2 hours in the heat of the day, I gave up. It was over 80 degrees, exposed, and I was running on little sleep with a bit of a whiskey hangover. Lesson learned.

There are some easy "mountain bike" trails that leave straight from the campground and wind up the mountains towards the Roads End Trailhead. There are several hikes that leave from there, including a trail to summit Strawberry Mountain and a hike to some of the lakes.

Plan B: Cold dunk in the creek at the campground. Soooo good.

I got some quality journal and reading time after I took a swim, something I don't take nearly enough time for. By 7:00 pm, I was already fading and I thanked myself for not pushing too hard as coming down steep gravel while tired is how I dislocated my elbow in April. I decided to just let myself sleep and 11 hours later, I woke up 100% refreshed.

View from my tent... so cozy and warm while reading my book club book... also very conducive to sleeping!

Not all of the ride was stunning scenery, some of the ride went through an old burn.

A few tips for cycle tourists:

• Everything you need to know about this tour is available on the RidewithGPS Strawberry Mountain Scenic Road Tour write-up. There is plenty of camping, water, but you need to pack all your food in!

• This would make a great add-on to the Old West Scenic Bikeway!

• If I had to do it again, I would have done this as a 3 day tour, with the 3 hour drive from Bend + the first 40 miles on the first day, camped at Big Creek Campground, taken the full second day to do the gravel ride to the Roads End Trailhead and summited Strawberry Mountain, and then finished the loop and driven back to Bend on the third day. 

Day 4: Dayville To John Day

All good things must come to an end, and that's exactly how this tour ended.  With all of us wanting a few days more, just a few more miles, just a few more hilarious nights filled with word games and stories.  Facing another blazing hot day, we were up by 5:30 am and rolled out before 7 am to beat the heat.  We had a fairly uninteresting flat 30 miles to cover from Dayville to John Day, which was made more interesting by bumping into a lovely couple bike touring to New York.  Turns out they were both from the Washington DC area and quit their jobs to bike...

Glamour shots while we waited for Ani to go back and retrieve the food she left in the fridge.

Home again, home again, jiggity jig jig.

There is a lovely sense of support and camaraderie that I can't put my finger on, but that certainly exists in a way with this group of women that I've never had when touring with guys.  That's not to say one is better than the other, but that it's just different and special.  And maybe it will never exist in this way again... except that I have a feeling this will not be our last bike tour together.

Day 3: Big Bend Campground To Dayville (Where Dreams Come True)

Although we intended to take our time getting up, I managed to find myself up and out of my tent by 5:30 am and caught the tail end of sunrise.  Kate was already up and making her morning tea.  This was going to be our hottest day with temperatures around 90 degrees and not a cloud in the sky so we were anxious to get on the road.  Alas, we ended up being a little too efficient and rolled by the store in Kimberly before it opened.  We had planned to fill our water up there, but decided to push on and filter from the John Day if need be (despite the assured presence of agricultural runoff).

So many cows out here.

Heading into the fossil beds.

Despite our best efforts to beat the heat, by the time we got into the fossil beds, it was sweltering.  Our half-mile "hike" had us sweating profusely and dreaming of a cold swim hole with shade and hammock trees.

Otherworldly... and hot.  But some cool fossil replicas and informational signs.

Even hotter was trying to hike up to an overlook.

We found some respite for lunch at the Cant Ranch just opposite the John Day Fossil Bed Visitors Center.  It had trees, manicured lawns, and a little picnic area close to the river.  Despite the allure of throwing up hammocks, we wanted to take some time to explore the visitors center and see if we could get some local intel on a good swimming hole.

We got a good parking spot!

Learning things.

Alas, the folks at the visitors center refused to help us.  The water levels were too high and they couldn't tell us anywhere to swim.  As we approached the hottest part of the day, we had to make a decision.  Settle for the less than stellar spot at the Cant Ranch that didn't really have a swim hole, or power through to Dayville and relax there.  Maybe there would be a swim hole, hammock trees, and kombucha!

Winding though the canyon.

We had made Dayville out to be some magical land of happiness... and well, it was.  It was quirky and its residents were welcoming with that edge that you only find in the wild west.  The city park had a swimming hole with crawfish and hammock trees.  The local market had craft beer and kombucha.  The Presbyterian church was a bike hostel with a real kitchen and hot showers.  Seriously, the magical land of cycle tourist happiness.

Waiting out the heat of the day.

Uh huuuh.

Happy hour in hammocks!

After jumping in the river and letting the hottest part of the day pass, Kate decided she would push onto John Day and then drive back to meet us.  Since she had to drive back to Portland, she wanted to beat the traffic getting back in.  We decided to be lazy for a little while longer, taught Michelle how to fix her first flat tire, and then went to check out the bike hostel at the Presbyterian church and get showers.  But first, we got some reading material for the night.

Checking out the amazing selection of books.

Yup, looks like it is going to be scintillating evening of reading for all of us.

We settled into the church, setting up camp and taking showers.  There were four other bike tourists there who had just started a cross-country tour.  We socialized a bit, welcomed Kate back, made dinner, and then went outside to do some acroyoga and host our own MST3K style reading of our Little Library books.  Which really ended up being a semi-dramatic/traumatic reading interspersed with gut busting laughter.  Let me tell you, the clear winner was actually the marriage of the Blackfoot Massacre and the Dinosaur with a Sword.  That is all.

Ani loves real kitchens!

Storytime after dinner (photo credit: Kate).