Our last day of riding was the quintessential riding day, with a mix of easy dirt roads and deserted secondary country roads. My legs felt great on the last climb and we were blessed with a cool cloudy morning. We hadn't had many clouds at all since our first day of the tour, and these ones managed to stick around until noon! Near the the summit, we met a family of four from Arizona with traditional ultralightweight bikepacking setups. Dad, mom, and two daughters aged 14 and 17 were having a blast as experienced mountain bikers with some bikepacking experience. They were really excited to see us because 8 days into their tour, we were the first bike tourists they had seen! We stopped and chatted for about 20 minutes to geek out on gear, the route, and our respective mountain biking communities.
 |
| Aaaaah clouds! Grey skies! |
 |
| Fellow dirt road crazies! |
We bid our new friends farewell, finished the climb, and then made the sweet descent into the bucolic farmland leading into Cascade. With the breeze at our back and blue skies peeking out, we finished strong just in time for a late lunch in Cascade.
 |
| It wasn't hard to find our way since we could see the tracks of our friends streaking across the way. |
 |
| Peering down the last bit of the descent into Cascade. |
 |
| The road to civilization has a few ups and downs and beautiful views. Ryan zooms ahead as I take a minute to enjoy the last part of our trip. |
Cascade sits on this beautiful ginormous lake. I was tempted to go for a swim, but my tummy was already grumbling for lunch. I took a minute to enjoy the view while Ryan made some adjustments to his bike and then we pedaled the last few miles into town.
 |
| Lake Cascade in all its glory. |
 |
| Quaint spot in historic downtown Cascade. Great pizza, that for some reason all has pineapple on it, and a cute atmosphere. |
After stuffing ourselves not *too* full with pizza and a celebratory beer, we decided that Cascade just didn't have enough character for us to stay the night. We were hankering for a little more time at the Dirty Shame Saloon and make our driving the next day a little shorter by grabbing my car that afternoon and driving back to Crouch where Ryan's car was parked. My car was still in good shape at the Alpine Lodge and Motel and I thanked Justin and gave him $20 for the trouble of letting me keep it there. He protested, but I insisted, since I didn't even do him the favor of staying the night.
Then off we went back to Crouch and nabbed a room at the Wander Inn again. Maggie hadn't quite gotten off her job at the grocery store yet, but I knew she had rooms available from her voicemail. We decided to grab a six-pack and have a drink on the porch while we waited for her. She arrived in cheery fashion and checked us in. The first order of business was to shower all of the stink and grime off and change into blissfully clean clothes. The second order of business was to head to the Dirty Shame Saloon to celebrate.
Monday night at the Dirty Shame is locals' night. We passed the time shooting the shit with the locals and enjoying the air conditioning. My favorite was the older gentleman sitting next to me, a veteran of the navy named Dennis who is never seen without his faithful companion Tobey, a two-year old schnauzer-dachshund mix. Dennis moved to Crouch in the 1990s with his family, but has been lonely since his wife died 10 years ago. To him, a good day is when he gets to wake up and see Tobey, and that's all he really needs now. The whole town loves Tobey... in fact, Tuesdays at the Dirty Shame are known as Tobey Tuesdays, because everyone comes to see Tobey and play with him, give him ice chips, or slip him bits of chicken wings.
A few travel notes for bike tourists:
- There is a ton of camping along Lake Cascade which are fee areas maintained by the state. This would be a nice alternative to staying in town if you are passing through Cascade.
No comments:
Post a Comment