Oregon at Last

We've had 5 days back on the bike now, and the team's gotten pretty good at dealing with tough situations. On the second day of my rest period, we took my bike over to Mountain View Cyclery to see how we could make the footplate work for my boot. They're great! Luckily we got away with some very minor adjustments and decided that I'd be able to finish my trek. 
 

We shuttled down to Clarkston, Washington on Sunday so that we could join back up with the Adventure Cycling Association's route. The first day back on the bike actually worked out really well! My boot fits great in the footplate and I can transfer in and out without much pain (I had to go back to using my lift to get back to my chair, though. Boo!). The biggest differences to riding with the boot is that I can't make turns as sharp as I used to and I'm starting to develop an awful boot tan line!
 

One of my closest friends, Emily, joined us for a few days of riding (along with her husband, Alex). She did Bike & Build back in 2014 and is the reason I signed up! It was fun to bike and laugh about all of my unfortunate events with her. She and Alex also gave me a ride to the store to get a new cell phone. It's good to be back!
 

The most significant detail about the last few ride days is that it's been HOT. I mean, I love that it's not humid, but the heat has been nearly unbearable! Yesterday was our longest ride yet, scheduled to come in at 60 miles. It was actually one of my favorite riding days so far! The route consisted of lots of rolling hills, which is far better than the mountain climbs we've been having. We kept a good pace all morning and felt great about the distance we were getting under our belt- we were on track to finish early! Welp, when lunch came around and we took a break, we realized there had been a tailwind all morning. I just thought we were doing so well! Once the tailwind died down and the heat turned up, our ride slowed and all the trees disappeared. Why are there no trees in eastern Oregon?!
 

Oh yeah! I finally made it to Oregon! We rolled in about 5 miles into the ride yesterday. I never realize how significant this trip is until these moments happen. Oregon was the 13th and final state we were going to ride through on the original trip. Oregon was the only state that Anne and I didn't get to ride. When Morgan and I pulled up to the Oregon state sign, I couldn't help but get emotional. If not for a distracted driver, Anne would've been there with us holding a bike over her head in anticipation of the wheel dip to come. So, I celebrated crossing into the final state of our journey west with both Anne on my mind, but also anticipation because July 13th will be so much more than a wheel dip- it will be closure. 

**This was originally posted July 7, 2018, but was somehow deleted