On this journey, I had the pleasure of riding through the mountains that surrounded me as a youth. The Sangre de Cristo mountains in New Mexico (and southern Colorado) and the Colorado Rockies. Visiting these places on my trip across the country was intensely exhilarating, almost a religious experience. I had tears in my eyes when I saw the mountains in Taos, New Mexico and the mountains surrounding Georgetown, Colorado.
But, today, my home is in Washington. And today, when I saw the Sisters mountains and realized I was nearing the Cascades, it felt like I was almost home. I stopped to take a picture of them in front of an opened farm gate (so the fence wouldn’t be in the picture!). Of course, the farmer came by a couple seconds later in his pickup truck, and glared at me for blocking his way. I apologized, moved my bike and waved, and he continued to radiate irritation. Sorry, my grumpy friend, you live in a beautiful place.
Today’s ride was short and flat. A nice change of pace. Tomorrow’s ride is also short, but has another 2,200 foot climb, my third this week! Oregon is… bumpy 🚵😁.
