(Temporary Backup) Oregon Outback Day 8-A Long One, But We Made It!

We all managed to be ready to go at the same time, or nearly so. I got out a little bit before, but I’m also the slowest. 

Almost ready!

We started with that 7 mile climb right out of the gate. It had some pretty steep moments, but was mostly just a slog. There were some nice views. 



Here’s a view of Jana coming up behind me. 

Continuing to climb. 

Erin up ahead. 

Once we finished the big climb, and started going down, the Oregon Outback diverged from the Ochoco Overlander. Actually, there was still a bit more climbing. I got to do even a little more when I missed the turn. It wasn’t much before Garmin told me I was off course. 

Now I was on new territory. 

Looking back to where we had been. 

A nice view. 

Eventually we popped out to pavement, and had a lovely descent into Antelope. I was ahead of the others. As I was making my way through town, a father and daughter couple who are also doing the Outback (but much faster), hollered arme as I was riding by. Turns out the park in Antelope is set up nicely for cyclists. There was a fridge with cold drinks and popsicles. Also a sani-can, and a water faucet. I had a Coke and a Gatorade. We decided to eat lunch there too. 

Rick and Monay brought over chairs for everyone. 

After lunch, we started the switchback climb toward Shaniko. It was hot, but I managed the whole climb without using my easiest gear. 

Jana is down at the bottom curve. She was having dropper post issues, and had to fix it. 

At the top, I came upon these two “shade dwellers” (Erin and Steph).

We made it to Shaniko, and took a good break. Rick and Monay were also there. I enjoyed some Maui Wowie sherbet. 

It turned my tongue a lovely shade. 

Shaniko. 

It was built to look like an old west town, but it’s not that old. 

From Shaniko, we had 34 miles to go. We were heading to Grass Valley. It’s a bit off route, but we could camp in the park. It seemed to take forever to get here. My cousin had warned us that although the route trended down. It was still a rollercoaster of ups and downs. We did come across this road. 

Steph’s road!

Once in Grass Valley, we stopped at the market. I headed over to the park to heck out the camping situation. We are hoping we have set up our tents out of range of the sprinklers, but it’s possible they will get wet. 

We did nearly 64 miles today. It was long, hot, and tiring. But, we made it! Now I must go to sleep!