Having a Blast in Oregon!

Hello everyone! It’s hard to think that almost two weeks have gone by since we put our feet in the Pacific Ocean. Since then we’ve continued to enjoy ourselves and have begun our western travels! A few days after finishing we decided to take our rv to a dealership in hopes that they can fix all of its ailments, before we head back east to Florida. In doing so we had to get a rental car; it is bittersweet since we can’t travel in the rv but has allowed us to drive places the rv couldn’t go. After dropping off the rv we drove north to Oregon where we have been visiting with our friends for the last week.

Thanks to Junior Nationals five years ago we met our friends whom allowed Dad and I to stay with for the duration of the races. Ever since then we’ve been looking forward to coming back and spending more time with them. We’ve been having an awesome time catching up and making new memories with our Oregon family! 🙂

It has definitely been weird not riding an average of 91 miles a day, and I find myself with A LOT of pent-up energy! haha

Since finishing the cross-country trip I’ve continued riding and have picked up my running mileage. On Tuesday Mom and Dad rode our host family’s cruiser bikes beside me while I ran ten miles, that was definitely a blast being able to exercise together! As far as cycling, Mom and Dad “allow me” about three hours a day to go and ride on these wonderful Oregon roads. So I’ve been able to exert a good portion of all this energy. 🙂 I’ve also come to realize that I really miss getting up at the crack of dawn and riding 90-120 miles; I didn’t realize how addicting it is!

The area of Oregon we are in right now is wonderful for cycling; bike lanes are everywhere and the cycling routes are never without a great view of the Cascades. Just about every day I’ve ridden on the road race course from 2010, which has been awesome as far as comparing my riding from then to now. I’m sure a few of you remember Archie Briggs Road! 🙂 I am still so stoked to have finished and am very excited to continue riding. I’m looking forward to seeing where cycling takes me next!

Climbing Archie Briggs in 2010

Climbing Archie Briggs today, 2015 (Nice camera skills Dad!)

On the way to see our friends, Dad and I surprised Mom by taking her to see Crater Lake. Since she couldn’t go to Nationals with us in 2010, we have planned on taking her to do and see all the things we did back then. Just like Dad and I were, she was in awe of how beautiful it is! This time around there wasn’t any snow to play in, but it was surprisingly colder than it was in 2010! Funny note, none of us packed cold weather clothes and for the first few days we were here it didn’t get higher than 60 degrees! haha Crater Lake was a blast though, we made some new friends with a couple of cute squirrels and got to drive around a good portion of the lake.

So far we’ve visited a couple local towns that have really cute downtowns, driven up McKenzie Pass to see the Sea of Lava, and have been by Smith Rock. It’s been great not having long and tiresome days, just being able to relax and enjoy our time here has been wonderful. Yesterday Dad and I went into town to watch one of my riding buddies race in a cyclocross race, which was pretty intense! The course had deep sand pits, steep climbs, and narrow descents, it was awesome to watch. For a Wednesday night I couldn’t believe how many people were racing, cycling is just that awesome here in Oregon!

Mom enjoyed visiting the famous quilting community

One of the countless pretty overlooks in the area

It was so chilly by the Sea of Lava

As always thanks for following! 🙂