After a very good night of sleep at a bargin price but good hotel it was time to be off in search of breakfast. Today breakfast was at another convenience store and was very similar to many others\u2026. chocolate milk, yogurt, and an egg sandwich. Once fueled it was off to Sisters. The road to Sisters was good but there was initially a fair bit of traffic on the way out of town and as we got closer to Sisters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Sisters we made three stops. One for lunch. A second at a bike store for another new tube for Sue. The third and final stop was for ice cream. Now it was time to climb McKenzie Pass. McKenzie Pass is the last major climb by bicycle on the TransAm route. Going east to west is easier because the starting elevation is higher up but it is still a 15 mile climb. The road is not open all rear around because of snow, it is steep and full of switch backs. The vehicular traffic stays on the main road and does not take this path so there are relatively few cars on the road. Which is good since in some places the road is no more than 10 feet wide, windy, no shoulders, with a step edge if you fall off the road. The scenery only gets better the higher one rides up the pass. There are places were a forest fire killed all the trees, there are tree lined roads and rocks. Lots of mountains too. The higher you go up the better is the view of the Belknap volcano, Little Belknap volcano, Mt Jefferson, Mt. Washington, and the Sisters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the top, if you make it that high, there is an observation tower that was built in the 1930s and offers the best views of the mountains. Oh ya, there is lava. The Belknap volcanoes erupted over 65000 years ago and the basaltic rock is present near the top almost everywhere. The observation tower is built on the lava flows and the road is carved through the rocks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The view is truly spectacular as is immediate ecosystem. There is nothing else like it on the TransAm route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once leaving the mountain pass we are now over the highest point in the Coastal Mountain range and it is all downhill. Actually it was a 3700 foot descent over 22 miles. There was no need to pedal for the entire downhill. When we got McKenzie Bridge there were no available rooms and the only diner in town was closing. The owner of the diner was very nice and prepared a salad to go for each of us which was quickly consumed. Then we were in search of a forest service campground which was 3 miles down the road. We arrived at the campground just before dark and set up camp quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was a long day, but a very good one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s stats: total mileage 88 miles, average speed 12.4 mph, elevation gained 3373 feet, elevation lost 5062 feet, maximum speed 37.7 mph<\/p>\n\n\n\n