Up & at it for drive to Bend. Stopped in La Pine for church laundry. Bike clothes that are line dried are mostly dried out from hanging all day on line in back of van. HOT. 90 degs in town.

Made the bike shop rounds. reported the Specialized shoes blowing apart, need to call ahead to a store in Hood River for a pair. Bought another pair of brake pads from Sunnyside from the order for me. At Web Cyclery I swapped the chain ring and bought a Kenda Nevegal 2.1 for the rear replacing the Specialized captain as I cut the side wall. Guy at store told of 20% unemployment & scary depressed house prices.

Drove out to where I camped before near Phil’s TH. Going to do abig ride early in Am before too hot. Tomorrow is some kind of big road bike event.

Meeting w/ Les this weekend in Hood River, will ride w/ him between his playing on the river.

What a penalty shot for not being able to ride lowest section of trail, what in the poison oak and all. To me this part of the trail is the most representative of the NUT. How many riders ride it more than once when they come here to ride the trail? Two timer Craig.

Slept in this AM. Didn’t put out the alarm clock to check on time. No clock, no guilty feeling of sleeping in. Usually up by 7:00.

Today is just D & T and gravel logging road slog back to beer. Dropped in on trail just after it crosses a canal carrying the diverted Umpqua to a forebay above a penstock above a generator. That’s how the water is converted to air conditioning. Didn’t notice USFS yellow signs stating that the trail is closed. Trail again all to myself. Hit exit trail about 2 miles upstream of flooded section and I did not see the closed signs. Good! The water is down, yes? Arrived @ flooded section and it was still flooded. Waded thru mud & almost knee deep running water to other side. I noticed some recent beaver cuts and wondered how they were helping the situation. Adventurous beaver as river is too powerful to dam and it flows in a steep canyon. Hard go for  beavers to have gotten themselves to.

I raised my seat about 1/8in and moved it back just a tad. I sat the seat without having to slide back & forth. My pedal stroke was still strong. I noticed the difference on road ride back.

Van and solar shower were in shadows when I returned. I moved the shower to a sunny spot. I stretched. Jeff Hart, I tortured my IT band w/ the foam roll which I hadn’t used in ages. Left knee pain was silenced. However the bursitis in my right hip burns and the right knee has issues.

I decided on a rest day tomorrow so no Thielson. I will head back to Bend stopping @ church laundromat in La Pine. Next hang spot is Hood River. Les, pipe up and join me for a ride.

I get so dehydrated here, the desert wasn’t as hard. I drink what to me appears to be sufficient fluids ( just 1 beer) but the tale of pee color says not enough.

Peaceful night among the ghosts of forest service people of the past. Today is day 4 of 5, a 10 mile trail ride and 10 mile road ride back upriver.

Dropped back down to river and found Apple Creek TH @ edge of past forest fire. Hung the shower from the rain gutter and headed out to brush against poison oak. And there is lots of it. It poaches the trail edge making it hard to avoid. Ran into a biker heading upstream pulling a BOB that he said was training for elk season. He offered & I accepted a dose of Technu rubbed on my exposed skin some 1 hour 20 mins after perhaps first exposure. The time is important as the text books say that the urishiol bonds to the protein in the skin w/in 45 mins and it can’t be deactivated: if you are going to get the poison, you are on your way. Trail traveled up & down per normal seeking routes over rock faces, sometimes right on river itself. The 10 miles was still a hump.

Hit road and rode back on old highway that is overgrown and parallels the river until it dumps back onto main road. Nice road ride back.

Before I left for ride I heard a buzzing sound of wings from inside the van. I figured a moth like insect. Instead it was a humming bird that wedged itself against the front windshield. I tenderly grabbed its tail to help out and feathers flew. Next i managed a wing hold and released it to its freedom. May it grow its feathers back.

Oregon’s wild flying critters. 2 years ago on my previous visit I was camped @ Big Camus. I was sitting @ my desk w/ the side door open w/o the netting. I looked upon chance to see a bat in full wing spread flying into the van. I ducked while it made 3 round trips inside searching for the opening.

BLM has shut down the Tioga section of the trail, the lower most portion for trail maintenance, I’m screwed for the last piece. Solution: re ride Dread & Terror. And that is where I am positioned tonight: back @ Lemola Lake where I stayed earlier. Parked van in shade this time hoping for coolness, not really so, still too hot inside.

Mt Thielson looms over far end of Lemola Lake. I climbed it, my first mountain 40 years ago today as it was declared a national holiday celebrating landing on the moon. I look @ it and think of climbing it again. Maybe, just maybe.

I would post pictures if I had faster internet speed.

Drove down to Glide looking for a grocery store, it was quite a ways down river from where I parked. On way back up river i saw a water recreater hitching a ride. I surmised that he paddled down river and his shuttle solution was to hitch hike back up stream to his car. And that he was. Dropped him off @ his rig.

Tried to hit Toketee RS before closing to share Dread & Terror ride but they were closed @ 4:45.