Rusty Crank Coast to Coast Bicycle Tour across the USA on the ACA TransAM Route

TransAm Day #61 July 27, 2018 Bend, OR - Scott Lake, OR 54 Miles Ride Time 4:44 Hours Tour Total  Miles 4262 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180727-0838-27714 Yesterday afternoon, after downing a thousand ice teas, I headed over to the Bend Brewery, where I sampled their Outback Amber Ale and an order of nachos. Scott, Eileen, and Klaus showed up for some more sampling. It was getting late and we still didn’t have a place to stay. There weren’t any campgrounds in Bend, and we couldn’t find a Warm Showers host that would take four people.  Just then, a woman named Lauren came over to our table and asked if we needed a place to stay. The trail magic was with us two nights in a row. Before going to Lauren’s, we went to Pho Viet & Cafe for my first Vietnamese food and shrimp since New York. Bend is a great town, and I can see what all the hype is about.  After dinner we rode over to Lauren’s place. It was a full moon a...

TransAm Day #62 July 28, 2018 Scott Lake, OR - Eugene, OR 81 Miles Ride Time 5:16 Hours Tour Total  Miles 4342 details at: https://cyclemeter.com/4b2d99e24f1383f2/Cycle-20180728-0834-47413 I slept well in the middle of the woods, high up in the Cascade Range near McKenzie Pass. I erected my tent without the fly and it got cold in the middle of the night. There were a lot of mosquitoes last night and this morning. As usual, I was packed and ready before the others, and left ahead of them. It was cold and I was wearing my sweater and rain jacket. I craved my down vest, leg warmers, and long fingered gloves, but the descent was rapid, and I figured I’d soon be warm. McKenzie Pass stands at 5325’. Coming down the pass, starting at 5000’, there were signs announcing 4000', 3000', 2000' and 1000' to show the rapid descent. It was a steep, twisty, winding, narrow, road. I had heard that a cyclist had been killed on these switchbacks, so I was slow and car...