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Check out the pictures below!
| UPDATE
6/25/08
They
left
Findlay
,
Ohio
Saturday (6/23) early morning for
Florence
,
Oregon
. It turned out to be a 48 hour drive-non stop.
They arrived 3am Monday, June 23 at
Florence
and secured a room in a hotel. They showered,
rested and slept until noon.
After lunch, Nick and Austin did the
traditional 'wheel dip' in the
Pacific Ocean
and began pedaling on the TransAmerica Trail.
They made it to
Eugene
,
Oregon
which was an 82 mile trip Monday, arriving around
9:30pm Pacific time (12:30am Tues. June 24 our time).
Within the next two days, they will be climbing 4000
feet to
Mackenzie
Pass
, which is sometimes closed due to snow until
mid-July. We don't know what they will encounter
there. Also cell phone reception is poor in some
of the areas thus we may not hear from them for a few
days.
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UPDATE 6/30/08
The boys made the traditional Wheel dip (see photo) on Monday, June
23, 2008. Austin and Nick made the 4000' climb on route 126 of the
Mt. Washington Wilderness and camped near the Santiam Pass on Monday,
June 23. (see photo) The camping site held no services, so they
'bathed' in the mountain creek of 40 degree water! Brrr. They were toasty warm in their sleeping bags,
but Phil was chilly since his zipper broke on his sleeping bag! Oh no. The MacKenzie Pass was closed due to weather conditions, so they
took the 20 mile longer route. Sisters was a quaint tourist town at
the end of this stretch of road and it was a nice place to stop. The
boys continued on route 126 and just east of Prineville, Oregon,
Austin experienced his first flat tire. Darn! He stopped and put in a
new tube, but encountered a few additional tire problems. The boys
returned to Prineville to spend the night and to check with a local
tire place. They learned that a bike tire has a life expectancy of
1500-2000 miles and Austin's had reached that point!
A fresh night's sleep, a new set of tires and tubes, and the boys were
on their way again Thursday, June 26. A sore and painful knee for
Nick forced the boys to stop and spend the night 88 miles down the
road at John Day, Oregon. There are 100 miles left in Oregon at this
point. The boys are heading east on route 395/26 Friday, June 27 and
will take route 7 out of Austin Junction to make it to Baker City. At
Baker City they will see if rest will help Nick's knee or it will need
medical attention. From Baker city there will be only 19 miles left of
Oregon. They appreciate all the thoughts, prayers and inquiries to
their journey. Thank you.
UPDATE 7/1/08
Sadly, we are reporting that Austin and Nick are coming home. Nick suffered a knee injury climbing the Cascade mountain and saw a doctor today (Saturday). The Bike Doctor in Missoula, MT evaluated him and said that plenty of rest should do the trick. And rest was not available if they continued their biking adventure. So they have decided to come home. The duo will be traveling with Phil back to Ohio in the next 2-3 days, at a more leisurely pace than they drove out to west.
While disappointed, they are already reviewing new options to make this dream become a reality. As new Ohio State Buckeyes, Austin has been looking up news and info on the OSU Cycling Clubs and teams!
Thank you for your interest, prayers and support of the boys. |
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