Updates forthcoming.

The day consisted of three decent climbs. Part of the way through, we happened upon a small convenience store/cafe and stopped for a bite to eat. Continuing his exploration of regional foods, Cam ordered an elk burger. Apparently it tasted "like a hamburger." The nice lady running the store reminded us of the spring a couple of miles down the road and we assured her we would fill up.

Woke up early and tore down camp. Brett took off while the rest of us continued to pack our things. Had a fairly steep climb outside of Mitchell, followed by a flat run. Nothing to complain about.

Woke to a beautiful view out my tent of Sisters. Jim and Patti greeted us for coffee and goodbyes. Signed their scrapbook and promised a post card upon completion of our ride. Stopped at the bike shop in Redmond, then headed up a long climb up to Ochoco Pass. It was hot and windy most of the way up. We reached the peak and searched for Brett, but he was nowhere to be found. After a bit of discussion, we decided to ride to Mitchell and look for him there. The decent to Mitchell was awesome. Great views, and high speeds. Finally made it to Mitchell.

Woke up early in McKenzie Bridge to climb Mckenzie Pass. None of us was too sure what to expect, but all assumed it would destroy us. Coming out of McKenzie Bridge was a slight decent before the climb. On our way up, maneuvered our bikes around the snow gate. The pass is being re-paved this summer, so remains closed to traffic. This made for an awesome ride, as we didn't have to fight traffic on our way up or down. The climb itself wasn't terrible, basically just a ton of switchbacks up a mountain. As the altitude increased, the shadowed areas started harboring snow.

With McKenzie Pass looming overhead and our bodies tired from our first week of riding, we decided to take a day off in McKenzie Bridge. Everyone slept in a bit and slowly emerged from their tents for a peaceful day in the woods. All except Brett. While everyone else left their tents up and strolled around the campground, Brett tore down camp and packed away his gear. Around 10am he left camp to ride over McKenzie Pass. Apparently the pass was "looming over" him and he couldn't take it anymore.

It was hard leaving Camp Harlow, knowing that it would be back to tents for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, it was a good ride to McKenzie Bridge. Solid weather, and a relatively flat day made the miles go quickly. We initially stopped in Blue River to find a camp site, but after being sent up a multi-mile climb to the local reservoir decided to push on. McKenzie Bridge offered a number of USFS campgrounds, and we the first one we found. McKenzie Bridge itself is basically a couple of houses and a country store, but there was a restaurant a few miles back down the road.

Rode to Eugene. The scenery was nice, as most of Oregon has been up to this point. Had our first encounter with a cyclist hating local, yelled "Hey douche-ers!" at us in some small town.

Woke up to find our campsite soaked with dew. Hit the road for what promised to be an easier day of riding. Brett, as usual, was miles ahead of the rest of us. Unfortunately for him, we rode by a giant casino, realized a giant buffet may be within and turned around. There was indeed a giant buffet, and the three of us ate until we could no longer move. After a short digestion period, we hit the road again. We exchanged a few txt messages with Brett and determined he had ridden ten miles off course, again.