Fully stocked with about two gallons of water, I was ready to hit the road at 4:45am. Getting this early start was favorable, as I would avoid a lot of traffic going up US-20 to Tombstone Pass; 3400+ feet of steady climbing in 22 miles. The ride up to the top was a bit of a challenge, but it was still enjoyable. The absence of traffic, and the presence of nature all around made the ascent all worth the while. What goes up must come down, as they say, and the next six miles were all downhill. Safely descending these six miles only took about 13 minutes. Next, following the descent, the route traversed between several mountains: Three Fingered Jack, Black Butte, and Mt. Washington. This pass bears no name, but it was the more challenging of the two noteworthy climbs of the day, and it was approximately 1700 feet of climbing in nine miles. At this point during the day, traffic was very dense. From the looks of it, people were rushing back home from weekend getaways. After reaching the top, it was a chilly nine mile descent toward the valley where the next overnight was: Sisters, OR. The ride into Sisters was a pleasant one, as the final eight miles were relatively flat with a generous shoulder for riding on. After getting a late lunch and setting up camp, a trip for groceries was due. When I arrived at the grocery store, I was pleasantly surprised to meet two gentlemen that were also touring across the country, separately. This was truly coincidental: three cyclists, three different coast-to-coast routes, all in the same town, all at same grocery store at the same time. How remarkable! These other gentlemen were Bran and Brad. We chatted outside the grocery store for some time about past trips and our current trips. Before too much more time got away from us, Brad and Bran grabbed dinner while I returned to the campsite. Before splitting up, Bran and Brad said they would likely be by the same campsite where I was. After making a dehydrated dinner and getting as much as I could ready for the next morning, Brad and Bran arrived and made camp for the evening. We continued to chat about our trips. We were still fairly surprised that we all met outside of the grocery store; let alone that all three of our routes shared this same overnight town. As Bran aptly noted: like passing ships in the night. The day was catching up to me, especially after a poor night of sleep the night before. We all had turned in shortly before dark. As I reflected on the day, two parts of the day really resonated with me: the wonderful scenery and meeting two great people in Brad and Bran; all because we were passing through Sisters on the same day.
