Today I woke to the pitter-patter of rain smacking the tent. No sense in breaking down camp when it's raining, so I turned over and slept some more. About 45 minutes later, there was no rain and everything was dry; as though it hadn't rained in the first place. After cooking breakfast and packing gear, Brad and Bran were up and moving and all of us conversed for a bit before we went our respective ways. I was on the road shortly before 7am with a light drizzle that joined me shortly after riding east out of Sisters. Once out of Sisters, the treeline along the south shoulder of the road thinned out and revealed the Three Sisters (mountains): North, Middle, and South Sister; all of which have peaks between 10,000' and 10,400'. Even with the overcast conditions, the views were outstanding. I pushed on to Bend, where I putted around town for a little bit. This included getting an early lunch, because the next sign of civilization was 42 miles down the road on US-20. There are no business of any variety between Bend and Brothers, so leaving Bend with an appetite would have been a grave mistake. During the ride to Brothers, I noticed that some knee discomfort had gotten a little worse in both knees. I thought it a bit odd, since I had been taking it easy the past two days and thus far today. I didn't give it much thought beyond simply being back into riding great distances one day after another. I arrived at Brothers shortly after 3pm. This is an extremely rural place. Cast aside what you might have as a Midwest definition of rural. In summary, Brothers has a cafe and post office (in the same building), a school with a total of about 12 students, and (I believe) a volunteer fire department. The nearest gas station is 42 miles back in Bend. I had reached out the store owner the day before to determine if camping on the grounds around the store was permitted, and over the phone she said it was alright. Upon arrival, much to my surprise, she said it was alright to camp outside or sleep inside, and I took her up on the latter. After all, not having to set up and break down a tent, and sleeping indoors were both perks; both of which I was grateful for. In visiting with the store owner, I learned that Brothers and the surrounding area was a place that ranchers herded cattle as far back as the 1870's. Later, homesteaders flocked here under the pretense that the land was extremely fertile for planting. When these homesteaders found it was not, most left for work in Bend. Over the course of time, it has ebbed and flowed in population. Despite this, the owner mentioned that there is a strong sense of community in Brothers. Later on when I had settled in and was doing leg raises, the store owner offered me her version of a McChicken. Her version, by the way, was very much superior to the fast food variety. It was so good, in fact, that consuming it was a disappearing act. For the remainder of the evening, I got caught up on blogging and got things in order for the morning. I also thought about how fortunate I was to have met the store owner. I will never forget her kindness and hospitality when venturing through the high desert country of central Oregon. Without her assistance and provision of water, moving eastward would have been impossible.
The next day would be the flattest day thus far in the trip! Doing less than 980' of climbing in 87 miles is my kind of a route for riding.
