June 19, 2018
Sisters – Prineville
75 km (47 miles)
335 m (1099 feet) elevation
3:15 moving time
621 km (386 miles) total

Some people say that the 3rd day is often the hardest when hiking does multiple days. Our hardest day so far was day 5 – today. Not because the ride itself was long or because there was lot of climbing.

We were tired from a hard day before, didn’t take care of refueling and hydrating as well as we should have. Our legs felt heavy and energy levels low. Monika is also battling sore sitbones.

Had a late start because the store didn’t open until 9 AM. Need to buy stuff the night before from now on.

The weather was nice but as we had feared the heat may be our biggest enemy. The temperature reached 34°C.

The scenery has changed dramatically from before passing over the Cascades. We are now in cowboy-land with high cliffs like out of a cowboy-movie. In the fields there are horses, cattle and even the rare alpaca (a member of the camelid family). Alpacas are prized for their luxorious and costly fiber which is harvested by shearing once a year.

After reaching Prineville at 2 PM we had a decision to make. We could stay for the night and rest, ride another 10 km to a campground that didn’t have a shower or ride another 75 km to Mitchell. We opted for a lazy but probably the smartest option to get a room and a shower. Took a nap before buying groceries, washing our sweaty riding gear and eating dinner.

We went to Crossroads steakhouse and order what turned out to be the biggest plate of meat we have ever seen. Eventhough we were very hungry there was no chance we could finish everyting.

Saemi took his bike to the local bike shop as the front disc rotor had started rubbing against the pads. It had become slightly bent and the pads needed realignment. Usually back home we would have figured this out but fatigue and time sensitivity made us appreciate letting somebody else do the job. The guys in the shop were friendly and it only took a few minutes. Wrote our names in the TransAm registry. Apparently there are a lot of riders currently riding the TransAm trail.