Belly full of pizza from Papandrea's - great little place - Papa was very nice. Kept calling us "machines" for our cycling expedition. I like that - me a "machine". Needed pizza (and beer) after our climb today. 4817 ft to the summitt of Santiam Pass. 30 miles of climing, a couple more little bumps, then smooth sailing (on any fumes left in my body) into Sisters which welcomed us with open arms. The climb was somewhat treacherous for a couple of reasons - not a very wide shoulder with some traffic and 20 mph winds. The wind was a headwind, then a crosswind but never a tailwind - making a hard climb harder and descents slower and a bit scary. Eddie learned the "Sixteen Counties of Maine" song while I failed at learning a Korean children's song - though Eddie tried. Didn't bump into the "Ochoco Kid" again - he must have beat us over the pass on his silver and red cruiser. Tomorrow we're opting for a slightly later starter and a shorter, easy 49 miles to Prineville. Gotta keep moving...cannot stop. We won't beat last night's 7:30pm bedtime because actually went out tonight. A guy named Ede riding his bike through the "campground". He invited us over to his place for a beer where we met his fiancee and friends (Tricia, David, their daughter Sierra, Jack Russell - Casey, Brian, Brian's wife and their daughter Haley).

If I am lucky, Eddie will let me finish off the beef jerky for breakfast with more salami and GORP for lunch...tasty.

Maybe a day off will be good soon? Still surviving. The trip grips me in a way that makes only the physicallity of our task evident. I am waiting for the tirp to open up and reach its own internal rhythm It was our first big pass today and it took all of my self-denial to keep moving up and over Santiam Pass with hope for another successful day. Santiam was referred to as the safer albeit not as scenic route since McKenzie often has fast moving cars on what amounts to little more then a single lane road.

We arrived in Sisters, the Oregon weir. If you linger for a few moments too long the town will take you as one of its own. We bathed in the town park bathroom and settled into the warm evening. As meg mentioned Ede invited us out for beers. We obliged and walked over to what was our first social evening outside of our very own cozy tent. Some cold beers an over engergetic long-legged jack russell and a couple minutes of the movie Jackass can soothe anyone's aching bottom.