Day 34, September 4th 2007 (Bend, OR to Sisters, OR)

I went to bed last night in hope that I might be able to swim this morning. About 1 hour after getting my dose of coffee and a little granola, I was swimming at an incredible facility. Roger was a member at the fitness center and was able to get me in to swim as well. The pool was an olympic sized pool, but had a roller in the middle to split it into two 25 meter pools. I was able to swim a 500 meter and then an 1100 meter before the lifeguards blew there whistles. There was a thunderstorm rolling through and because lightning was in the sky everyone had to get out of the pool. Since we had to be evacuated out of the pool a little early, I was able to get a day pass to use if I decided to come back later. From the rec we headed back to the house on the two cruisers that we had ridden over, since they were only a couple of blocks away from the rec. It started to rain on the way back and it looked like it was about to get nasty outside. We were inside for no more than 15 miuntes and that's when the real adventure started. I had been told by Roger that they were the only ones in the neighberhood with a basement, and it was a beautiful basement. But, with the basement came the one problem of flooding if it rained too much. Well, after about the 15 minutes of downpour and even hailstones, the basement started to flood. WE were downstairs moving things aropund and making sure everything was out of the way so nothing would be ruined from the downpour. It was a very exciting 20 minutes of running around and was followed by a nice calm setting at the table. I had mentioned before that they had a few chickens in their backyard, and with the chickens came the reward, the eggs. We were able to sit down and have fresh eggs after the storm and it tasted so great that it might have been a good idea to bring a chicken on the road with me. Following the breakfast I was able to enjoy the afternoon just sitting inside for a little while and repairing my bike in the garage so it would be clean for the road. I didn't have too far of a ride for the afternoon because I was only going to be going north west to Sisters for about 20 miles. I was able to get a hold of the family that I had met previously in Mitchell, after my crazy ride down the mountain, and was looking forward to spending the evening to chat with them a little more. Before I headed on my way I really wanted to go for another swim because I wasn't sure how long it was going to be before I would be able to again. Up the path I went, on the bike they let me use, to get to the rec again. It was a lot nicer outside now and I didn't have to worry about any lightning to run me out this time. I was able to swim a 1500 meter this time and when I was done I was still feeling pretty good and ready for a nice bike ride. I went back to the house and said my goodbyes right before I took off. It was such a great day to ride and I was so thankful that Oregon had given me such a great experience so far. After pushing against a nice and strong head wind for a little while I was at the lodge and was just blown away. I went to check in and was told to call Greg Willits, the father who I had met earlier. I called and was told to jump in the shower at my cabin and he would come pick me up in about 15 minutes. I walked into the cabin and I never thought that I would be able to stay at such a nice place along my trip. It was the Five Pine Lodge that I was staying at and I couldn't have asked for a better stay. I jumped in the shower real quick and was able to put some clothes on and then I heard a knock. Greg was at the door and it was perfect timing. We headed down the road a little ways and then showed up in front of his beautiful home. Dinner had been prepared and both of Greg's boys, Gabe and Sean, were winding down for the day and just watching some television. Bebbie, Greg's wife, was in the kitchen and had prepared an incredible meal. She said that she had seen what I had eaten a couple of nights earlier and so she had gone out of her way to make a meal close to the same except this meal was full of noodles compared to the other which was not. It was a great pile of noodles with a great meat and gravy sauce over top. It was a perfect meal after a good ride and had plenty of carbs and protein to replenish my energy. Along with the dish came a salad and ciabatta bread, it was perfect. It was such a great atmosphere to sit down and talk with Greg and his family. His oldest son, Gabe, was 10 years old and was such a determined young man. He would wake up at 5:15 in the morning, 2 hours before school, and make sure he could get a good ride on the dirt track that they had across the street with his mountain bike. He was so ambitous and full of questions that I really can't wait to see him on television just doing some crazy cool things down the road. He has a brother Sean who is 7 and was just more calm and relaxed than I have ever seen a 7 year old, which was great to see. I was able to watch Sean's video, as he taped Gabe riding a unicycle, and he had such great control of the camera at such a young age. I reccommend that everyone watch the video on You tube under "my son on a unicycle." It is such a great video and you'll be able to see both the boys working together to put the magic together. Debbie was a nurse at the school and she was such a great mom that showed so much love for her two boys. It just felt great to be in such a nice envirionment before I had to get back on the road the next day. As we finished the meal we went around the table and everyone shared what the best part of their day was. Everyone around the table was happy to say that it was a great part of their day to hear that I was coming to dinner. It was also the boy's first day of school so they had so much that they were happy to share about. It came to me and I knew that it was obviously the fact that I had just been handed the best night of my life to spend with this family and to be fresh for the upcoming day. So much had happened in the day today though that it was so hard to compare any of them. I was able to swim in such a nice pool for the morning before coming to Sisters, and the bike ride was perfect, and then the meal and the envirionment. I knew I was going to be sleeping on a much better place than the ground and I just couldn't thank God much more for being so great. Why me? After the meal I was able to see Gabe in action on the unicycle and it was quite the sight, he was definately motivated to do great things. The night was getting late and it was time to part ways. It was hard to say bye to a family that had just opened up so warmly to me, but I still had plenty more miles to put in on the trip and I couldn't stay forever. I went back to my lodge and was ready to wind down with a little T.V. from my waterfall bathtub. I looked at the tub for a little while and was confused at where the water would come from, but as soon as I turned the knob I very quickly was able to see why it was called a waterfall bathtub. I had never seen one before and it was truly a unique experience as water poured from the ceiling into the tub. I opened what looked like cabinet doors that opened into the living room, so I was able to view my 42" plasma screen T.V. from the tub. I was overwhelmed by the experience and was able to follow it by sleeping in the most comfortable bed of my life with 10 pillows. I welcome everyone to view what I was able to experience at www.fivepinelodge.com.
Daily mileage: 28.2 miles
Average Speed: 12.3 mph
Total mileage: 1956.9 miles