Touring - I think I'll go on a tour around eastern Oregon....

I don't really have a specific reason to be posting this, but I feel like rambling on about touring....

I think eastern oregon is the perfect place for un-planned, worry-free, go-where-the-day-takes-you touring. I'm from Salem, and anyone who's been to eastern Oregon or heard about it knows that alot of it looks like this:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/pics/docs/00/00/51/98/small/IMG_1080.JPG
http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/7227/img1077v.jpg (http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/pics/docs/00/00/51/98/small/IMG_1077.JPG) http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/img1077v.jpg/1/w666.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img203/img1077v.jpg/1/)

And then every once in a while it will mix it up and look like this:
http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/1151/img1072k.jpg (http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/pics/docs/00/00/51/98/small/IMG_1072.JPG) http://img229.imageshack.us/img229/img1072k.jpg/1/w666.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img229/img1072k.jpg/1/)

I feel like that would be an amazing tour for someone who wants to tour for the solitude. I can picture my self biking by day, stopping at small towns for food, pulling off the road for half a mile or so, and camping in the middle of nowhere for the night. It just feels right. I would never worry about where I'm going next, what obstacles to face the next day, and never think about having to pick a place to camp. Beautiful scenery, awesome sunsets, and little traffic.

I dunno, I just felt like posting this. I just felt like posting what I feel like my next tour is going to be.

Agreed. I have given some thought to this. I seem to always imagine myself touring in a desert environment...

Eastern Oregon was really nice - a big surprise for us since we'd never heard of it and only imagined Oregon to be rainforest! It can get hot, really hot, and there's not always shade or water around. That's the only downside I think.

I'm currently in Eugene and considering a tour in eastern oregon over the summer, just weaving along for a little bit until dipping in Idaho or Nevada and eventually into Utah and to Denver.

Those pictures inspired me, I'm really excited to tour there now!

I rode through Eastern Oregon in July. One distinct memory was riding from the campground at Unity, OR about 70 miles southeast to Vale, OR, close to the Idaho border. It was hot and I was riding along on a treeless highway. A woman in a car pulled up beside me and ask me that "Do You know its 106 degrees out there? I hope you have sunscreen?" I stared at her for a long moment, thanked her for her concern, assured her I was wearing sunscreen, and asked if she had any water. She said she didn't and after a bit more interaction, drove off.

It was a hard ride on a hot day. But, one thing I will always recall fondly are some interesting local characters that I met while resting in Brogan (a store, really).

Here is my journal entry for that day (http://www.biketouringtips.com/showDailyEntryDetail.php?entryID=118). This is a text-only entry for the moment. But, I hope to add pictures, soon.

Ray

We enjoyed Oregon on our Trans America. No so much just the eastern part, but more observing the changes from the coast eastward. The coast was great, as were the coastal range, Cascades including McKenzie Pass, and the ride along the Lochsa and over Lolo pass into Montana. It was one of our favorite states from that trip. The people there were really nice too.