Erin in Bend

Here's an update from Erin, who's spending a few weeks in Bend:

I spent the last week traveling throughout Washington state working for the Washington Bike Ride. Every day I was responsible for helping to take down camp, load all the supplies (tables, chairs, trashcans, coolers, signs, boxes, drinks, food, etc) into Uhauls, travel to the next destination the bikers were going to, take everything out of the Uhauls, set up camp, keep drinks and snacks supplied for the bikers, help out with any riders’ needs, take out trash, etc. The job certainly kept me on my toes - lifting and moving heavy items in the heat is practically a workout. However, I got a break every afternoon in which I went biking or running. The best day, however, was Wednesday which was a layover day (no moving camp) so I got to ride the bike route, a 52 mile loop through a mountain valley in Oroville, WA. It was unreal to me, so different from Maine! In all the week was a lot of fun, an awesome way to see Washington state, and I got to meet a lot of really cool people.

Now I am in Bend, Oregon, staying with my roommate Amie until next week when we are working the Oregon Bike Ride (same routine). Yesterday we biked to a gorgeous trail, ran for an hour, biked home, and then I topped off the workout with some exergenie-ing (whoot). Today Amie and I biked from Amie’s house to Smith Rock, about 32 miles, and met up with some friends to go rock climbing. The only time I’ve done any climbing was my Sophomore year of high school in gym class. Climbing an actual 100 foot rock is much different than climbing the bleachers in my high school gym. Although challenging, I actually surprised myself with how capable I was. I guess all the lifting of ice bags, coolers, and 24-packs of drinks the previous week (or perhaps all the strength workouts) have toughened me up! Here are pictures of me biking in Grand Coulee Dam, WA, climbing a 5.8 route at Smith Rock, and my friend Jesper climbing a 5.11b route at Smith Rock.