| Distance | Average Speed | Max Speed | Time | Elevation gain |
| 75.01 miles | 18.0 mph | 34.0 mph | 4:09:48 | 2600 feet |
Today was Jada's birthday. Breakfast was served starting at 5am today which was great for me. The reason for this was because all of our support vehicles had to travel the same road that we did to Happy Camp. This would allow the food trucks to pack up a little earlier to get on the road before too many other riders did. I'm not sure this worked out the way they wanted it to. We were encouraged to get out of camp a little later than normal. I went back to my tent to rest for about 30 minutes before I started getting ready to go. I still ended up leaving camp by 7am.
Our route today followed the Shasta River through a canyon which was really neat. The profile was almost all downhill, but we had a headwind all day, so we couldn't take a lot of advantage of it. We split off from the Shasta river about 10 miles in to follow the Klammath River the rest of the day. It was a fun road to ride constantly twisting and turning, and the constant sound of the river made it relaxing. The scenery was beautiful. There was a funny dog along the way that wasn't chained up, and it came running out barking to almost the end of the driveway. Then it would run back all the way into its yard and start again. It seemed to me like it was practicing.
Near the end of the ride, there was a 4 mile climb that was pretty challenging. I was doing some yoga breathing to keep my speed up, but I didn't think it was that loud. The person who I was riding up to mentioned that she had heard me coming. I thought that was pretty funny, but I did make my breathing a little less loud after that. On the corner of town that we came into was a huge metal statue of Big Foot. This being yet another corner of the Pacific northwest claiming to be a home to sasquatch. Everyone was getting pictures in front of it. I managed to beat the baggage trucks and the chocolate milk in to camp which was at the elementary school. We had another nice green and soft field, even if it was a little soggy. It had a really neat play structure too. This was the first of two nights with no cell phone service, but there was a phone booth across the road from the sasquatch statue I had noticed on the way into town. The baggage trucks did eventually arrive not too long after I got there. I was able to get showered and go leave Jada a message wishing her a happy birthday before settling in down near the main stage. The main stage was quite a way from our camp down on the banks of the Klammath River in a big park along with our food tent. I had my usual lunch of pizza, and sat down by the river. Unfortunately, the place close to us was quite boggy, so I didn't go stand in the river as I would have liked. It was really hot in the afternoon, but there was shade to be had down in the park. No where to nap at camp though that wasn't directly in the sun. I went to bed after evening announcements again (~8:30pm). I could faintly hear the band as I drifted off to sleep. I woke up in the middle of the night again, and had difficulty falling asleep.
Observations and logistics: I pretty much always leave camp by 7am. I like being out on the road early away from all the cyclists with questionable riding ability. I can see more wildlife, I don't have to be out in the heat of the day, I like watching the sunrise on the road, and I can often ride alone for long stretches. The people that I do pass are usually the same people every day, so we get to talk a little at the rest stops, but we're all typically of the same mind set to keep riding. In addition to my new cot, I bought a pillow from Luxury Lite. Camping pillows are not that great, but this one can be. It has a bladder that you fill by blowing into a straw to your needs. I was able to get it right only a couple times. The downside of this pillow is that the material is loud like crumpling paper, and it is slippery, so It's always moving away from where I want it to be. It's a little frustrating, but it's the best size wise that I have found to allow me to sleep on my side. This is around the time I started getting annoyed with my Chaco sandals too. They were pinching my feet and chaffing a bit. I actually started using the chamois butt'r on them which worked ok.
See what the Oregonian had to say about today.
Continue to day 3.