Day 23 - North Fork campground (Fish Lake) to Ashland, Oregon

35 miles - 1921 up

We just never know what the day will bring! 

It takes us about 1 1/2 hours to have breakfast, pack up and get on the road, so we're usually rolling along by 8-8:30. It's been a little cooler in the mornings, so we put on a few layers to start the day.

We started the day riding through the forests, then through some beautiful valleys as we got close to Howard Prairie Resevoir.

Then, we started the decent into Ashland on Dead Indian Memorial highway! Here's the beginning...

There's no way to show how downhill this downhill is! I don't take photos on the  downhills because going 25-35 mph on a   70 pound bike is "interesting enough" on it's own! The road was a twisty, quick downhill run that took us to within a few miles of Ashland. 

We were in town early, so we had time stop in at a brew pub, the Standing Stone Brewing Company, for lunch then wander around for a while.

As we were parking our bikes, we met the chef, who is also an avid cyclist. He learned to cook by traveling and learning about local foods and dishes where he was. He reads cook books for fun...

He stopped by our table as to tell us about a few things on the menu. We both had a great lunch and ate way too much!

We had planned to stay at an RV / campground outside town, but decided to try "Warmshowers" again because our first time was so great. We contacted a local host, who replied that we were welcome to stay with her and her family.

We had several hours available to explore Ashland.

Trudy's rear dérailleur hadn't been working quite right, so we headed over to a local bike shop to have it checked. I asked to use a floor pump to pump our tires up while they worked on her bike, and found my rear tire had a slow leak. I replaced the tube and we headed off when her bike was finished.

Lithia Park is beautiful and the deer are very comfortable with people.

We were walking our bikes through the park when...

Psssst... My tire went flat! The valve was defective - back to the bike shop for a replacement tube! Good luck - we were only a few blocks away, not 50 miles.

Our "Warmshowers" hosts, Margaret and Mark, their four children, dog, two cats and several chickens made us feel very much at home and they gave us access to everything we could need: showers, laundry, a real bed... And, great conversations about travel and adventures.

They plan to take a year off and travel around the world with the whole family! I hope we'll hear from them.