Christian Ayoob
TRANSAMERICA
Terrebone, OR - Baker City, OR
Began the week rolling the remainder of the miles into the small town of Sisters, OR. I paid $5 for a picnic table, shower, and a flat spot for my Big Agnes tent. Laid everything out to dry after being wet for the past six days. The following day I rode into the larger town of Prineville, OR and got another cheap campsite. It was a great ride but unfortunately, I felt ill in Prineville. I woke up with a fever with some congestion which was giving me a headache. After I took some Advil, I decided to stay put for a day. This gave me an opportunity to fix my front tire, and make some adjustments on my bike. The day was not wasted and made me feel well enough to head out the next morning. Needed to go into Mitchell, OR today to stay at their “nice” county park. I left and went over Ochoco Pass and cruised 18 miles toward the Painted Canyon. The Niner Bike is making the climbing and traversing potholes very easy. Slept under the pavilion in Mitchell and rode about 60 miles into Dayville, OR the following day. Cool little town where everybody knew everybody, which is easy to find along this route. Rode over into Prairie City, OR the next day and met some cool people there and finally started to get over this illness. Heard of “Flea Market Weekend” which happens once a year on Sumpter, OR and I had to go. I rolled into town about 4:00pm and it was just like a carnival! People everywhere with food trucks slinging a wide array of delicious food and activities for everyone. This town was no more than a dirt road with some wooden buildings during the rest of the year. I stayed in a yard of the Sumter Hotel and smelled the food trucks all night. The final day this week was riding into Baker City, OR. I have three packages waiting for me at the post office, which is closed on Monday (Memorial Day). So, I am stuck here until then. Hotel tonight and a clean-up on all my gear was much needed. Re-supply with new ziplock bags, clean cloths, and a bed to lay my head tonight. Fantastic week of riding and the pace is about to increase. Happy trails!
Geography:
Riding from Sisters, OR to Prineville, OR was along the high desert, which gets about 10 inches of rain each year while only 50 miles away gets over 200 inches. I then took on Ochoco Pass and rode through clear, beautiful pine woods. The forest was filled with ponderosa pines and has been involved with a controlled burn in the past few years, which cleared the underbrush. From Mitchell, OR to Prairie City, OR were desert-like landscape. The trees were few and far between with sagebrush taking over the majority of the surface. In this section, the Painted Valley proved to be a real scenic bike. Multiple layers of different colors in the cliffs with the road runner straight down the middle. Prairie City to Baker City was downhill following the farmland valley. It was super green, spotted with livestock and a great ending to the week.
People:
I met more people this week then I did last. Not necessarily more cyclist, but more locals. I began the week by camping with Alexandra and Melanie in Sisters, OR. Alex was an experienced cyclist with lots of touring miles under her belt. She was taking her college friend, Melanie, for a weekend around Sisters. The both worked with biking and cartography. I rode along until a mile outside of Dayville. I had a two failed tires and a ranch owner by the name of Matt picked up my gear, and we headed to the small bike shop owned by the mechanic, Simon. Simon fixed me up and got me rolling. The only touring cyclist I met were Martha and Pete who were from British Columbia and Pete was on a motorcycle following his wife Martha. Martha and Pete were cycling the Northern United States. I am noticing it is easy to meet locals along this route. The towns are so small, it is easy to find information just by asking.
Gear:
Most everything on the gear list is doing well. The Blackburn Bags are doing a fantastic job staying where they are on the bike and are not shifting. The rear rack lost a support bolt from rattling around. This issue was my fault because I did tighten it to the correct torque. Tires had some issues but the representative Alex at Wilderness Trail Bikes was super fast in sending new ones out. Personally, I have a Cocoon camp pillow that doesn't hold air anymore so, I sent it home. Clothing from Kitsbow is holding up great and no stitch has moved. The camping equipment from Big Agnes is no doubt the best I have used. Average temperature I am hitting are 30 degrees fahrenheit into 70 degrees fahrenheit. No cold nights and cannot wait to see how it holds up after another 3,500 miles!
- IMAGES OF THE ROAD -
Christian Ayoob
Gear List
- My Ride -
- My Favorite Blackburn Gear -
- BIKE -
- • Niner RLT
- • SRAM Components
- • 11 Speed
- • Brooks Colt Saddle
- • Wilderness Trail Bike Cross Boss Tires
- • SPD Pedals
- BAGS: -
- • Blackburn Outpost Top Tube Bag
- • Blackburn Barrier Handlebar Bag
- • Blackburn Rear World Touring Rack
- • 2 Blackburn Rear Barrier Panniers
- • Blackburn Outpost Cargo Cage
- • Osprey Manta 28
- BIKE ACCESSORIES -
- • 2 Contour Action Camera Mounts
- • Cat eye Computer
- • 2 Blackburn 2'fer Lights
- • Blackburn Central 700 Front Light
- • Blackburn Central 100 Front Light
- • Lifeproof IPhone Mount
- •
- CAMPING -
- • Big Agnes Flycreek UL1 Platinum
- • Big Agnes Mystic 15degree Sleeping Bag
- • Big Agnes QCore Sleeping Pad
- • Cocoon Pillow
- • Jetboil Flash
- • Sea to Summit Titanium Spork
- • Ziggy V Coffee Drip
- • Sea to Summit Cup
- • Black Diamond Storm Headlamp
- • Write in the Rain Journal
- • Sea to Summit Microfiber Towel
- • Camp Creek Hex 2 Chair
- • Adventure Cycling Association Map Set
- TOILETRIES -
- • Toothbrush
- • Toothpaste
- • General Medication
- • Epipen
- • Beard Comb
- • Toilet Paper
- ELECTRONICS -
- • 2 Contour Action Cameras
- • Olympus Tough Camera
- • 4 USB Charging Hub
- • iPod Shuffle
- • Ironman Earbuds
- • ECTech Keyboard
- • IPad Mini with Lifeproof Nuud
- • Extra Batteries, Memory Cards
- • Charging Cables
- • GoVolt Solar Charger
- • GoVolt Fuel Core External Battery
- • Baum Electronics Wrap
- • SPOT Gps Messenger
- TOOLS -
- • Osprey Tool Wrap
- • Blackburn Wayside Multi-tool
- • Blackburn Outpost Minipump
- • Blackburn Outpost CO2 Pump
- • Spoke Wrench
- • Chain Lube
- • Spare Chain Link
- • Patches
- • Tube
- • Leatherman Skeletool
- • Gloves
- • Hose Clamps
- • Electrical Tape
- CLOTHS -
- • Kitsbow AM Shorts
- • Kitsbow Gloves
- • Kitsbow Socks
- • Kitsbow AM Jersey
- • Kitsbow AM Short Sleeve Jersey
- • Kitsbow Tech Jacket
- • Kitsbow Tech Pants
- • Darn Tough Socks
- • LLBean Down Jacket
- • Giro SPD Shoes
- • Mavic Shorts
- • Bell Helmet
- • Tifosi Sunglasses
- • Swiss Precimax Watch
- • Big Agnes Trucker Hat
- • Vivobarefoot Camp Shoe
Christian Ayoob
- FROM: Watkinsville, Georgia
- DOB: 2016-01-01
- N/A
- OCCUPATION: General Contractor
- What was the genesis moment or inspiration for your upcoming adventure? The feeling of adventure and seeing new places. On a bike, time seems to move much slower and I would love to feel that again.
- Have you traveled by bike in the past? I have completed the Great Divide Mountain Bike route from Banff, Canada to Antelope Wells, New Mexico.
- What is your goal for the route? My goal is to diverge from the route off the beaten trail and go find adventure! I would like to be able to gather stories about my adventure in order to motivate others to get out there!
- What do you hope to get out of this journey? By the end of this journey, I hope to have collected stories, meet as many people as possible, and all around have fun. Along with doing this, I would love to have a very detailed journal and blog for others to follow and get inspired.