Cycle Oregon is an annual week-long bicycle tour event staged by a non-profit organization of the same name. The route changes year to year, but this being the ride's 20th anniversary, it combined some of the best days of previous years' rides, taking us through 485 miles of scenic central Oregon. The promise of the route led a record number of cyclists to sign up, but ridership was limited to 2200, 200 more than allowed in any previous year. Cyclists came from 40+ different states, and 9 different countries, and ranged in age from the early teens to the mid-seventies. I participated for the first time, and rode mostly with my brother, also a first-time participant. We were both adopted as probationary riders of Team Rubber Chicken, whose members had all done Cycle Oregon multiple times, and over the years, agreed upon three loose rules: 1. No (or minimal) training; 2. No sagging (hitching a ride with the support van when the going gets tough); 3. Carry a rubber chicken on your bicycle. I cheated a bit on the last one, and later regretted it. Hope that didn't jeopardize my chances of full membership into Team Rubber Chicken.

I was a little conflicted during the week, wanting to take photos that both documented the experience and were visually appealing. The results didn't really do justice to either objective.