To prepare for our ride, we spent two troop activities in September learning about cycling safety and basic bike mechanics. Brothers Pastrano and Cloward were our resident experts and instructors. We camped Friday night at the Mazama campground within the national park. The campground was packed with other cyclists and we were wise to secure reservations a couple of months in advance.
Three of our boys were the troop cooks to complete requirements for first class rank. Baked potatoes and chili on Friday night and breakfast burritos on Saturday morning.
Saturday morning, we packed up camp and drove to our starting point at North Junction (Merriam Point). We arrived at about 10:00 AM and were ready to start our ride by about 10:45.
Our pre-ride shot at Merriam Point with all 15 of us:
We split into two groups primarily based on age. The group of older boys rode from Merriam Point to Cloudcap Overlook, a round trip of about 26 miles.
The younger group of boys rode from Merriam Point to Wineglass overlook, a round trip of just over 15 miles.
Post ride lunch before heading for home:
Overall, great success. The weather was perfect. This was the longest cycling trip many of the boys had ever made. Most importantly, there were no injuries and we had a lot of fun.
