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Sisters, Oregon
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The contents of the on-line edition of The Nugget represent a selection among the stories that appear in the weekly print edition.

Sisters riders survive Cycle Oregon
By Jim Cornelius

Members of the Sisters contingent at Cycle Oregon. photo courtesy of John Rahm

A "tribe" of riders from Sisters made it through the hundreds of miles of Cycle Oregon September 6-13, trekking through the Wallowas of Eastern Oregon.

The 26 riders who hit the road under the auspices of Sisters Athletic Club represented the largest club contingent on the ride.

They made their presence known for another reason as well: While Cycle Oregon is a heavily male-dominated event, the Sisters contingent had a majority of women.

The weather was a bit rough, but Tate Metcalf of Sisters Athletic Club put it in perspective.

"It was wet and rainy, but it was wet and rainy for everybody," he said. "It just made for better stories at the end."

Metcalf said the highlight of the journey for him "was riding the miles with my wife (Aimee)."

The couple spent a lot of their time exploring the small towns along the route, getting a feel for the country and the people they couldn't get with other forms of travel.

"When you're driving a car, you're just zipping through," he said.

He said he was impressed with the pride residents took in their towns.

Heather Wester described ups and downs.

The highlight of the trip came for her when she crested the Wallowas on Day 4, which featured 6,900 feet of elevation gain.

That was when she realized that she and the other Sisters riders had trained well during the run-up to the event.

Some days required some grit. On Day 6, facing head winds and dealing with a sore knee, Wester almost gave up in the face of a hill climb and let the support car take her to camp.

"I had myself talked into thinking that hill was a lot more hill than it really was," she said.

At lunch, team mentor Jacquie Zanck got Wester to buck up and carry on.

"She told me if I quit I'd regret it for the rest of my life and I couldn't do it and she wouldn't let me," Wester said.

The pair made it up the hill together, with a nice sprint at the finish, Wester said.

That kind of camaraderie is a big feature of the ride, which is much more a recreational adventure than a hard-core race.

Metcalf said that all kinds of people of all ages and all types of bodies were out on the ride.

"We saw some 10-year-olds and we saw a seven-year-old out there riding tandem with her dad," he said. "It was just inspirational to see all the different people out there riding."

Metcalf also said it was gratifying to see so many people accomplish a difficult goal.

"Seeing people set a goal and complete it is pretty overwhelming," he said.

Bert Murray was the oldest Sisters rider at 69; Anna Morton, 18, was the young- est member of the Sisters contingent, Metcalf said.

Both Wester and Metcalf said they will ride next year and they expect many more Sisters area residents to join them.

Sisters riders were: Dick Howells; Bert and Cindy Murray; Jacquie Zanck; Heather Wester; Ardie Winters; George Arnis; Carol Moorehead; Dave Blakeslee; Melinda Witt; Anne Geser; Renee Perin; Robin Buckles; Kara Calmettes; Ed Fitzjarrel; John Rahm; Adrienne Banks; Marlin Ard; Craig, Sarah and Anna Morton; Conni Tammen; Jett Cowan; Tim Wonderly; Tate and Aimee Metcalf.

Chuck Booth served as team massage therapist; Laurene Fitzjarrel volunteered for set-up and tear-down of tents.

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