Thursday, July 15, 2010
Hi all!
This update is a day or two early but I never know when I’m going to have access to the internet so I am taking advantage while I do. Tonight I am in a small Presbyterian church in Dayville, OR. The church allows cyclists to use its fellowship hall as a hostel. They really go all out to make us feel at home. There is a shower and bathroom (of course) as well as laundry and kitchen facilities that they encourage us to use. And as there is no restaurant in town we will be using the kitchen to prepare whatever we can find at the local convenience store. It may be Spam and Spaghettios but we are hoping for something a bit more upscale—like Tuna Helper! We’ve been eating pretty well (it’s aurprising what good, gourmet-like restaurants you find in small towns in the middle of nowhere) so it won’t hurt us to make do one night.
Sunday we got on the road early as we knew it was going to be a hot day. The day started with a 1200 ft., six-mile-long climb followed by a 2200 ft., seven-mile plunge into the appropriately named “Hell’s Canyon.” It was hot on the canyon floor but it was beautiful. About midway through the canyon we crossed into Oregon, the last state on the trip. We were glad we had left early when, after climbing two miles of the seven-mile climb back out, we stopped at a convenience store and saw the thermometer at 100 degrees (in the shade)! The locals said, “But it’s a dry heat.” and I thought, “So is a pizza oven.” We had to ride 70 miles to get to our overnight stop and, at the end of the day, were hot, tired, thirsty, and glad to get there.
Tuesday we expected a fairly easy day with only 60 miles to cover and only two major climbs, one at the beginning and one at the end of the day. It turned out that we actually had four major climbs, three lesser, but still tough, climbs, a headwind, and high temperatures (90’s). It was a tough day! We also got caught in another cattle drive with two cowgirls and four border collies herding about 75 head of cattle down the road for a short distance. This time we hung back just a bit and did not get into the herd itself. An older cowboy in an ATV told us they would only be on the road for a quarter-mile so we waited patiently, after offering our services if they were needed, of course. He smiled and said, “Yeah, if any of them head back this way you head them off and turn them back.” We assured him we’d do what we could but he didn’t look overly-confident in our ability to do so. We got into Baker City, OR later that afternoon and took a well-deserved rest day Tuesday doing laundry, bike-maintenence, and letting our legs rest. I found a very interesting art gallery and thoroughly enjoyed viewing the pieces while successfully fighting off the urge to buy (not an easy thing for me). I did, however, give in to the urge to send a case of local wines, purchased at a local shop, home. They will taste good this fall as I sit on my patio and think about this ride.
Wed. we rode 69 miles to Prairie City making three more 1500 ft. climbs. I’m beginning to wonder if there is any flat terrain in this state!
That question was answered today when we rode 45 miles to Dayville on terrain that was slightly downhill, making it the easiest riding we’ve had in a while. Tomorrow we have another large climb (4300 ft.) and if we had gone past Dayville we would have had to make that climb and cover 80 miles so we opted to stop at Dayville.
Well, that’s the latest. We hope to stay on schedule as the weather, which has been spectacularly dry and sunny, if somewhat hot, is supposed to hold and if we do we will be at the coast (Florence, OR) by next Wed.
Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers.
Bruce