Tour Route

Tour Route

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Smoking Hot

Friday morning we tried to pack up early to get out of Hells Canyon before it got too hot. Unfortunately leaving a canyon means a whole lot of climbing, and we definitely did our fair share of it that day. It was pretty desolate country for a while. Lots of sagebrush.
With Darin and the PBR.
We were following the old Oregon Trail route for a while. I think we all agree that being on the wagon train through that stretch of country would be no fun whatsoever. The ride was difficult.
At one point we were riding along, uphill of course, when a car rolls up really slow beside us. Then we all see some lady handing a PBR to my dad. He takes it and asks, "Is it open?"
"Put it in your pocket!" comes the response from the vehicle.
"Darin! My buddy!" says dad, and we all ride up to meet the car and chat with Dad's co-worker who was traveling with his family for a vacation. It was great to see someone from home. We're finally feeling close. Later in the day, only 10 miles from Baker, we had to break out the emergency backup suckers for some sugar power the rest of the way.
Once we made it to Baker we rode to Albertsons, which was also a wonderful thing to see, which conveniently had a clinic with a PA who could take out Mom's stitches. Overall this was a pretty difficult day.

Lollipop lollipop.
Saturday we got a bit of a late start as it was so cold in the morning. We had a lot more climbing to do that day, over three different passes, one right after the other. Thankfully there was a little restaurant after the second climb to refuel at with some blackberry cobbler and ice cream. We rode 70 miles into Prairie City that day, where the air was pretty smoky from all of the forest fires nearby.

This morning was all downhill, a nice break from the climbs the past couple days. By the time we finished the 45 miles to Dayville, it was a little after noon and really starting to warm up. Ahead of us all we had to look forward to was a ton of climbing. So, we decided to take an easy day and hang out in town. We found free cyclist lodging in the local Presbyterian church. They're letting us sleep in the sanctuary and use their full kitchen, shower, and laundry, so staying here didn't take much convincing. We spent part of the afternoon playing a rousing game of Bible Trivia. Mom won.

Shelby's view.
Tomorrow we have to climb not only the giant pass we skipped today but another one just like it. Each is about 3,000 feet of elevation gain. The good news is that we are still ahead of schedule and hope to be back a day early.

Roadkill Report: Bird, Deer, Bird, Bird, Snake, Deer, Raccoon, Bird, Bird, Deer, Bird, Bird, Bird, Bambi, Bird

Money Found: $1.00

3 comments:

  1. Just looked at some of those elevation profiles on Strava. Yikes! I like the all downhill one into Dayville the best. :)

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  2. Can you smell the ocean yet? I am amazed that you have been able to maintain your 65 miles per day average for the trip. Good planning. Great riding. Great writing. I always look forward to reading your blog. Thank you for sharing your adventures.
    Lon

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  3. Wow, what an adventure! My family and I have enjoyed reading the updates. Megan, you are a terrific writer! Safe travels for the rest of your journey and good luck with those hills!
    Denise

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