Well that was an interesting 55 miles.
Lots of sun today. Not much wind. Plenty of hills.
Our first climb was just a couple of miles north of Baker City. Flagstaff Hill rose gradually to about 3,600 feet, and the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center at the top of the hill above the road made it close to 4,000 feet.
Nice place, interesting exhibits, and then we were off.
We rode for a ways along the Powder River, which ends up flowing into Brownlee Reservoir. When our route finally parted ways with the river, we were rewarded with what we thought was a long, hot climb before coasting a few miles more into Richland for lunch. Kind of a late lunch, which would work against us soon. (Yep, foreshadowing.)
Heading out of Richland, we encountered the Richland Grade. It turned out to be 3 to 4 miles with, at times, a 7 percent grade. It was not fun. I'd say it bitch-slapped us.
(Suck it, Oregon!)
So we coasted/limped into Halfway, OR, and will spend the night here. I'm pretty ready to sleep.
Dude, you don't want to get into a staring contest with a stuffed cow. They play hardball, yo.
ReplyDeleteNice to hear you are getting your sea legs under you on the ride. Sounds ouchie. Don't forget to replenish your Pie Stores frequently. The lard in the crust will coat your arteries and allow smoother blood flow and more awesome oxygen uptake. I'm also curious to find out what kind of regional fruit pie the good people of Oregon favor. My money is on Lingonberry.
Oregon=marionberry (http://tinyurl.com/68dhrw)
ReplyDeleteIdaho=huckleberry