Day 7--Baker City, OR to Ontario, OR

Day 7—June 25, 2006—Baker City, OR to Ontario, OR—83 miles—2011’ climb

Yeeehaw! Most of today’s route spooled out like an unwinding ribbon. Riders enjoyed miles and miles of unearned downhill along old Route 30 and I-84 and then on SH-201 along the Snake River. Yesterday racers had their criterium race; today they had a road race (The Elkhorn Bike Classic) the route for which overlapped our route a bit, but was scheduled for later so there was no problem “getting out of Dodge.”

Since it was the first day riders would ride parts of the Interstate, I gave them Mike Munk’s protocol for Interstate riding at dinner last night: 1) Ride as far right on the shoulder as possible, 2) Get behind the guardrail when you have a mechanical or need to stop, 3) Avoid running over belted tire debris; these pieces of tire contain little tube puncturing wires, 4) Avoid pacelines, 5) Ride in small groups so that one person can always turn to face the traffic coming from behind if you are stopped, and, 6) most importantly, Cross on-ramps and off-ramps using the shortest distance between two points and beware of fast moving exiting and entering traffic. In fact, if you see a car coming, wait until it has exited or continued on before crossing the exit road. Cars travel much faster than cyclists.

To my knowledge we had no flats on the Interstate, maybe a record. Flatting on these shoulders dotted with tire bits is common. Today’s ride marked a couple of milestones, too: 1) At mile 32, just before the first SAG Stop, riders had 500 miles behind them; and 2) at about mile 48, riders crossed into the mountain time zone and were reminded to turn their watches ahead 1 hour

Once again, the scenery was spectacular. Many high brown grassy hills folded one behind the other, long swooping roadways cut through the hills and cliffs; cattle ranches, cattle and cowboys; vegetable farmers growing onions, sugar beets, corn, potatoes, wheat, and mint. Derelict wooden buildings, a cement plant, even one place where two RR tunnels cut through the hillside. Picture perfect romantic west . . . the unsuspecting would never guess that this was Oregon, our next to last day in the state.

Makeshift shade shelter along the Snake

Since SS #2 was at a gravel boat put-in on the Snake River with nary a drop of shade in sight, Jim fixed up the van last night by tying a tarp to the roof racks and placing the two bike stands in the back. When it came time to set up the SS, we stretched the tarp to the bike stands and anchored the whole thing with water barrels. This gave riders and staff some shade and the taller riders didn’t complain about having to stoop to stand under it.  

[ I later learned that the owner of the ABB touring company was upset with me for showing a photo of the jerry-rigged shade protection. It did not reflect well on the company he said. At this reserve I can see what he meant. The pic shows a jerry-rigged shelter. I wasn’t thinking . . . of the ABB company at least. I was thinking of the comfort of the riders and staff. Later I compounded this error by buying a canopy and then asking riders to voluntarily chip in a dollar or two to help pay for it. Of course one of the riders complained to the tour owner that such things should have been covered in the tour fee. Susan not thinking again.  Susan 2016]

Franz dipping in the Snake

Shade or no shade, Franz decided it was time to take a dip in the Snake when he arrived at the second SS, so stripped down to his bike shorts and swam way out into the river. Barb and Steve longed to do the same, but didn’t want to ride in wet shorts, so they waded in to cool their feet. Sara, too, waded in and soaked her doo-rag and jersey. These were all wise things to do because the day turned into a scorcher — 103˚F by the time the last rider pulled into the motel in Ontario. A couple of riders had a bit of trouble with the heat today, so Don (a marathon runner) took some time to explain what to do and what not to do on hot days. We staff have our misters ready, also a cooler full of iced towels and will be vigilant tomorrow in “running the line” in the SAG vans to ensure that riders have water and support when they need it.

Dinner at a Sizzler this evening revived everyone, and a Walmart Supercenter nearby helped the staff prepare for the days to come. Our motel is nearly on the Snake, which is the border between Oregon and Idaho, so tomorrow riders will enter their second state of the ride. Tune in then and see how things go.

OVERHEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY:

• "Yeeeeeeeehaw!" 
• “On your left!”