Day 7. June 23

Day 7. June 23
Today was the kind of day why I own and ride a bike! We got started about 7:30, heading out of John Day, OR and riding south east to Ontario, OR - about an 83 mile ride today. The day started out in the low 60s but worked its way to the mid 80s. By that point, the leg and arm Warner's were off and it was gorgeous. The terrain has flattened out a bit (only 1700 feet of climb and almost all of that in the first 10 miles).

I did something I,ve never done before on a bike. I rode on the interstate (I-84)for about 16 miles. Actually it sounds scarier than it was. There were nice wide shoulders and not a lot of traffic. Obviously this is legal out west.

The towns out here in eastern Oregon are far apart. We went miles without seeing a house, let alone a town.  The first town we came to, Huntington, was about 50 miles into the ride, giving us a natural stopping point for coffe and pie or something else to get some fuel in the tank. I learned from the waitress that the town is about 350 people and they have their own school -kindergarten through grade 12. There are 70 kids in the whole school and it,s not unusual to travelm60 to 80 to play another team. Shortly after leaving Huntington, we started riding next to the Snake River. It's a fairly wide river, at least a couple hundred feet. And then next to the river, it started to turn green, a stark contrast to all the brown we have been seeing lately. We rode past fields of corn and clover and huge fields of onions. Onions are one of the big crops out here and there were two articles about onions on the front page of the local paper.  Shortly thereafter, we entered into the mountain time zone! I've never ridden through a time zone before.

Our last stop of the day was at a public boat launch, a little upstream from where they put a small dam to create a bit of a reservoir. We pulled in and I started talking with one of the local fisherman, sitting maybe 50 feet from the river, keeping an eye on his pole. He wasn't getting a nibble, but he and his dog just enjoyed sitting. Dennis told me they were from southwest Oregom, near I-5 along the coast. They come to this part of the state a few times a year to fish for catfish. Catfish and outdoor activity is what eastern Oregon is known for. Dennis' wife, her sister-in-law, her husband, Dennis's son and daughter-in-law were out in the boats on the river, catching fish.  I learned that Dennis had two sons and a daughter, but that one of his sons had died about seven years ago. I decided to not push him to tell me that story.  When I asked what he hoped his kids learned from him, he said that was a you question because he didn't think he had been a good role model. But he hoped they had learned to be honest. He said some have told him that he's honest to a fault. I wished Dennis a great catfish supper and was on the road again.


By that time it was about time to get back on the road for the last 25 miles -pretty flat by this time.  .

I rode with three others in a pace line, each taking a turn at pulling a few miles at a time, going between 18 and 21 mph. We pulled into town about 3:15 (mountain time). It was a day meant for riding a bicycle.

I learned that we are left than a mile from Idaho. Tomorrow we head for Boise and Tuesday will be our first rest day!  My back side will be so grateful.

Be well.

Don