The Thin Blue Ride - Part 2 Day 11 - McEwen, OR to Halfway, OR

Ride Report 1: 61 Miles, 624 Total Miles, 19.5 Avg mph, 1,483 Ft Climbing, 4,549 Calories,

Ride Report 2:  12 Miles,  636 Total Miles, 11.0 Avg mph, 1,499 Ft. Climbing, 1,056 Calories.

Totals for the day: 73 Miles, and 5,605 Calories.  BTW, I believe something like 3,600 calories = 1 pound.  Just watch, some dietitian out there is gonna give me the precise number.  Anyway, 5k is a lot of calories to burn in a day.  I'm always hungry.  But on with today's report...

Shortly after leaving the campground this morning (if one can call a 20 mile ride "short") we arrived in Baker City.  Today being blustery (crosswinds winds at 25+ mph) and cold early (this persisted all day) we decided to lay over there for probably an hour and a half.  The significance of this decision depends on who ya ask.  Susan was glad to get some groceries and found a small box fan to replace the one we had that broke.  (As an addendum the the fan discussion: did you know that the birds get up at the crack of dawn?  They make a god awful racket.)  We find that the fan blocks the bird noise out and we can sleep.  But back to the layover.  From my perspective I got a chance to warm up and the wind was supposed to shift slightly to an almost quartering tailwind.  I did get warm.  The wind still hadn't shifted when I left, but it did so along the route between Baker City and Richland.

The real reason to discuss Baker City is that we completed map two.  As was the case when we completed map 1, I've provided the reader a pic of the route that comprised map 2.  As you can see, we were mostly eastbound.

But on with the ride pics...

This is shortly after leaving the campground and before arriving in Baker city.  There was actually a very slight drizzle for the first few miles.  Most of the ride to Baker City looked like this.  The one exception was a straight stretch of road that ran across a meadow just before we got to town.  It was dead straight for probably 4 miles.  That was the longest stretch of straight road I've seen thus far.

Shortly after leaving Baker City, I found out where old equipment goes to die.  Eastern Oregon.  There was another, even bigger, field of old machinery just down the road.  All together, maybe 40 acres of old equipment.  Everything from bulldozers to hay rakes.  Just one of many oddities we've seen on The Thin Blue Ride.

Today's route had an interesting profile.  Until we go to Richland, the map showed the route to be either flat or downhill all day.  That occasioned many vistas like this.  OK, OK - it also fed the 19.5 mph average for ride 1.  You people ask to many questions.

I was surprised by this sign on two counts.  First, open ranges are a bit unusual in their own right.  Second, any cow wandering the range in the background of this pic wouldn't look nearly as "well fed" as the cow on this sign.  There was nothing here but sagebrush and hills.  But I have noticed that this being spring, all the rivers are flowing and all the grass (wherever one can find it) is lush.  The ranchers are all haying like mad now too.  Probably for use when things dry up later this summer?  I wonder if they feed hay in the summer after things go dry?  Around home ranchers typically feed over the winter. 

As I said earlier, many views like this today.  I thought the shadows of the clouds on the valley floor really made this shot.

So - as we neared Richland the highway ran thru a canyon.  It was very scenic what with the river right beside the roadway for pretty much the entire way.  This bridge ran to an abandoned mine or quarry just out of the frame to the right.

WOW!  What a view.  Delta loves these long stretches of open road.

More of the same highway.  Note the river below.  Its probably 80-100 feet down to the river from where I stand.  Also note how quickly things go from green to brown to the right of the river.  Typical.

Same location with Delta looking back the direction we came from.

Bonus internet points to the reader who can figure out why I look like this.  Forget that.  It'd just invite snarky comments and I wanna tell ya anyway.  Take a look at the willows along the river bank.  Note which direction they're bending.  THAT'S RIGHT - THE WIND SHIFTED.  And when it did so, it did so with a vengeance.  I think it was steady at 25 with gusts maybe 35.  In addition, we're following a river downstream - translate that as a -2% slope.  I think Delta and I spent 15-20 miles cruising at 25-32 mph with little effort.  These are the days riders live for.  I had no idea one could have so much fun on a bike!

And this was the intended end of the day - 61 miles.  But I had been thinking all day about what tomorrow looked like.  It started with a steep climb out of our intended overnight stop in Richland, OR.  Then toward the end is what the ACA map describes thusly...

"The town of Halfway is a good place to rest before riding thru Hell's Canyon along the Snake River. Temperatures on the canyon floor can reach 110 degrees.  Be sure to carry plenty or water and allow extra time for the seven-mile steep climb out of the canyon."

Good Lord!  Hell's Canyon, snakes, 110 degrees, extra time, seven-mile, steep.  Why don't they just throw in one of those congestion signs to help make the point?  This is much like the doctor who replaced my knee a couple of years ago telling me that it would be a bit sore and require some physical therapy to recover.  A bit sore?  Some physical therapy?  I elected to believe the ACA.

So I discussed it with Susan and decided to do the climb out of Richland today rather than throw it in the same day as the climb out of Hell's Canyon. At the end of a long day this may have been a questionable decision, but it means I'll start the Hell's Canyon climb with something like 43-48 miles under my belt that day instead of 60-65.  I decided to take my medicine today.  Hence, Ride Report 2.

This is what Richland looks like at the start of the climb.  We're probably only 1/4 of the way up and have yet to hit the steep part of the climb.  Having done a few of these now, they all seem to start with shallower grades and then pitch up shortly after the climb begins.  This one fit that pattern.

The Sequoia took this pic as we rounded the curve after having tackled the first mile of the step part of the climb.

OK - about half way up now and Richland (the trees in the background) is considerable smaller and more importantly, considerably lower already.  Note the smile.

This is what my face looked like when I wasn't smiling.  Smiling doesn't take too long.  I'm afraid my face will freeze this way on a climb some day.  Then my fetching good looks will have gone by the wayside.

Finally!  Now for the fun part.  I hit 42+ on the downhill.  Note the cold weather headgear under my helmet and the windproof vest on my shoulder.  They're absent in the pics above cause climbing is...well...work. 

Side bar:  I've had this theory for some time now that riding a bike in hilly country is 75% uphill and 25% fun.  I was glad I did this ride separate from the rest of the day on my Garmin, as doing so confirmed my theory.  I spent roughly 51 minutes climbing to the summit.  I spent 13 minutes coming down.  It was 6 miles of climbing and 6 miles of descending.  Total ride time 1:04.  That's about as close to a 75/25 split as I can imagine.  Reader should use this information to inform themselves that many (if not all) of my musings are scientifically provable.  

And to close the day down there is this pic.  Susan took it at Richland.  Used by permission of Susan Schoen Photography, LLC.

Till next time.