As ugly as the weather was yesterday, it was simply beautiful today. Although the temperature at the start was 43, it was sunny and felt much warmer and winds were calm. Actually, the temperatures throughout the day was just ideal for riding. Michael rode to the second SAG stop; then, Anne and Michael rode the tandem to Baker City. It was great very pretty riding through the canyon along the winding Powder River. It looked much like Vrain Canyon near Lyons, CO. The ride from the first SAG stop to the second was quiet, serene and majestic with very little traffic, gorgeous views of snow capped mountains, evergreen trees, old camper and trapper buildings, an old railroad car alone in a field and great descents along winding roads. Newt, I'm getting better at descents. Michael even stopped to take pictures! Rachel you would go crazy with all the photo ops. Renee and Rachel, as you love CO, you would find central to eastern OR a pretty close second.
Denny, I thought of you the last couple of days as we have met some 10-15 riders riding self contained. They must be admired for the ascents they have to climb while carrying so much weight. One young lady had panniers on the front and rear ends of the bike. You could hardly see the bike due to the size of the panniers. There were a number of couples just themselves. Also met three young men; one, going to Virginia, one to Maine and one to Denver. They were really excited with their adventures so far. The one thing you must have on a ride through the mountain regions is PATIENCE as on the long 3-10 mile climbs no one rides much over 6-10 mph.
Speaking of climbing, Michael is finding he did not plan his gearing very well. The 39 front/27 rear is barely making it. Charlie, please send me the compact setup you were going to let me use for the Rockies Ride last year!
Some have not been able to access the album in Picasa showing the pictures Michael has taken on his iPhone. Hopefully, now you will be able to by left clicking on the following link and then clicking on the Go to Link: https://plus.google.com/photos/102207335230379372875/albums/5891329806057309137
Please let me know if it works. You will find captions below most to the pictures.
At this point, we have just passed the 500 mile mark. Only 2,800 to go!
Tomorrow, its 81 miles to Ontario our last stop in OR before heading into ID.
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