Today was our longest day on the bike so far (7 hours in the saddle) and my legs are certainly feeling it now as I type. They have that achy, dead leg feel to them after you know you have just completed an intense workout.
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| Wagon Wheel View Point on Dixie Pass |
A slight miscalculation on my behalf (due to planning on an empty stomach and too many beers) had us riding two long days in a row as we pushed to make Baker City in 2 days from Mitchell.
It was a rather full on day, after virtually no sleep in the barn, up at the crack of dawn to beat the desert heat, rolling at 6:30am with no breakfast knowing we had to climb 3 passes enroute.
The first pass up to Dixie Summit felt long as our legs struggled to warm up and Katie and I suffered bouts of light-headedness most likely due to either low sugar levels or insufficient food intake.
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| Mandatory summit selfie- I was not feeling the joy! |
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| Push up time at the summit |
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| Views on the descent |
In planning the day, Steve had sold us on riding for 3 hours then being able to get a full breakfast at the cafe in Austin Junction. Even though we had studied the map a thousand times over, all of us neglected to notice the handwritten notes I had thought I had so diligently marked on the map saying the cafe was closed on Tuesdays and Wednesdays! Austin Junction Cafe - you were such a major disappointment with your promises of fresh cobbler and welcome biker signs out front!
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| Oh how inviting you seemed! |
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| Lucky we are still carrying loads of snacks |
Luckily for us the UPS guy pulled up as we rolled in and told us where we could get water just 1 mile up the road from a fresh water spout in front of a house. If he hadn't have been there at the time, there was strong potential for this moment to have been my first melt down on the trip as the next 51 miles with 2 passes to climb did not have any services where we could re-fill our water supplies.
The second pass to Tipton Summit was relatively easy in comparison and we met some cycle tourers from England on the climb doing it tough with a tonne of gear. So glad Katie and Tiffany talked us in to shaving down our load to the bare necessities ( plus a little bit more ).
It was the third pass to Sumpter Summit, which we thought would be the shortest, that turned out to be the toughest of all, seemingly never ending on legs that were already tired and riding into a head wind at times that pushed you backwards as you were trying with all your might to power yourself uphill.
Steve had promised us a downhill with a tailwind from here to Baker City which essentially it was except for the wind factor which seemed to swirl around and come from the front, back and sides. Strong gusts felt like your bike would be taken out from under you if your weren't fast enough to brace against the gusts as they howled through the canyon.
I felt a little disappointed today as climbing the passes did not seem like they were giving us as much of a reward as they had in previous days until we came off the last pass and followed the Powder River all the way into Baker City. This was a very pretty end to the ride.
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| Powder River |
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| Alpacas by the river |
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| The scenic byway along Powder River |
As rain and thunderstorms were predicted, Steve had reserved us a room at the Knights Inn in Baker City the day before and it was good to know that we didn't have to search out accommodation for the night as we arrived in the rain and windy gusts and cool air of the early afternoon.
Instead we managed to squeeze in some much needed laundry and dinner at the Barley Brown's Brew Pub, our first full meal of the day.
CRANKING ODYSSEY STATS
Total Odyssey miles: 576
Overall Fastest Speed: Steve (39.9 miles per hour) Mandy (35.3 miles per hour)
Bonks: nil
Dog chases: 1
Dummy Spits: Steve (1)
Flats: Katie (3)
Wrong turns: 6
Beer of the day: Barley Brown's Jubilee Golden Ale and Vanilla Porter
Lesson of the day: don't plan your route on an empty stomach after 1 and a half Ninkasi Oatmeal Stouts
No. of our luxury items that Katie has used: 4 (duct tape + rope + pliers + a confused cup/bowl)
No. of days with no shower: 4
Starting weight: Steve (90kg) Mandy (51.5kg)
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