Last night we survived our first night in the tent in a thunderstorm. Good to know that our Big Agnes does what it said she should and withstands both the wind and the rain fairly well.
We left Halfway about half an hour behind schedule at 8:45am to begin the rolling descent to Oxbow along the gurgling Pine Creek. Our route today only had 2 places where we could stock up on water and provisions along the way.
Our first stop was at the Hell's Canyon Convenience Store just inside the Hell's Canyon National Forest. We met a motorcycle tourer who told us about the ride right through Hell's Canyon on the 245. The ride sounded pretty awesome but it would have been an extra 22 miles out and back for us. When you're on a fully loaded bike, 44 miles of riding off-route does not sound appealing no matter how enticing the scenery.
 |
| Brownlee Reservoir |
 |
| Cycling along the Brownlee Reservoir |
From here we passed the Oxbow Dam, cycling slowly into another head wind, and travelled over rolling terrain along the lovely, tree-shaded Snake River until we reached the Brownlee Dam where we began a gradual winding ascent along the long and wide reservoir surrounded by dry, golden brown hills. The Oxbow-Brownlee Highway did not have much traffic on it, so we were able to take up the whole lane for most of the ride and pass the time chatting about diet and nutrition, trying to ignore our tired legs.
The Brownlee Dam is also where we sadly said goodbye to Oregon and hello to Idaho. We have been really impressed by the riding in Oregon, mostly because the cars have been very considerate and it is a state where the scenery changes everyday. Also, the scenic byways that they have created are most suitable for cycling. We would love to come back and spend some more time in Oregon if we ever get the chance as there is much we have missed on this trip.
 |
| The Brownlee Dam |
 |
| Starting the ascent after the Brownlee Dam |
Our second stop was at the Gateway Cafe where Katie and I fuelled up on a decadent chocolate thick shake to get us up the next climb - 7 miles uphill to another un-named summit, gaining 2,000 feet of elevation that took us about 70 minutes of grinding to get to the top.
 |
| Energy drink to get us up the pass |
Once we reached the peak, we were once again hit by the prevailing head winds and our fun on the rolling descent was spoiled.
 |
| I'm not looking very happy again at yet another summit! |
We ended the day with our reward about 2.8 miles out of Cambridge where we are staying at the Mundo Hostel (which is also an RV Park and Campground). On site is a Hot Spring pool which we soaked ourselves in after dinner. Camping was not an option tonight because the town is infested with the biggest, hungriest Mosquitos we have come across so far.
 |
| Riding into Cambridge |
 |
| Cambridge water tower |
CRANKING ODYSSEY STATS
Total Odyssey miles: 691
Overall Fastest Speed: Steve (39.9 miles per hour) Mandy (35.3 miles per hour)
Bonks: nil
Dog chases: 1
Dummy Spits: Steve (1 - Day 10 because it rained)
Flats: Katie (4)
Wrong turns: 6
Beer of the day: Third Shift Amber Lager (broke my promise not to drink any Texan beers throughout this Odyssey!)
Lesson of the day: we shouldn't have been tight arses. We should have bought the 3 man Big Agnes tent instead of the 2 man tent despite the extra weight. It's way too cosy in there!
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)
Posted with Blogsy
No comments:
Post a Comment