Day 19---just making it, Ontario to Boise

Total, including back and forth to the bike shop, 65.4 miles, 5:34, ending temperature, 96 degrees.

Now with pictures!

Today was supposed to be a pretty easy day, climbing mostly gently from 2200 feet to 2700 feet here in Boise.

I headed out of the hotel around 6:10, and it was much cooler than yesterday morning,70 degrees, and not so humid as yesterday.  I crossed the Snake River into Idaho about half a mile from the hotel.  Interesting that the two big border businesses in Idaho were Check Cashing (never saw one in Oregon, perhaps they're better regulated?) and "Discount Cigarettes."  Welcome to the Red State World!

Oh and Fireworks, which are illegal in Oregon, but not in much drier Idaho.....

And of course, in Idaho. people have to be warned not to smoke around fireworks!

A short ride then a right turn onto US 95, and I was cycling through lovely irrigated farmland.  The air smelled of peppermint and onions, with an occasional blast of alfalfa.  An onion truck went by me, leaking onion juice onto the highway, and as I rode along I found many bit of onion peel.  A few miles on, I passed the onion processing plant.

I got off the four lane highway to head through the small town of Fruitland, which had many roadside fruit stalls.  One of the disappointing thing about this heat wave is that many places that I might stop are not open in the early morning.

Back out into the country, staying up on the plateau above the Snake River, which was dotted with Midwestern style farms, with irrigated fields much smaller than those you'd see in California, and many tidy farm houses.  The agriculture committee of the Nampa/Caldwell Chamber of Commerce had very recently placed cardboard signs announcing each of the crops that I passed:  peppermint, potato, seed corn, onions, alfalfa.  I couldn't help but think how much they had spent on this effort, and to what purpose?  Most of the traffic on the road appeared to be local farming folk....

I rolled into Parma.....no cheese, no milk, just a tiny little farm town, with a very nice park.  Had my morning snack and headed back on the road by 8, after being attacked by vicious hordes of mosquitos in front of the Ten Commandments monument (erected in the mid 60s, probably after the first school prayer decision).

A working drive in!

Lovely Parma park

The Ten Commandments, protected by vicious mosquitos

Main Street

After Parma you ride along the Boise River for 45 miles or so, right into downtown Boise.  It's very slight steady uphill grade for most of the way, and after about 25 miles I really started to flag.  I think the heat, early mornings, and worry about my rear wheel were finally beginning to catch up with me.  It was also starting to get hot, and there was no shade along the route, with the main line of the railroad on the right, and irrigated fields on the left (north side).

Next town was Notus (if Scotus is Supreme Court of the US, what is Notus I wondered?)  Turns out Notus was founded by confederate refugees from Missouri in 1864,  who settled the area to supply the miners further up the Boise River.  This area was for many years called Dixie.

I thought the historical market treatment was a little too sympathetic to the confederates, given that they were refugees for supporting slavery!  Idaho is a funny place that way.....

Next town, at mile 37 was Middleton, where I found the fine Ridley's Family Markets.  Definitely the nicest market since the Safeway in Redding, CA, with fresh fruit, and a great deli.  Very friendly staff, and a funny space called the Viking Loft, which is a raised section at the second floor level that overlooks the combined grocery/Ace Hardware store.  30 mins in the air conditioning was restorative.  However, the check out clerk was having a discussion with an ex-Californian about 'how crazy things are there now."  Like being sympathetic to slave owners isn't crazy? Gotta love Idaho....

I cycled through a couple more ex-farm towns turned suburbs, Star and Eagle, and the suburbs were as bland as faceless as any. 

Except for this strip mall!

The tripling of the population here in the last 30 years is mostly due to white flight from the West Coast, and you hear lots of talk about how much better it is here (eavesdropping, it seems to be a popular refrain among the locals).  Also interesting when people are told I'm from California, is the stories they have about Californians moving here.  Given the lack of diversity I've seen here, they must be all white Californians, as even most of the hotel maids are white and native English speakers.

I came upon this housing development between Caldwell and Middleton, clearly some kind of low income housing, where all the signs were in Spanish.  It was miles from any other development.

Just before I was to enter the Boise Greenbelt cycleway, I picked up a thorn in my front tire and had to change a flat in the blazing sun.  It was at mile 51, and by then it was in the 90s, humid and frankly, I had just had it.  I'm not sure how I picked up and went on, after the cycleway disappeared into a morass of unannounced construction, and I had to divert back to the now very busy four lane suburban highway.

Suddenly, I spied ahead of me what appeared to be two bicycles with panniers.  Could it be other crazy cycle tourists out in the heat as well?  I followed them at about the same distance for three miles or so, and came upon them stopped under the first shade trees for some miles.  Turns out there were a young couple from Prineville Oregon, who had just cycled across eastern Oregon on US 26.  The had started out from Weiser, ID, not far from Ontario, and they too had found trouble with the cycleway.  They would be staying in Boise tonight, then renting a car and driving home to Oregon tomorrow.  I was jealous.....

Checking our Google maps on our phones, we figured out that we could pick up the cycleway just on the the other side of Wal Mart and I headed off.  Happily the cycleway was mostly shady, and I was very envious of the locals swimming and floating down the rapids in the river.  I almost got off the bike to cool off on the river, but I was concerned about getting to the bike shop in time to get my wheel replaced today.  In hindsight, I should have said "what the hell" and gone for it!  Less mission focus please.....

The Boise River Greenbelt Cycleway

The cycleway disgorged me into downtown Boise, just three blocks from the Grove Hotel, and voila, I was there.  In the lap of luxury at Boise's only 4 Diamond hotel.  Turns out it was built by the Simplot family so that Boise would have a good, top class hotel (many years ago, when in Boise on business, hotels were quite country town).  This week is very slow, and they are running a great special on rooms, so I feel quite lucky to be enjoying it.  The didn't blink an eye when I pulled up on the bike, and asked if I wanted to take it to my room.

After dumping my gear it was a mile or so to George's where I got set up with a new wheel, extra spokes, and a lot of cool bike talk.  Lots of touring people work there, and one of the staff had spent quite a bit of time in New Zealand.  Nice to be back among the adventurous!

Back to the hotel, and a short nap, which really relieved no weariness...a signal for a rest day for sure.  Booked the room for another night, then went to have Basque food (who knew there was a Basque block in Boise) thinking that it would remind me of my very first bike tour, which I started in Bilbao many ago.  Alas, it's closed on Sunday.  Happily there was a Neapolitan pizza place nearby, and the food was great.

I can hardly keep my eyes open at this point....have the Tour on the telly for inspiration.  I've always wanted to cycle around Corsica, and now it's on the must list!

Good night all.  Pics and a bit of editing tomorrow.

Day 18, grind it out in the early morning heat, Juntura to Ontario

74 miles, 5:59

I got up first at 4 am, thinking that getting a start at 5 would be a good thing. At that hour it was still 80 degrees, and a line of thunderstorms was going through the Malheur canyon where I would be cycling.  Since there was no moon, and I was going downhill at first, I decided to get another hour's sleep, and leave when it got light, around 6 (sunrise was at 6:13).

Facing the record heat wave of the next few days is becoming more of a mental challenge for me, and this morning was a tough one.  I'm happy to report that having survived the heat until after  PM today, I feel like I can manage, but we'll see how the next couple of days go.

 I slept fitfully another hour, then got up, ate, packed etc, and was ready to go just before 6.  It was damp out, since a little rain had fallen, but the line of storms was now in front of me, and moving faster than my bicycle :)

It was a fairly easy rolling descent down the canyon of the Malheur, and every bit as sere and volcanic as I remembered.  In August 1978,  I rode the canyon up on the back of a flat bed truck in the 100 degree weather on my way to a commune in Coos Bay, Oregon, and I had very strong memories of the ride.  It was part of today's reverie to think back to that time 35 years ago, when I was hitching around the west and meeting lots of young people like myself with a bug for adventure.

It was a hot descent, but thankfully the first 20 or so miles were either in the shade or the sun was behind the clouds.  As it got to 8 o'clock, however, the sun came out, and really started baking the road.  All that black basalt absorbs heat really well.  It was also really humid today, both from the thunderstorms and the rain of a few days ago.

I pulled up to the store in Harper (mile 33) (in the same family for 80+ years according the 60ish proprietor) to find the Saturday morning coffee klatsch inside.  I sucked down a cranberry juice and a bag of Lay's (man did I need salt by then) and chatted with the locals, one of whom lives part time in Sutter Creek.  Turns out his mother started the Sutter Creek Inn, and he's still involved in the business.  He asked for my advice about taking Social Security at 62 (since he'd asked my profession), but I deferred.

It was now 9:15, 88 degrees in the store, and about 40% humidity, and I had today's climb, about 600 feet in two miles, ahead of me.  So off I went....it was hot and miserable...

and when I descended, I was in a lovely valley, where every farm had irrigation water running.  It was like cycling in the tropics....but with alfafa, sugar beets, potatoes and onions.

Pulled into Vale, (mile 56) where I'd checked on accommodation on the phone, and it all looked run down and sketchy.  There were a lot of migrant workers out in the onion fields, some looked Mexican/Central American, and the others were perhaps from South East Asia, and I suspect that the local accommodation caters to that market.

I stopped at the Cenex market, which looked quite nice (compared to all the other establishments in town) to find a great convenience store, with a deli, and lots of drinks on ice everywhere.  My dear friend, Lani Jordan, is there director of corporate communications, and I know they are a terrific company.  Nice to find an outpost to confirm that!  And it's a cooperative, which is also good.  Got super hydrated, gatoraded, and iced up for the last 16 miles into Ontario, my last stop in Oregon.

An eastern centric view of Oregon, more like the end!

The first motel was pretty decent, but the guy said I'd have to wait at least an hour for a room, and that the nearest laundry was a mile or so away (in the 95 degree heat).  I rode further into town, checking out the two motels in the old center of town, but they were super run down.

So like so many towns, it was off to the freeway village, and a great Americas Best Value Inn.  It's by the Wal Mart, Home Depot, and strip malls that cater to Idahoans who don't want to pay sales tax.  Interestingly, the Oregon minimum wage is also much higher than in Idaho. so all those Idahoans shopping here in Oregon are supporting Oregon's favorable worker environment.  Just goes to show that those conservative Idahoans will do anything for a buck!

Another early to bed tonight, so I can get to Boise, which is just short of 60 miles, tomorrow.  Then it will be to the bike shop to replace my rear wheel.

Day 17--first day over 100, Burns to Juntura

58 miles, 5:22 

I left the lovely little Silver Spur motel at 5:15 this morning, just before the sun rose.  It was cool, only 52, and I put on my wind jacket for the ride out of town, across the completely flat former lakebed of Harney Lake.  During the last Ice Age, the entire Harney Basin, at least 40 miles across and more than that north to south, was a giant lake.  In the low, early morning light, you could see the various lake levels on the benches a couple miles north of the highway. 

 

Cycling the flat lakebed at dawn

 

The first 5 mile climb was about 23 miles from Burns, and marked the exit from the Great Basin, which I entered between Alturas and Lakeview.

 

I stopped at a rest area, which contrary to the Oregon DOT website, had no water, and a big sign that said “Water not potable.”  I’ll have to be sure to send them an email about that inaccuracy!  And it’s not the only inaccuracy or sloppiness that I’ve encountered from ODOT, it seems that they can’t put their mile markers consistently at one mile, they often vary by a tenth of a mile, but more normally by 1-4 hundredths of a mile.  Using my trip computer to check the mile markers is one of the little mind games I have to occupy all that empty time and  I’ve taken to calling them the ‘drunken Oregon mile markers,’ imagining that the crew that put them out there had been wildly partying the night before.

The climb was pretty tolerable, although in the sun at 8 it was already getting warm.  Happily there was enough residual  coolness to make it tolerable.  The first descent of the day was just magnificent, into the valley of the Malheur River.  It’s really desolate country out here, with a few ranches, many  of them now with 5 generations in the same family.  The descent was great, but it was really getting hot (in the low to mid 80s by now) and I was facing the toughest climb of the day, which I could see across the valley.   It was in the full sun, and there was very little breeze.

Valley of the Malheur River

There were no trees along the river, (a sure sign of poor range management, the cows eat the baby trees) and I was hungry, and started to look for a spot to stop and eat, and be in a bit of shade.  I spied an irrigation ditch, running with water, with a large sagebrush, just off the road at the beginning of the climb.  It was now about 9:30, and it was time for lunch.  I spent about 15 minutes in the shade, and then made a crucial decision:  I took off my cycling jersey and got it soaking wet in the irrigation ditch.  I reckoned that the first part of the 2.5 mile, 5% plus climb could use a little swamp cooling!

The first mile or so, was hot, but the breeze would kick up in between the road cuts, which were like ovens.  I lost a lot of sweat, and drank a lot of water, but after about 1.75 miles I really started to overheat.  Since there was no shade, all I could do was wait til I hit a breezy stretch, and try to cool off.  At the 2 mile mark, I was starting to cramp a bit, and walked for .2 of a mile or so, to stretch out the cramp.  The heat was really tackling my muscles.  As I rounded the corner to hit the top of the pass, the breeze picked up, and provided relief!   Mile 46 marked the top.

 

Alas, no water to drink!

It was a really fun 12 miles of mostly downhill, but a bit like being in a convection oven at times.  The last 3 miles into Juntura pass through wetlands, which were by now hot and providing a lot of humidity.  When I pulled into town (80 people live in this valley) the shade of the old cottonwoods was welcome! 

Shady cottonwoods

The Oasis Café and Motel is a charming establishment, and the first thing I did was get a cold OJ from the drinks cooler.  Then I told the owner (a really lovely person) that I’d like a room for the night (it was only 12:30 Mountain Time, 11:30 in Burns where I’d started out).  She said to me, “good you’re not crazy after all” or something to that effect.  She got me a giant cup of ice water, and a napkin, and then got me a room.

 

 

The rooms are nice, in a prefab building, with great air conditioning and insulation!  I showered, then had a fantastic lunch of Mexican Lasagne, Spanish Rice and a lovely salad, all for $5.95. 

 

 

Took a nap, then had dinner, and chatted with the folks in the restaurant.  One couple was moving to Havre MT, from Klamath Falls, and will be directly on my route after Glacier.  The waitress grew up in Bishop, and married a local rancher’s son, and has been living here for 20+ years.  Turns out that the kids go to a state paid boarding high school about an hour from their ranch.  Pretty cool place to grow up, but like most rural places, there are very few young people to be seen.

The cook grew up in Jackson WY, and recently moved to Juntura from Bend, so it was interesting to see that this kind of remote rural area (2.5 hours driving from Boise) still has some drawing power.  It seems the biggest economic issue here is that if you don’t have a ranch in the family, there’s not much employment.

Off to bed at 8:30, up at 4 to ride down to Ontario, my last night in Oregon.

Here are some random shots of Juntura.

The start of the Malheur River Canyon

 

Day 16---a short day from Riley to Burns

27 miles, 2 hours 43 minutes.

I discovered last night that I'd popped another rear spoke, and checked out the internet this morning to see if there was a bike shop in Burns.  Turns out a local guy, who's just moved back from San Francisco, has opened a bike repair shop.  I trued the wheel up this morning, and set off by 8 for Burns, which looked to be an easy 27 miles.  Turns out I had a bit of a headwind this morning, and I was still pretty tired from yesterday, so it took longer than I'd hoped. 

The bike shop was due to open at 11, and I arrived there around 11:15.  Closed until July 5, if you need to pick up a bike call xxxxxxxxx.  Oh no....since the broken spoke is again on the non-cassette side of the tire, it's a long process to put a new spoke on.  After the 27 miles the tire hadn't gone any more out of true, so I figured I'll have to let it ride until I get to Ontario or Boise.  Ontario is the next bike shop, in Boise I can get a new wheel, which I need to do at this point.

I went to the local Chamber to see if there were any other bike folks in Burns. Nope. So off to the Silver Spur motel, which has Burns highest rating on Trip Advisor.  Nice period motel, recently redone by a family from Salem that decided to open a motel.  They're very gracious, and even offer free popcorn to make in your microwave.  They're also ok with me leaving here at 5 AM tomorrow, so I can beat the heat to Juntura.

I made arrangements to get a new wheel in Boise on either Sunday or Monday, depending on how the heat wave develops, and then wandered around town for lunch, and then a look at the local Harney County History Museum.  The Museum had a great collection of stuff, and the volunteer there was quite eager to fill in a lot of local history.

Burns is quite a nice little town, with many restored and well maintained historic buildings, and a lot of little businesses and restaurants along the main street.  Given how far it is from anywhere, and that the population here has been declining (more than 20% since 1980), it's a remarkable little place.

The county courthouse, clearly a New Deal building

The inexplicable owl adorning the courthouse

A couple of the nicely redone houses around town

Day 15---Ride the wind! Lakeview to Riley 113 miles.

113 miles, 8 hours 10 minutes.

I didn't get a particularly early start on Wednesday, figuring that I was camping out in the boonies somewhere, and I would just stop when I got tired.  I headed out of the hotel around 9:45, after packing for rain showers.  I haven't packed for a day of rain and it required quite a bit of reorganization, which slowed me down quite a bit.  I also had to figure out how to pack extra water, without completely overloading the bike.

The gentle climb out of Lakeview was lovely, and I had a good strong direct tailwind of 10-15 mph, with stronger gusts.  I kept waiting for the desert to appear, but instead I climbed up to a nice north facing slope that was full of lovely ranches and big trees.

 

 

After gliding downhill with a tailwind for about ten miles or so, the Abert Rim, one of North America's most prominent fault scarps, came into view.  It rises about 2500 feet above the valley below, and I would cycle along it for more than 30 miles.  This part of Oregon is stretching from west to east, and as it stretchs, blocks of land rise or fall.  The Abert Rim is rising, and the land in the basin in falling, and the basis is full of smelly alkaline water (dead brine shrimp) that has nowhere to drain.

Views of the Abert Rim

 

 

 

The wind pushed me along the slightly rolling terrain at about 14-15 miles an hour, and I just kept pedaling through some of the emptiest landscape I've ever pedaled through.  After a longish gentle climb and descent into another basin, sand dunes appeared.  

Sand Dunes on US 395 near Christmas Valley

 







By this point I'd done about 70 miles, and wasn't really tired, but then began a series of small climbs, with a tailwind that would take me to the former site of Wagontire, which has an abandoned motel.  Wagontire is at mile 84 from Lakeview, and when I arrived it appeared the caretaker was there, but I couldn't find him.  Some recent work looks like it's been done to organize a small camping area, with picnic tables and fire pits, and I hung around for a few minutes, eating, wondering if I should stop and just wait.

The wind was still blowing in the right direction, and I had cycled just about 6 hours.  I looked at the map, and the route profile I had, and saw that Riley was another 29 miles.  Dale, who runs the Riley Store and Archery, had told me on the phone earlier on Wednesday, that if I made it that far, I could pitch my tent there.  So, feeling strong, and a bit bold, I took off to do the last 29 miles.

Then the wind shift around a bit, so that I had a side/slight headwind, and even though some of the ride was downhill, I really started to get tired.  It took me just over two hours to do the last 29 miles, and I was really exhausted when I hit Riley just before 8.  Since I'd eaten at Wagontire, I just bought a juice and some chips, washed up at the spigot, and crashed into my tent.  Was asleep by 10, but woke up a few times in the night, probably still buzzing from all those endorphins!  Many thanks to Dale at the Riley Store, it was a good place to camp.

Day 14---last day of waiting

As of tonight, my dad's surgery was successful, and he was due back to his room a bit later tonight.  I'll check in with him and Sherry in the morning, before setting off for Burns.  I have a serious case of cabin fever and am eager to get on with my ride!

I had a fun day in Lakeview today, despite the rain.  I poked around, went by the Chamber of Commerce and was invited to their Tour de Outback planning meeting, where I met some of the locals who are putting together some fun rides the first weekend of August.  This is a great area to ride in, very little traffic, and great scenery and wildlife.  The wildlife can get quite close ----as I was on my way to dinner around 5:30, a deer ran across the Safeway parking lot, sauntered across the main street and went off into the residential neighborhoods crossing just a few steps in front of me.

The sociology of small towns like Lakeview is really interesting, and it's great to hear from some of the more engaged local folks about how things get done.  The challenges for small towns like this are great, especially now that so many things are bought on the internet, as their local economies continue to be hollowed out by forces beyond their control.  I'm sure I'll see a lot more of this phenomenon on my trip, and I'm interested to see how other small communities are dealing with the challenges.

The Alger Theater

The Heryford Building

The Methodist Church, note the vintage car parked in front!

 

 

Day 13---more waiting

Last night before going to bed, I found out that my dad had fallen at the pool in Montego Bay, Jamaica, and was going to be medically evacuated today.  Apparently he's broken his hip, and has been admitted to University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia. I'll find out more in the morning, which is causing me a bit of concern, as I'll be out of electronic contact for a couple of days as I pedal across the southern Oregon desert.

Not too much to report today in Lakevew, it rained, and then it rained some more.  My motel room started leaking, so I had to move rooms, and have a much groovier green tile 50s bathroom. I feel a bit like a racehorse chomping at the bit tonight, and am eager to get on with my trip.

Will post to Facebook when I take off tomorrow.....Day 14 blog will be at least a day late!

Day 12---staying in place is the hardest and requires patience

It blew, it blustered, and it hardly rained today, and I found myself second guessing my decision to stay here until the big set of winter style storms blew through.  Staying in place and patience are often difficult, made more so by the lack of cultural reinforcement.  We're always on the go, taking on the challenge, etc... and I'm as prone to that as anyone.  So today was a good lesson, on a long trip, that forging ahead is not always the best strategy.

Having said that, it was a blue day too, since it was too cold for the pool, and I didn't really get any exercise.  I'm suffering endorphin withdrawal, and the lack of company, and it seems too soon to be having a low point on the trip.

I caught up on a lot of reading, emails, and general personal stuff, which is good, and tomorrow, I'll catch up with some Shanti work.  An unanticipated three day break in the trip, which I will put to good use.  Today reminded me of a favorite Thich Nhat Hanh story which always makes me pause and smile, when I remember it.  I'll leave today's post with the quote.....

When we see a red light or a stop sign, we can smile at it and thank it, because it is a bodhisattva helping us return to the present moment. The red light is a bell of mindfulness. We may have thought of it as an enemy, preventing us from achieving our goal. But now we know the red light is our friend, helping us resist rushing and calling us to return to the present moment where we can meet with life, joy and peace.

Day 11--Lakeview rest day

I had a very hard time getting out of bed today, even after almost 10 hours of sleep.  I ambled off to breakfast around 915 and got back to the motel around 1020 (oddly all the breakfast places were very busy this morning).  I had debated with myself for the previous hour about whether to head out today, given that the weather forecast is for a major winter type, pineapple express storm to start hitting this part of Oregon sometime on Sunday, with the median prediction for rain here in Lakeview at 1.5 inches.  Here's the link for my fellow weather geeks. http://forecast.weather.gov/product.php?site=NWS&issuedby=MFR&product=AFD&format=CI&version=2&glossary=1.

The term 'atmospheric river' caught my attention, because my next leg involves riding across about 120 miles of completely empty Great Basin landscape, with water only available at 3 or 4 spots. There also are very few trees, and the only places to shelter out of the wind would be filled with water during a storm (except for the one rest area).

If I left today, I could get far enough north to miss the brunt of the storm, so I reasoned, and then I'd only get a little wet tomorrow on my way to Burns.  The problem with that argument was that I was really too tired to push on 60 or 70 miles today.  I decided to throw my fate to the world, pay for another night at the motel, get some more sleep (got 3 more hours) and just generally take it easy.  The last four days from Redding involved a lot of climbing and 50+ mile days and had clearly taken a physical toll.

I also reminded myself that I had only planned 40 mile days for the first month of my trip, and I've exceeded that, some days by a lot, on almost every day I've been riding.  I've been feeling a little pressure from starting 9 days later than originally planned, but it's time for me to let that go, and let the trip have its own schedule and logic.  If I'm 'late' getting to where I told folks I would be by some range of dates, then I'm going to be 'late.'  I'm not on a race, or timing myself, I'm here to enjoy the trip!

I headed off this afternoon to do laps at the lovely local pool, and did a relaxing 1500 meters, which really helped get the lead out and calm the mind.  Exercise withdrawal is also an issue on rest days, since you get hooked on the endorphins flooding your system every day.  A day off can be a real crash, so it's essential to go do something. 

Dinner tonight was at the local diner, since 1966, with all the original fixtures.  Jerry's.  Looks like once it was a chain, but now seems to be just a local business.  Honey fried chicken was my friend tonight, for $9, a half a (small) chicken, a baked potato with butter and sour cream, a salad, a largish bowl of corn, and a piece of texas toast.  I spent almost an hour working my through it all....and it was yummy and home made.  Fun to have an iceberg lettuce salad too!  Total retro land....

Tonight I'll get some more rest, and take a look at the weather in the morning, before deciding if I'm going on.  I'll update Facebook in the morning with my plans, in case you're checking :)

Day 10---Houston saves the day, Alturas to Lakeview

Total 57 miles, 5 hours, 24 mins, 10.5 mph.  Left California at mile 466.5.

A note on mileage:  Mileage includes the miles I ride around town doing errands, exploring etc...this blog won't be an accurate count of mileage between two points as a result.

As you may recall from yesterday's post, two spokes on my back wheel broke some time yesterday, and I forgot to bring spare spokes from Berkeley.  Happily I found a guy, Houston, who has a used bike shop in Alturas.  At 7:15 this morning, I called him as he'd requested, and around 7:45 I rolled down to his shop.  He has hundreds of used bike bits, and we found some spokes that were the right size (and I now have spares).  Took the wheel apart, did the work, (not easy since they were on the non-cassette side and we didn't want to take the cassette off), trued the wheel.  It was a joint effort and took us about an hour.

Turns out Houston was originally from Southern California, is 71, and has retired to Alturas.  The bike business was a hobby for his retirement, and all the money he makes he donates to the local charities that help the homeless, veterans and kids.  He's currently focused on kids, so my 20 bucks for the repair is going to someone who really needs the help!  What a great man, and how lucky Alturas is to have him there! 

After the repair, I took a look around some of the historic buildings (turns out Houston is also writing a history of Alturas) and got things organized for today's ride.  Finally headed out of town close to 11, my latest start since the first day.  It had warmed up from the frost in the morning, and there was almost no traffic on US 395. A long gentle climb up the North Fork of the Pit River (the furthest tributary of the great Sacramento River) to the Goose Lake Basin, which marks the start of my trip through the Great Basin.  Great cycling to lunch at Davis Creek, where I had to suffer through the smell of ribs on the BBQ, which were being prepared for the every Friday night BBQ.  Boy was I tempted to stick around.

Apparently, every four years there's a Davis to Davis Creek ride, and this is the summer that it will happen.  For those of you who might be interested, check it out, as this corner of California is really like the old west, before big trophy homes went up on all the meadows and hayfields in the intermountain west..

After Davis Creek it was pleasant riding on the benches above Goose Lake, an mildly alkaline lake that expands and shrinks as the precipitation varies from year to year.  The ranchlands were truly magnificent and there were many old abandoned apple and wild plum orchards along the way.  There were many historic houses and ranchsteads, all very tidy and well kept, most with lovely gardens in full spring bloom.

Sadly, I picked up a nasty headwind for the last two hours, which made the rolling country more challenging, and a bit demoralizing, but I managed to get into Lakeview before 6.

Tonight I had dinner with the director of the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, whose son and daughter in law are currently living in Wellington!  Her daughter in law also was in the same PhD program as former Chaot, Meg Krawchuck, who married former Chaot Mark Miller.  (Chaots for those who might not know, as members of the Berkeley outdoor club, the Cal Hiking and Outdoor Society).  Small world indeed!  She grew up in Alturas, and has been in and out of these parts for many years.  She was a fount of local knowledge and lore, and we got along famously.  She's currently working on organizing the second Tour of the Outback, which is a series of rides, including a century, that will occur the first weekend in August.  I'll post information about it when I receive it.

Since I've left Berkeley there's only been one day where the riding wasn't beautiful or spectacular, and only one day where the traffic was anything more than sparse.  So far this route has been a perfect cycling route, with good services along the way.  My touring friends should definitely put this on their itineraries.

However, starting tomorrow, the services will change!  I have a 140 mile run to Burns, Oregon with only two stores, and two other water sources.  I'll be camping out in the middle of nowhere tomorrow night, and maybe Sunday night, depending on how many miles I can do tomorrow.  I've stocked up on cheese and salami, and have my olive oil from Corning, along with bars, and chocolate!  Also extra water bottles.  Happily the forecast is for continued cool weather, and the cycling doesn't look too challenging.

No post tomorrow night, but I'll have a lovely full moon out in the Great Basin Desert!

Day 9, great cycling and the first serious bike repair

First off, the day ended with 57.5 miles, 5 hours and 9 minutes, average 11.1.

The cycling today was everything you want it to be....scenic, cool, great little places to stop along the way, and a good tailwind when you needed it!

When I woke up in tiny Bieber this morning, the air was cool and humid from the rain overnight.  I decided that I would skip Nick's diner for my second meal and push on to Adin for breakfast.  Did a banana and almonds quick start, and headed out into the cool clear morning.  Today was the last day for views of Shasta and Lassen, and they were crystal clear in the bright sunlight.

As I pedaled along through Big Valley, I wished Val and Phil were long, as I have a question for my geologist friends---I've been cycling in the Pit River drainage for three days now, and it seems like it steps up a series of stairs, and at the top of each stair is a big, circular, totally flat valley.  The river creates marshes as it meanders through these valleys, and I'm wondering if they all used to be lakes, damned up by periodic lava flows?  Instead of following the river out of these valleys, you climb over the next set of mountains that hem them in.  From what I can see from above, the river canyons are quite steep and narrow as they traverse the mountains that ring the valleys.  I would welcome any knowledge about the geology of the Pit River.

I rolled into lovely little Adin just before 10, and headed straight for the Adin Supply Company, which has been serving this part of California for over 100 years.  About 10 years ago, a couple took it over, and they've done an awesome job.  The store was full of cool stuff, good food, and a deli that does breakfast. It was hard to choose between the breakfast burrito or the home made egg and sausage muffin, but the offer of salsa with the burrito sealed that deal.  Yum.

 

 

Adin is a lovely little town of 400 or so, at the base of a creek drainage that flows out onto the flat Big Valley.  Lots of historic houses, big beautiful trees looking their best in spring foliage, and many friendly folks who waved as I rolled through town.  It's a great, easy 1000 foot climb up the creek valley to Adin pass at 5173 ft. before a steep descent back down to the Pit River.

The Pit once again opens up into a huge flat valley, with the river meandering through marshes for about 20 miles into Alturas.  I took the country road route, which added 3 miles or so, but only had a handful of cars pass me over the 20 miles.

I really scored on the motel tonight, after checking out the Best Western ($90!) and the Super 8 ($80!) I went to the highest scoring motel, the Hacienda, and got a room for $55! Classic 50s motel court all redone with nice carpet, and amenities.....it seems that a lot of people are starting to fix these old places up, and they're perfect for us single travelers.

Sadly, I noted that my rear bike tire has gotten quite worn in the last week, and was developing a bald spot, so I switched to a new tire.  In the process I discovered that I'd broken two spokes today, and had a mild panic attack as I had forgotten to get spare spokes back in Berkeley.  There were on my list, but somehow fell off.....

The nearest bike shop to here is in Klamath Falls, 100 miles away, and I called them up.  Happily the guy I spoke with has cycled over the Alturas before and knew of a used bike shop here, and gave me directions to it.  As I was making my way there, I saw the sign for Joes Used Bikes, not far from my hotel.  Turns out the shop is in the middle of moving, and the owner, Houston, was moving stuff into the new place. He's definitely a western character, and he told me to call him when I got up in the morning, since he's usually up at 5!  It's going to cost me at least a cup of coffee and a biscuit and gravy from a place he likes to get breakfast....

I will be taking extra spokes with me as I head into the outback from here.....

I wanted to say more about Alturas, which is as charming a town as it was when I was last year in the late 80s, but I'll start tomorrow's post with that.

Day 8---It was supposed to be easy, but....

Today was supposed to be easy, but it turned out that this morning I was still super tired from yesterday's big day of climbing, and almost 7 hours on the bicycle.  I did 51 miles today, in 5 hours, 22 minutes.  There was more climbing that I expected, about 2500 feet worth, and the last 1300 foot climb took a lot of out me.  I also bonked, not eating enough at lunch, but a last minute chocolate rush (many thanks for all the chocolate gifts at the Bon Voyage party!) got me over the top.

The internet here in Bieber is not good---anywhere.  And ATT doesn't work here at all, hence the paucity of Facebook posts today.  Fine for most days, but I had a lot of stuff that I had to do this afternoon on the net that was Shanti related.  Alas.....the hazards of the outback.

I was super grumpy this morning, and being in run down, down on its luck Burney was no help.  A terrible breakfast (over cooked eggs, cold toast slathered with margarine, barely warm home fries) was not a great start to the day, and I was having some serious doubts about my ability to get on my bike every day.

However, it was nice and cool, and I persevered....heading for Burney Falls, a 12 mile detour that was perhaps not worth it....more grumpiness as a class of retired people taking a painting lesson had completely (and I do mean completely) taken over the lovely CCC observation deck.  I was not the only non plussed tourist there, as I heard quite a few complaints.  The deck is the only place to really take a picture of the falls, so people were craning over the painters, etc...quite a mess.

Burney Falls

Back to the main road, and more industrial forest, lots of abandoned rusty machinery along the road, dilapidated, abandoned buildings and the detritus of a logging business long gone.  Today was not looking so good.....

But a few miles along the road left the volcanic plateau to join the Pit River, and the valley was a magical change from the ugliness above.  Even the 1920s PGE Pit Power House, with its castle architecture and two giant turrets seemed to fit right in.  A little faux French canyon, reminiscent of the Ardeche.

What do you suppose they needed the turrets for in the 20s?

 

 

 

The first big climb, about 750 feet, wasn't too steep, and afforded lovely views back to the volcanoes of the main Cascade range, and then a quick descent into the most charming Fall River Valley.  Hunting for lunch, I found "Philly Cheesesteaks" advertised, and the proprietor was in fact a south Philly native!  I had half a Cheesesteak, had good conversation, and met a local cyclist who carefully examined my set up.  Grumpiness gone....


The next ten miles or so, through the Fall River Valley, were marvelous.  The valley is completely flat (maybe a lava flow dammed up the river to form a lake?) and surrounded by extinct (and non-extinct in the case of Lassen) volcanoes.  Lots of ranches, hay fields, and first big rural Mormon church of my trip.  I had finally arrived in the intermountain west!

Macarthur

The big climb out of the valley was hard, as mentioned earlier, but the views were just terrific, which always makes climbing more tolerable.  The final descent into Big Valley was exhilarating, and the first sagebrush appeared.  Yay!  I have hundreds of miles of sagebrush to go, but the smell is great when you're cycling.

The Pit River entering Bieber

7th Day Adventist Church in Bieber

Off to bed now, early start tomorrow, as I have to be in Alturas by 4 to get on a phone call....one of these nights I'll figure out pictures and maps!  Maybe on my next day off, which is likely to be next Monday or Tuesday.

Day 7, the longest day so far....

6 hours and 50 mins on the bicycle, 56.6 miles, 8.2 mph average, and somewhere between 5 and 6000 total feet of climbing (GPS estimates vary depending on the interpolation they use to make the estimates). It was a very long day, probably the longest day of the trip to Sun Valley...but it was also the first day of really great, beautiful, big scale terrain.

I got up at 5, out the door by 6, and the first hour out to Bella Vista was very pleasant.  Breezed by the now famous Calatrava Sundial Bridge, but the light wasn't good for a photo, then out into shopping mall madness on the bicycle route.  Happily it was completely empty, two miles of mall, big box stores and strip malls, all totally quiet.  They're not so bad empty!

Then it was out into the country, where something I've noticed before happened again:  the meaner looking the house, the meaner the dogs that run along the fence.  Why is it that none of the nice looking houses had dogs running along the fence?  Mean dogs seem to be negatively correlated with house values in the parts of the world I've been cycling through.  There might be a nice PhD dissertation in sociology in the making....

The climb up to 1000 feet was pretty easy, and then there were lots of rollers between 1-2000 feet, as the route followed a couple of gorgeous creeks.  Most of the time there was little traffic, and I could hear the water as I pedaled along.  I don't think I've ever seen so many raptors in a day of cycling as I cycled along the creeks.  Red tailed hawks, other hawk-like creatures (ospreys?), turkey vultures, and my second bald eagle (I'm pretty sure) of my trip.  I came upon a flock of turkey vultures that were feasting on last night's deer road kill! 

 

Sights along the way

After lunch the real climb started, about 4 miles of 6-6.5% grade, real thigh buster climbing, but it was cool today, and breezy, with a nice tailwind. Just past 3000 feet you gain a lovely sloping volcanic plateau, that was largely burned down in 1992.  It's been replanted as a tree plantation, and much of the bird life seems to have disappeared, and there were very few rodents running around or as road kill (I think I must do a road kill blog entry soon, so much to report).

Finally around 3800 feet, the natural forest returned, and I cycled along the headwaters of a little stream.  At the summit, the view didn't really open up, but about a mile down the descent was an amazing vista point, from which you could see the north side of Lassen.

 From this perspective you could really see where the mountain blew out in 1912 (?) when it had its most recent eruption.  There were two Wal Mart trucks parked at the vista point, and I finally had a chance to ask why there were so many Wal Mart trucks along this isolated stretch of highway.  Turns out that they have a huge grocery warehouse in Reno, and CA 299 is the easiest route into Northern California.  If you look at a map, it's a long loop around!

Mt. Lassen

It was all descent into Burney, which seems to have fallen on harder times since I was last here in the late 80s.  Lots of empty storefronts, and people just kind of hanging out smoking cigarettes along the main street.

I'll sure sleep well tonight!  And it's so much cooler, no air conditioner running all night, and I don't have to be up before the crack of dawn.

One of these nights I'll get pictures up, but too tired tonight...