Saturday, June 29, 2013

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.

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