June 15-16 - Jeff's post

June 15-16

Saturday was an off day.  Good to be able to get up and not have to break up camp like we do on the days we ride.  Usually, it takes about an hour to break up camp and get on the road.  Some of us went to the library to use computers and check up on world events, some went to museums, some to  bike shops and coffee shops.  We had a good day  off.  Ended up with a cookout of metts and brats.  We also got to Church at the cathedral in Baker City.  During the homily, the priest mentioned a scene out of the movie Karate Kid.  I was worried that Jack may not get it, but that was one movie he had seen.

We left Baker City about 6:00.  We started off with a small hill to get out of town.  Had a lot of downhills and tail winds for the first 40 miles which took us into a city called Richland where we had our Father’s Day breakfast.  We saw beautiful scenery again and we rode along a stream called Powder Creek.  Ran into three cows in the middle of the road.  We assumed they were out a little too late frolicking and hadn’t made it home yet.  They got out of  our way fortunately.  Saw some deer drinking along a stream but when Jerry tried to get a picture, they had dispersed. Being the only one who knows moospeak, I tried to talk to the boys, but they would not listen.  In Richland, we treated ourselves to a breakfast for Father’s Day to replace our usual trip to Augusta’s General Store.  The service was better in Richland.  Jack battled through a bee stung suffered along the way.  He was a big fella because he stung Jack through his pants.

Big hill out of Richland.  Jack said it was the toughest climb/steepest grade we had done so far.  Elevation, 3.653 feet.  When we got to the top , Sue met us there and asked Jerry how he was feeling and he responded “I feel like I was made for this.”  We ended up in a campsite on the Brownlee Reservoir with a view to kill for.  The reservoir is formed by the Brownlee Dam.  Kind of like a Cumberland I guess.  Road to get here from the previous road was very bumpy.  Our campsite sits on the edge of the reservoir with a view of both Oregon and Idaho.  Couldn’t be any better.  Sue did a great job again.  We had showers again.  We saw a bird we would never see except here,  an Altamira Oriole.

Today, we rode 85 miles in the heat.  New for us, we were used to cold.  Took a lot out of us.  Tomorrow, we head for Pollock, goal about 98 miles.  We had a great Father’s Day.  Sue gave us gifts of tootsie pops and Starbucks cards, and fudge pop tarts.  Best Father’s Day this year.

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

June 17th - Jeff's post

June 17, 2013

Yesterday, when we ended our day, we crossed into Idaho.  So we are done with one of the ten states we cross on our trip.  We also crossed a time zone, so we are only two hours behind.  The difference in terrain from Oregon to Idaho was very noticeable.  Now we are seeing green again as opposed to lunar type surface. 

The day began with a climb up a hill.  Slow going. Jerry caught Jeff and Jack taking a break.  As he peddled by, he said, “you guys need to stop lollygagging, we’ll never get to Virginia this way.”  Went down the other side and ended up in a town called Richland.  Stopped at Bucky’s Café and Hotel and had our usual cup of joe and we ordered pancakes again.  Jeff and Jerry got short stacks and Jack got a single.  The short stacks were even bigger than the ones from yesterday.  I even got a third one because my stack was smaller than Jerry’s stack.  So big I couldn't eat them all, so I had to take one with me. 

Headed out 95, flat with one climb and then into the town of Council.  Headed out of Council and started another major climb.  Landscape changed to more green still.  In the town of New Meadows, we were at the 45^th Parallel.  Halfway between the equator and the North Pole.  Jack could feel the difference in temperature when he crossed from one side to the other.  Also in News Meadows, we  were stopped to get water and about 10-15 motorcycles pulled in for gas.  They all had UMF on the back of their outfits.  Our guess is the West’s version of Hell’s Angels.  Headed downhill for about 15 miles and ended up at Canyon RV Park. Ride down was very dicey.  We lived to die another day.  Logging trucks and people with trailers were shooting by.  Fortunately, we did have a little shoulder to work with. Sue got us a spot as good as last night.  We are camped on the edge of Powder Creek.  About 25 feet wide and water going through it that if you tried to step in, you would be washed away.  Good current.  Beautiful setting.  It is technically an RV Park.  Great accommodations and we bought some Moose Drool beer tonight.  From Montana.  Good shtuff.

No wildlife today except for cows.  Also, being in Idaho, you would think we would see some potatoes.  None so far.  Another myth.

We did 94 miles today.

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, and Sue

June 14 - Jeff's post

June 14, 2013

Started off later than usual.  We slept in until 6:00 and left at 7:00.  It rained some during the night.  Tents worked and nothing got wet.  Our goal was 70 miles over three mountains.  Dixie Pass, 5,277 feet; Tipton Pass, 5,124; and Sumpter Pass, 5,082.  Right out of the chute, we had to climb.  Made it over the first mountain and got to the bottom to a city called Austin Junction and went to café to get a cup of coffee and ended up having a short stack again.  Waitress said they were this big, and they came back much larger.  Jack and I were going to split an order, but she said she would have to charge us.  So of course we all just got an order of our own. Shocker.   Second climb was easier and shorter as was the third.  Downhills were good.  Always precarious.  We are taking them slower it seems.  Most of the roads had good shoulders today.  Traffic wasn’t too bad.    Saw a lot of magnificent scenery, mountain streams, babbling brooks ( did I really say that), and mountains.  Like Jack says, they are majestic.  Every bend had something new and different and “magnificent”. Seeing all these “neat” little cities that you  would never know existed really adds to the trip. Saw our first dog on the trip that wasn’t penned up.  Couldn’t keep up wit us.  Jack saw a couple deer.  We ended up in Baker City about 2:00.  Seventy miles which puts us at 580 miles for the trip.  Seven days of riding so far.  We are taking tomorrow off.

You would think we would see a lot of wildlife on bikes.  Today, we did see an osprey, cows, a llama again, and a ground squirrel.  Sue driving in a car saw antelope,sandhill cranes, osprey, and a herd of cattle, in the road.  She was traveling along the same route as us a little before we went through and cowboys were herding cattle along the road.  Like 60 head of cattle. Sue felt like she was in a Western movie.   Traffic was stopped needless to say.  So much for going slow on a bike and seeing America.

Sue arranged for us to stay in an RV Park in Baker City.  Showers, laundry, hot tub, pool, and a great campsite.  We treated ourselves to Mexican Food at El Erroango (?).  Then it was a tour of Baker City, a population of around 9,000 and cell phone service.  Still a little chilly at night.  We made it until 8:15 before we retreated to our tents.

The donation website is up to almost $1300 I am told.   Just a reminder or a first notice to some, I am riding for a cause.  It is the MPS Society, the national organization that supports research and families of children afflicted with an MPS disease.  Aly was born with San Filippo Syndrome, one of those diseases.   If you lost the website or want to donate still, it is www.mpssociety.org/donor-pages and find Alyson Von Handorf.                                                                                                                    

Jeff, Jerry, Jack, Sue

Prairie City to Baker City - Jerry's post

Prairie City to Baker City

Every day should be like today.  Or, actually, like the past couple of days.  The roads have been good, the traffic pretty light, and the scenery breathtaking.  It rained some during the night, and I was uncertain as to whether we would be able to ride today, but when we got up about 6 am (we had agreed to sleep in an extra hour today), the sky was clear and blue.  We had an immediate climb to do up to a  bit over 5000 feet, followed by a descent, then two more climbs back up over 5000.  But like almost every climb so far, the slope is fairly gradual, no more than about a 6% grade, so it is manageable, but takes a long time.  On the first one, we rode 9 miles before getting to the pass.  Then the inevitable long ride down hill, and since the temperatures are very cool, all the heat gets sucked out, and of course you are sweating from the climb, so by the time you get to the bottom about 6 miles later you are very chilled.  Fortunately, like yesterday, there was a café at the bottom and we again took advantage of it to warm up and “re-fuel” on pancakes.  Sue caught up with us again at the café, then headed on ahead to search for a campsite.   The next two ascents went well, and the scenery was again glorious.  Not a lot of wildlife around, although at the café they said that people hunt deer, turkeys, and bear in the vicinity.  We did see an osprey at a reservoir near Baker City.  Sue again worked her magic and found us a great campsite at an RV park in Baker City, where we intend to spend tomorrow taking care of town chores. 

    So…we have completed seven consecutive days of riding, and have covered about 580 miles of the Transamerica route.  Sunday, we intend to start riding again and should get to Idaho.  Hopefully the weather and the traffic will continue to smile on us.  (reported by Jerry)

Mitchell to Prairie City - Jerry's post

Mitchell to Prairie City – 84 miles

The day started out cool, but not as cold as yesterday.  We had a 6 mile climb right at the beginning, which seemed to go on and on.  It’s hard to start the day off that way, but we made it.  Then we were rewarded with a fantastic descent down the other side, through the John  Day Fossil Bed National Monument.  It was quite a sight, a gorge cut through multiple layers of lava, which were laid down over a period beginning about 30 million years ago.  Many fossils are found here from the early ages of mammals.  We went down, and down, and down…it seemed like we were headed back for sea level, after going to all that effort to get to the top.  It was a magnificent ride, but by the time we got to the bottom I was chilled to the bone.  After about 40 miles we got to a small town that had a café, and stopped for a pancake breakfast.  Soon Sue came by and was able to join us.    From there, it was mostly a level ride, but gradually picking up elevation the rest of the way to Prairie City.  The good news was we had a gentle tailwind so we traveled pretty quickly.  The bad news was the wind seems to have brought in some threatening clouds and a light drizzle has been falling the past hour or so.  But we are nicely set up at a RV campground, which even has hot showers for only $1.75 – what a deal!  Hot water is a welcome treat.  The views around here are amazing.  The higher mountains still have a lot of snow on them.   Tomorrow will be a real test.  We have about 70 miles to go to Baker City, but there are three passes at over 5000 feet we have to climb.  In Baker City, our plan is to take a recovery day.  We have been going strong for six days,  tomorrow will be seven, without a rest.  So Saturday will be R&R and town chores.   I’m looking forward to sleeping in.

(Reported by Jerry)

June 13 - Jeff's post

June 13

Shout out to Aly Von Handorf, Happy Bertday.  She is 24 today. 

Left Mitchell and started with a hill.  Got the worst one out of the way early.  Stopped to get a cup of coffee in Dayville, population 138.  Little café also served food of course, and Jack and Jerry saw a “short stack” of pancakes on the menu.  They decided to get those and of course I couldn’t let them eat alone.  Well a short stack was two pancakes, probably 10 inches in diameter.  Quite a meal.  Across the street was a fake townfront like the one in Blazing Saddles.  When Jeff and Jerry made reference to that, Jack was completely lost.  He has never seen Blazing Saddles.  C’mon Teri, you’re sheltering this poor guy.  Several times, we have talked about movies and Jack is in the dark.  I’ve had a couple instances of not being quite as smooth on my bike as my cohorts.  Does the name Artie Johnson ring a bell with anyone?  Well not Jack.  Never had the privilege of seeing Laugh In.

Today we went 85 miles.  Not too bad.  Lot of tailwind to push us along.  Again lots of scenery and mountains.  Ended up in a town called Prairie City, population 1080.  Had a pretty big downtown.  Even had a sports bar.  Sue secured a camping spot for us.  Had to pay $1.75 for showers so we splurged.  Little chilly in the evening, still at a pretty high elevation.  Sue cooked us a pasta meal with mett and spinach salad.  Eating like kings.  Jack and Jeff went into town to catch some of the Spurs game.  I think they were playing the Heat.  Stayed till halftime.  Had some salsa and chips and a Deshute (?) beer at a Mexican establishment.  No Mexican beer on tap.  Left at halftime with the score 49-49.  Probably won’t find out until Saturday who won.   Heard the Reds are still 3 games out.  Went back to the campsite about 7:30.  We all chatted a bit in the chilly air and turned in about 8:00.  We are an exciting bunch.

Off to Baker City in the morning for more excitement.

Jeff, Jack, Jerry, Sue

June 12 - Jeff's post

June 12, 2013

Shoutout to Andrea Schmidt, Happy 22^nd .  We called her and sang happy birthday.  Grandma Jean would have been proud.

Day started off very chilly. Had to put our woolies on. Warmed up as we rode.  Met Sue at Starbucks at Redmond.  She did some shopping at Ray’s Grocery.  Things seem more expensive here.  We then continued on along Route 126 and met Sue at a reservoir.  She went ahead and got a camp spot in a city called Mitchell at a city park.  No showers again.  Great roads.  Lots of flat, minimal traffic, and all in all a good riding day.  Did 92 miles.

We got done about 2:00.  Would have gotten done earlier, but we had to stop for Jack to pick a quarter off the ground.  Trying to finance the  trip I guess.  Anyway, he didn’t pick up quarter because it was tails up, bad luck.  We also had to stop twice to pick up Jeff’s mirror which kept coming off.  The second time it came off on the longest downhill we have been on coming down a  hill into Mitchell.  Jerry stopped and picked it up.  What a good soldier.  There will be something extra in his stocking at Christmas.

Mitchell is a town right out of the Twilight Zone.  Have not seen Rod yet.  Waiting for the first tumbleweed to go past.  Jerry thinks it is like the city in Wild Hogs.  Same lady owns the Hotel, the café, the country store, and the gas station.  And she pumps the gas. High school has 30 kids.  No opening for an AP calculus teacher.  Hotel is immaculate, right out of a movie.  Ironic though because a Bud Light truck stopped to deliver beer.  I guess they go everywhere.  You would have to see this town to believe it.  We went to the café and got a desert.  Blueberry coffee cake with ice cream on top.  City has no radio, no television, and no cell phone service.  Verizon needs to get on this.  Some people have Direct TV or Dish.  Lady at the café said they used to have Dish, but they couldn’t  get the Oregon State games so they had to switch.  Rivalry between OSU and OU is tense.  OSU is the Beavers and OU is the Ducks.

Saw unbelievable scenery.  Now we know where they film all those Westerns. Area is called the Painted Hills.  Again, you would have to see it to appreciate it.  The cliffs, rock formations, the mountain rivers and streams,  Ponderosa Pines, and the ground being different colors made it a sight to see.

We met a couple from Vancouver going from Portland, Oregon to Portland, Maine.  They are music instructors.  They are doing it unsupported.  We also saw a story in the paper about a recent high school gradiate riding along our same route to Asheville, NC to go to college.  He left from Benton which is near where we are currently.  His trip will be 3000 miles and he has to be there by August 20.  He is doing his unsupported also.

Answers to trivia questions.  Babe Ruth wore number 3 because he batted third in the lineup.  Two states where gas stations cannot be self serve.  Oregon and New Joisey.

Sue is doing a fantastic job as Project Manager of the adventure.  Meals and provisions and her organizing of everything has been tremendous. 

Keep the luck and prayers coming.  Can’t get too much of those.

Jeff, Jerry, Jack