Monday, August 10, 2009
Day 59 Aug 9th
Cambridge to Richland, OR 70 miles
I got a late start today even though I was up before sunrise. Jenny and Justin left before me but I knew I would be able to catch up to them. PB for breakfast and I was off by 9. The first climb was spread out over the first 18 miles outside of town and really wasn’t that bad. I think that coming up the other side would have been a lot worse. I was at the top around 11 and had 13 miles where I didn’t have to peddle at all. I ran into Jenny and Justin at a rest stop where I was planning to refill my water bottles and we set off. We rode along the reservoir separating ID and OR until finally crossing into OR. I got a picture of the welcome to Oregon sign but as I was pulling out I could hear my tire leaking air. There was a small puncture through the tire and tube. J&J went ahead. When I tried to inflate the tube my pump wouldn’t work. I think some dirt got into it from all the construction a few days ago and the pump couldn’t create a vacuum. I tried washing it in the river but that was no help. I figured I had to get J&J back to use their pump but couldn’t get to them. Luckily there were 2 bikers stopped up the road a bit and I walked over to them for some help. I asked if they could talk to J&J when they caught up to them and have them come back for me. While I was waiting for them to get back I switched out my punctured tube for a spare so it would be ready to go when they got there. I tried to inflate this one and it actually worked! So I pumped it up as much as I could and set off to catch them before they back tracked too far. I finally caught them and the said they turned around 3 miles ago so it was an extra 6 miles for them. I had PB for lunch outside a grocery store while Jenny fixed a flat she probably got at the same place I did. They were going to have lunch at a café in town so I joined them. I got some onion rings and filled my camelback with ice water.
We were going to be heading into an area of OR called Hells Canyon which is named after the heat in the area. But we got lucky. It rained the last few days and was pretty cool for us. There was one tough five mile climb of 800 feet then down into Richland where I was spending the night. The weather was great all day but you can hear thunder every once in a while. But we’re under a pavilion in the county park. I got some mac and cheese from the store to mix with J&J’s so that plus Doritos is going to be dinner. The area is pretty mountainous but there are no trees except those planted in town. The map says that this area of OR is a high desert and gets very little rainfall so that accounts for the little vegetation.
I think the ipod is dead from water damage a few days ago even though it has been working since it got wet. But the worst part about it being dead is that there is little to distract me and I end up thinking about Greg a lot. So that can get pretty depressing. But today wasn’t as bad since there were other people around.
I got a late start today even though I was up before sunrise. Jenny and Justin left before me but I knew I would be able to catch up to them. PB for breakfast and I was off by 9. The first climb was spread out over the first 18 miles outside of town and really wasn’t that bad. I think that coming up the other side would have been a lot worse. I was at the top around 11 and had 13 miles where I didn’t have to peddle at all. I ran into Jenny and Justin at a rest stop where I was planning to refill my water bottles and we set off. We rode along the reservoir separating ID and OR until finally crossing into OR. I got a picture of the welcome to Oregon sign but as I was pulling out I could hear my tire leaking air. There was a small puncture through the tire and tube. J&J went ahead. When I tried to inflate the tube my pump wouldn’t work. I think some dirt got into it from all the construction a few days ago and the pump couldn’t create a vacuum. I tried washing it in the river but that was no help. I figured I had to get J&J back to use their pump but couldn’t get to them. Luckily there were 2 bikers stopped up the road a bit and I walked over to them for some help. I asked if they could talk to J&J when they caught up to them and have them come back for me. While I was waiting for them to get back I switched out my punctured tube for a spare so it would be ready to go when they got there. I tried to inflate this one and it actually worked! So I pumped it up as much as I could and set off to catch them before they back tracked too far. I finally caught them and the said they turned around 3 miles ago so it was an extra 6 miles for them. I had PB for lunch outside a grocery store while Jenny fixed a flat she probably got at the same place I did. They were going to have lunch at a café in town so I joined them. I got some onion rings and filled my camelback with ice water.
We were going to be heading into an area of OR called Hells Canyon which is named after the heat in the area. But we got lucky. It rained the last few days and was pretty cool for us. There was one tough five mile climb of 800 feet then down into Richland where I was spending the night. The weather was great all day but you can hear thunder every once in a while. But we’re under a pavilion in the county park. I got some mac and cheese from the store to mix with J&J’s so that plus Doritos is going to be dinner. The area is pretty mountainous but there are no trees except those planted in town. The map says that this area of OR is a high desert and gets very little rainfall so that accounts for the little vegetation.
I think the ipod is dead from water damage a few days ago even though it has been working since it got wet. But the worst part about it being dead is that there is little to distract me and I end up thinking about Greg a lot. So that can get pretty depressing. But today wasn’t as bad since there were other people around.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)