Day 83 Baker City to Prairie City

A very tiring ride today as we had 3 major climbs over 5000' as well as a warm up climb at the start. Why is it that after a rest day I always feel lethargic on the bike. Can someone please explain. And it is nothing to do with beer.

I started late today after a small lay in ( has to be done wben you have the luxury of a motel bed )  so  I fully expected everybody else to be in front. I was therefore quite surprised to hear Ellen's bell behind me and then Kelly mid morning.  Should have realised they had been loitering in Mcdonalds. I usually catch up Jack mid afternoon which I did today. Jack likes to take his time ( which I like) and usually departs between 5 and 6AM. He is also one of the special few in the group who can actually say that they have cycled the wbole route so far. Good on yer Jack. He also has aspirations to become a fully fledged member of the Stop and Stare team.

It goes without saying that the scenery today as we followed the Oregon scenic byeway was resplendent.

Miles Today 68
Total          4267

Total Sponsorship  £3965.00
Gift Aid                     £807.06

Day 82 Layover Day in Baker City

Our final rest day before we arrive in Florence at the official end of the Trans America cycle route. Most of the group are looking forwatd to the end now whereas I am looking forward to a new adventure cycling up the Pacific coast by myself. I am hoping that I will have enough time at the end  to rent a motorbike and spend a few days exploring Canada.
As I suspected the last week of the tour is not going to be a gentle descent to the Pacific coast. We have at least 6 setious climbs to get through.

Day 81 Halfway to Baker City

Today was billed as a tough day and it was. Breakfast at 5 30AM followed by a stiff climb and descent into the town of Richland where I fortified myself for the next ascent up onto the Oregon high desert with a double pancake stack and obligatory maple syrup. Delicious. At this point even earlier  birds Kelly and Ellen departed, They are always hyperactive when we are due to stay over at a town with a Mcdonalds.

The problem with the really hot days is that watet bottles get hot making the contents taste even more disgusting than usual. (American water does not taste good). So today I tried a new tactic. A peppermint tea bag in the bottle. And it worked up to a point.

Cant say the same about the wind though. It just blows and blows. The last five miles today were downhill on the route profile but just as I reached the summit of the last climb of the day
out it came with a vengeance.

And so into historical Baker City where I found a very nice ice cream parlour. So I parked up the bike, sat down and ordered the biggest sundae on the menu with all the trimmings and was about to enjoy the first mouthful when I suddenly noticed that my bike was not where I left it. 

No panic, somebody must have moved it. But it really wasn't there. For a few seconds I had that totally sinking feeling and then Jason popped his grinning face around the corner. Luckily he didn't steal the ice cream as well.

Finally I am able to announce that my sponsorship target is back on track thanks to an incredibly generous donation from Joel and Marla relatives of Cathy who joined us for a few days back in Yellowstone Park.

Miles Today  54
Total          4193

Total Raised   £3765.00
Gift Aid           £  757.06

Day 80 Cambridge to Halfway

Very very hot today with temperatures over 100F. It was also the day that we entered our final state of the TransAmerica trail - Oregon. Hell's Canyon was spectacular and seems to attract a nice class of people . . . particularly the motorist who pulled up alongside and offered me a beer (which I am now drinking as I blog) and refilled my water bottles with ice cool water.

Tonight we are staying at an upmarket hotel where we have use of all the facilities including the adjoining cow field where we are camping.

I cycled mainly on the middle ring today and changed gear 246 times with tyres inflated to 80 psi. If this additional information proves popular I am prepared to add it to the blog for the remainder of the ride.  Time for Guest Blogger Hadley to make a reappearance perhaps?

Miles Today 58
Total          4137

Day 79 Riggans to Cambridge 4000 miles up!

Today we crossed the 45th parallel and for those who do not know it's significance including myself who passed GCE O Level in Geography there is a big clue in the photo below.

We are also doing extra miles today to convert a short day to a long day so that the long day tomorrow will be a short day.

This is because we are ascending Hells  Canyon which is notoriously HOT and will be even HOTTER tomorrow as we are on the edge of the heatwave currently lying over North America. Apparently it has claimed a few lives in the past so our leader Sally is determined that she is not going to lose anybody else for whatever reason at this late stage of the tour.

However, just in case Jason has bought himself a coffin ovet a few beers in the bar tonight. I joke not! Well it might have been more than a few (beers not coffins that is)

So twas a tough long ride today with 35 miles of up, then more up and then the bit that was supposed to be down was made flat by the headwind.

In a couple of days we will be out of the Rockies and IN THEORY it should get easier. Yeah right!

Finally rather worryingly, miles cycled have overtaken sponsorship pounds raised. So come on Guys. Help me out!

Miles Today 84
Total         4076

Day 78 Grangeville to Riggans

After a prompt start today to continue the hill from yesterday and a superb latte in the cafe bya the town park I realised 4 miles down the road that I had forgotten to pay for it. So as the State line was still some way off I thought I had better go back and pay to avoid the possibility of arrest by the Highway Patrol and possible deportation.

Then somehow managed to miss the turn off to the scenic bit and ended up staying on US95 for the first half of the ride. However this had its compensations as the route was full of historical interest on the Nez Pearce Indians combined with a superb 10 mile descent. Bad news for Cathy and Ellen though as they were waiting for me at the top of the hill on the scenic bit.

Eventually they caught me up and found me eating Hucleberry pie and Ice cream in a delightful little roadside emporium just before Riggans. Great campsite by the river today.

Miles Today 49
Total         3993