Return to Oregon's Old West Scenic Bikeway

18-21 Sep 2015

All the fun we'd had on this year's Grande Tour made Christy, Sean, Carol, Amy, Paul, and I want to do it again with a little tougher route before the cold weather hit.  Unfortunately, other commitments kept Amy and Paul away.  The weather was ideal unlike Doug's and my 2012 October experience in the cold on this route.  A pleasant rain ended early Friday morning before our start, so we began just as the clouds and smoke were gone.  We were more fortunate than the nearby Cycle Oregon's riders who were diverted off their planned route by the Richland, OR fire making them do some day rides out of Baker disappointing those we met on their ways home.

Day 1:  John Day to Bates State Park  31.4 miles  Riding time 3:16 Elevation Gain: 2,297 ft

We planned a half day cycling after our drives to John Day, but  our start was about an hour late at 1:00 PDT, but with the short day planned that created no real problems.  From the official start in John Day it's about 15 miles to Prairie City where begins the climb up the Dixie Pass, elevation 5,277. We stopped for photos about 1/3rd the way up at the oversized prairie schooner where I realized why my camera had been beeping at me; my memory card was still in my computer at home.  I'd have been more than willing to ride back to Prairie City for a new SD card, but would they have one?  John Day was a little too far away and would put me out of sync with the group, so I decided to rely on the cell phone photos of the others.

Sean, Carol, Christy, and Steve at the prairie schooner about 1/3 up the Dixie Pass- photo by Christy

The climb is mostly under 6% which I suppose makes it a little easier than the Old Lewiston or Old Winchester grades.  Christy and I took a break near the top where we waited for Sean and Carol and where we were surprised to see Carol show up 15 minutes later without Sean or panniers.  Sean was riding back to John Day to get the car.  Now, we dropped down to Austin Junction for 6 miles which were steep enough Carol was soon missing her panniers which contained her wind breaker. At Austin Junction, I realized, maybe Sean can get me a SD memory card in John Day, so Carol sent him a text msg.

Camping and showers are available at the Austin Inn, but the camping is superior at Bates State Park (but no showers), so Christy and I headed down the road the 1.5 miles to the park where we set up camp and met Wayne and Ken, two cyclists on the same route (though they'd started in Mitchell, OR a day earlier).  We didn't wait long for Carol and Sean to arrive - with my new 16GB SD card; thanks, Sean!  We had a good dinner at the Austin Inn.

A Ukiah Moment for Some
It was cool enough at bedtime that I left my sweat shirt on for sleeping, and cold enough I awoke in the night to curl up in a ball thinking "it isn't worth the trouble of putting my sweat pants on" as I fell back asleep.  I was protected by my Ukiah moment which happened during the1999 Cycle Oregon when I lay curled up in my sleeping bag wearing as many clothes as possible and stacking stuff on top of the sleeping bag as I lay wishing I could sleep or stop shivering while my TRC friends simply awoke, put on more clothes, and fell back asleep.  Immediately on completion of that Cycle Oregon I bought a warmer sleeping bag which has only been tested by the coldness of Bates- and it twice passed!  Christy and perhaps Ken had their Ukiah moment this night- lying in their sleeping bags shivering, wishing they had more clothes to put on and wishing they could fall asleep.  It was 24° when the park ranger arrived the next morning.  With some questioning we learned Bates is in a bowl; the cold air flows down into it each evening off the surrounding mountains.  The ranger said it had been 50° as he drove across Dixie Pass on his way to work this morning and the temps fell to 24° as he descended to Bates.  So, if you plan on camping here anytime of the year, be prepared for cold nights!

Christy's frozen bike in Bates SP - photo by Christy

Day 2: Bates State Park to Long Creek, OR  53.7 miles 3:57 Riding Time  Elevation Gain:  1,824 ft
We hung around camp until the sun was up and the tents mostly dry.  We were enjoying Wayne & Ken and they us, so we decided to ride together. The best section of The Old West Scenic Bikeway  is Bates down to the junction with Hwy 395.

The combined group: Wayne, Carol, Sean, Ken, Steve, and Christy- photo by Christy

Between Christy and Sean is a color or geometric shape missing?

Ken, Sean, Christy, and Ken enjoying the downhill to Hwy 395

Christy, Sean, Wayne, and  Ken still enjoying the downhill

Wayne and Ken are from the Willamette Valley where they live in blissful ignorance of puncture weed (goat heads), but between Mitchell and Dayville they met with some puncture weed issues leaving Ken particularly paranoid about puncture weed.  That paranoia may have been the reason he skipped our lunch spot just before the junction of Hwy 395 where the climbing begins again, and where there was some puncture weed.

Sean and Christy begin the climb up 395, the photographer has the wrong angle, so Sean is mostly hidden by Christy

Christy nearing the top of the main climb up 395

We'd had some discussion on what the toughest day would be.  Experience told me it was day two, climbing up Hwy 395 and then through many ravines before reaching Long Creek, but the knowledge of feet climbed still made an impression for everyone else. After reaching Long Creek, I think we generally agreed day two was tougher.

Ken fixes a flat at the top of 395 while Wayne supervises and while Sean and Christy take a break in the nearby shade!

 Once reaching the top, it seems like it should be smooth sailing into Long Creek, but there seems to always be another ravine to cross before reaching town.  Crossing those ravines makes this the toughest day- in my opinion.  (They can't be called rollers; there's no way to get the momentum of the down to push you up the next hill).  Some thought they'd ridden enough on reaching Long Creek, and others wanted to ride on the 20 miles of "mostly downhill"  to Monument which is also a cleaner nicer town much lower in elevation where nights wouldn't be so cold, but we were all enjoying each other, and we all ended up spending the night in Long Creek.

Long Creek lies in the high desert just before the trees start.  It's not a particularly attractive town with many abandoned houses and dead overgrown grass everywhere, but the "convenience store", must be under new management since 2012.  Unlike 3 years ago, it has hours posted and enough groceries for a touring cyclist.  It also has a grill and tables where we had our post ride snacks and where we remained for at least an hour as we escaped the afternoon heat..

Our camp in Long Creek's RV Park

On the positive side the RV park's bathrooms were very clean, and they provide towels for each of us for $10 per tent. On the negative side, there is no shade (the trees you see in the above photo are in the adjoining trailer park and didn't cast their shadows our way) and no picnic tables. We escaped most of hottest part of the afternoon sitting in the convenience store. There was an old crusty bench which we used to hold our cooking stoves, and the camp had about 3 plastic chase lounges we used. Some found the night still a bit too cold, but having my post Ukiah sleeping bag, I was just fine!

Day 3:  Long Creek to Dayville 62.3 miles, 4:37 riding time   Elevation Gain: 2,677
If the morning was a bit cool, the ridge we had to cross before dropping into Monument gave everyone ample time to warm up. The ridge was a little more significant than I remembered, and I think everyone was glad we had stayed in Long Creek.

Sean, Wayne, Ken, and Christy nearing the top of the ridge out of Long Creek

Wayne on the ridge between Long Creek and Monument

Ken, Wayne, Sean, and Christy enjoy the downhill to Monument

Ken, Wayne, Christy, and Sean still enjoying the downhill outside of Monument

The downhill to Monument is great on a loaded touring bike with banked corners and open vistas, but not so steep that we were forced to brake more than a couple times briefly.  Ken had a 2nd breakfast in Monument at a small stand opened just for him.  The Monument grocery store is closed on Sundays. Ken had a sinus infection that hadn't told on his riding until about this point where he fell behind the group, and that's my belief as to why. He's a strong rider. We followed the John Day River and just before Kimberly where we met 3 credit card tourists from the suburbs of Portland while one was changing a flat. (They had driven to Dayville, rode to Prairie City, Long Creek and were almost back to their cars at the 1st nights motel that makes a tough day 2 but doable without gear to carry).  Since 2012 the Kimberly Store has been reopened.  We had lunch there and enjoyed their outside benches and talked to the credit card tourists who later joined us for a brief time on the ride to Dayville.  Kimberly is a convenience store only, but in a good location for lunch for those starting in Long Creek.  It also sells prepackaged sandwiches should future tourists need them.

Ken, Wayne, Steve, Christy, and Sean enjoy lunch outside the reopened and remodeled Kimberly Store - photo by Christy

 When we stopped at the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, Ken caught us and rode on without us since he wasn't feeling good and probably didn't want to be dropped again!  We regrouped at Dayville's interesting general store. Afternoon temps were high enough to let us really enjoy their ice cream!

Sean, Steve, Wayne, and Christy leaving the Fossil Beds National Monument - photo by Christy

John Day Fossil Beds National Monument has the best bike rack for cycling tourists I've ever seen. The bottom cross bars keep the wheels from rolling and the spacing allows for loaded bikes!

Where to stay in Dayville, the Community Church (formerly the Presbyterian Church) or the RV park?  My memory of the church was pretty good, but I didn't want to dominate the group's decisions.  The church gave a feeling of connection to other cycle tourists (it's on AC's Trans Am route and has been providing a place for us to sleep since '76).  It lets you escape the tent for a night, and with the growing length of nights lets you stay up a little later with electric lights though we still went to bed about 8:00.  The church treats catering to cycle tourists as a ministry, and they made us all feel welcome  The woman who is the designated host came down, greeted us, showed us the facilities which included a shower and kitchen, and since I was there in 2012, they've added a washer (with detergent provided), a dryer, and a computer as well as internet for cycle tourists' use.

Carol and Sean preparing dinner in the church's kitchen- Christy in the background

Sitting around the church's tables enjoying the coolness after a post ride snack- Wayne, Christy, Sean, and Carol

Day 4 Dayville to John Day 31.8 miles  Riding time 2:35  Elevation gain: 997 ft
We were sorry to say farewell to Wayne & Ken that morning as they headed back to their car in Mitchell, but we were glad to have Carol rejoin the riding group.

Wayne and Ken say "goodbye"!  It was great touring with you two!

Carol and Sean depart the Dayville Community Church

We weren't 150 feet down the road when Christy suffered her first flat of the day (and of the trip)

Sean changes Christy's first flat of the day while Carol supervises- about 150 ft from the church

Carol, Sean, and Christy on the road from Dayville to John Day

Christy suffered her 2nd flat outside Mt. Vernon and now plans on bringing a patch kit in addition to two tubes on the cross country ride.

Hot link to:  All my photos

This is a great loop that we did in two half days and two full days which allowed for our motorized transport to and from John Day. 

Ride Idaho 2015 Bicycling Thru the Smoke

Having such a great time on Grande Tour motivated me to find a supported tour that would take my last minute reservation, and I found Ride Idaho.  With some e-mailing, I found a group of Twin Rivers Cyclists not only recommended it, but was going, and I was pleased they let me join them!


Pre-ride McEuen Park to Higgins Point  15.6 miles    1:19 riding time
I arrived at Coeur d'Alene's McEuen's early, so set up my tent in McEuen Park, and then headed out to Higgins Point hoping this little warm up would make up for the 6 days I'd taken off the bike in the extreme heat we'd had. When I returned most of the group had arrived and set up their tents.  I moved my tent to be close to them.  We were on our own for dinner this first night which wasn't include in the price. We found coupons for a brew pub, but we found the wrong brew pub- food was good though.

Tent City in Coeur d'Alene's McEuen Park

Day 1:  Heyburn State Park to Kellogg, Idaho  54.6 miles  3:38 riding time
We were on the boat well before the scheduled 0600 departure, but actual departure was pretty close to 0630.  Breakfast was a little light- a sausage McMuffin type sandwich, small fruit cup, and yogurt, but adequate for day 1 of a ride at least for us.  Sitting next to the serving line we couldn't help notice many took more than one sausage mcmuffin, and late arrivers got none.   About 3 hours after taking off we arrived at Heyburn State Park where we disembarked to find our bikes that had been trucked down separately. Boating across CDA Lake sounds good, but at 0630, it's too cold to enjoy even in the heat of August.  We were fortunate to have had seats inside most of the ferry ride.

Linda, Corie, Jennifer, & Steve just before the boat docks at Heyburn State Park

Corrie rides over the bridge from Heyburn State Park - taken on the move

The boat ride caused everyone to leave together- in one big messy group.  The hurried passing began in the parking lot even on the heavily graveled access road (think 3 inch rocks- not gravel) before we reached the bike path or bridge which detracted from my first crossing of this bridge where I might have liked to have stopped for a couple of photos.  Most people had reached their desired location in the group by the time we reached Harrison when calls- or worse the lack of calls "on your left" began to end.  The route along Coeur d'Alene Lake is beautiful, but I got no photos in the crowd with all that passing, and we did our share of passing too.  We had lunch at the Cataldo Mission.

TRC and affiliates minus Tom- at Cataldo Mission lunch stop:  Linda, Corrie, Steve, Jennifer, and Laurence

We rode on to Kellogg where we set up our tents on school grounds.  Dinner was excellent- ribs, corn on the cob, a great salad with plenty available for seconds. Corrie and Linda can be seen dancing below..

Entertainment in Kellogg- Corrie and Linda in upper left - photo by Laurence

Day 2 taking the optional ride Kellogg to Wallace via Dobson Pass, up to Mullan, and back to Wallace  63.8 miles   5:15 riding time  

From the first day I'd first looked over Ride Idaho's website, I wasn't happy with the proposed 10 mile day, but they'd added an optional ride over Dobson Pass (the reverse direction of what we'd be doing on day 3).  With just a little talking I was able to convince Corrie (but no one else) to join me in climbing Dobson Pass which added about 40 miles to the day, and then we rode up to the end of the Trail of the Coeur d'Alene in Mullan. Kim, a rider from Sandpoint, overheard our discussions and asked to join us on this optional loop.  We were glad to have him, but the group broke into a speedy and not so speedy sub-groups, and Kim dropped us for the speedier riders.

Corrie and Steve at the top of Dobson Pass day 2

Day 3 Wallace, Idaho to Noxon, Montana  93.3 miles   7:07 riding time
The 5,680 ft of climbing scheduled for this day was the reason Corrie gave me just a little resistance about doing yesterday's options, and the reason no one else would join us.  However, Tom found the energy to add 7 miles giving himself a century today while Corrie and I added nothing!  I'm sure those who know us think it unusual that we'd stop with 93 miles; it shows we were tired!  Today's climbing was in the reverse direction of yesterday's optional loop.  Dobson is a fun pass from either direction; it has steep switchbacks to the top followed by an immediate drop on similar roads, and today's climb was followed by Thompson Pass, a modern sweeping road that's tougher to climb and brought to light my inadequate training for the ride.

TRC and affiliates at the top of Dobson Pass - day 3 -  Steve, Tom, Laurence, Jennifer, Corrie, and Linda

At the top of Thompson Pass- Steve, Tom, Corrie, Jennifer, Laurence, and Linda

The descent into Montana was on new pavement, less steep than the ascent, and with wide shoulders, so it was fun with little braking required despite our growing fatigue.  Then we turned onto state route 200, an unpleasant experience with too many vehicles compounded by angry red neck drivers. 

Linda, Steve, and Jennifer nearing Noxon in the thickening smoke that makes the Clark Fork behind us look like just more smoke

Jennifer pulled most of the way from lunch to Noxon setting a rapid pace in our simi-pace line.  Although Noxon has a high school, it has only one street and appears to have a population around 100.  It has a laundromat which Jennifer, the Rosetti's and I needed to use on day 3 - which would be our only laundry stop of the trip, and we were lucky enough to be its only patrons at the time. (I don't understand this- on Cycle Oregon laundry is a big deal, but we saw few signs that others did laundry on the trip- there were only 4 washers in the Noxon laundromat). The Noxon High School Juniors supposedly prepared and served our dinner, but most of the work appeared to be done by their mothers.  It was an excellent: salmon, baked potato, tasty mixed veggies, and dessert. 

the dinner line in Noxon

The smoke kept thickening, the sky reddened and darkened, and soon ash fell on us like a light dusting of winter snow.  At the evening route meeting we learned that fires would keep us from the published route to Troy, Montana and Bonner's Ferry, Idaho. There would be another meeting at 0900 the next morning, but the organizer wasn't going to call and ask that breakfast be delayed from its 0600 to 0700 or that the football team load the luggage later than the scheduled 0700.  (I suspect he was stressed by the route changes yet he remained reluctant to delegate this small chore to others).  So, we slept in just a little- up by 0545, and turned our luggage in shortly after 0615, and were in the breakfast line by 0630.

Day 4 Noxon, Montana to Sandpoint, Idaho 57.0 miles 3:55 riding time
Breakfast started about an hour late but was excellent.  The football team was not prompt at loading the luggage, so we were able to return our warm clothes to our luggage before the morning meeting and even return the tooth brushes to the luggage instead of carrying them on the bikes this day!  We learned we'd be diverting directly to Sandpoint via back roads that included about 10 miles of gravel roads.  Corrie reminded me of his vision problems, and I agreed to hold back to ride with him.  The gravel was thin, but the road was rough with some large sharp rocks sticking up in sections.  I was riding about 17 MPH in this gravel when Corrie, with vision problems, dropped me.  Soon I passed a rider changing a tire on the left side of the road, that, as I passed, thought was Tom rapidly changing his tire.  It turns out all 5 of the other TRC riders (or affiliates) rode by him without offering to help!  All I could think to do was apologize for not stopping to take his photo while changing his tire which should have been done in addition to an offer of assistance which likely wasn't needed.  He looked like he was making a video "how to change a flat in 5 minutes or less". Tom's extremely organized and thorough and seemed uncomfortable not having a spare tube with him the rest of the day.  Of course, those thoughts may have been aggravated by the knowledge of how helpful his group had been at his first flat!

Jennifer takes a break in the gravel section- just after Tom's flat

Considering highway 200 was an alternative, this route wasn't bad. Outside of the gravel sections it was excellent.  We had lunch in Clark Fork, BBQ hamburgers or chicken.  After we ate, the line got rather long but it probably would have gone better in the original location.  Flexibility is always required on organized rides in the west due to fires, and I've no complaints about how they handled the situation- except for not asking the coach to reschedule the luggage pickup and breakfast! The closer we got to Sandpoint, the less smoke we had to contend with.

The lunch line in Clark Fork, Idaho

The smoke gradually cleared as we neared Sandpoint which allowed us to use their city park on the beach as a 3 night campsite!  Linda, Jennifer, and I were soon swimming and playing on the log boom that separates the beach from the rest of the lake.


Day 5: 27.8 miles 2:57 riding time to Schweitzer and back
Since I was still tired from the dual crossing of Dobson pass and the single crossing of Thompson Pass I was happy to settle for the short optional ride up Schweitzer on this day.  Corrie and Linda took the day off the bike while the rest of us did the climb.

Steve, Tom, Jennifer, and Laurence on Schweitzer

Jennifer, Tom, Steve, and Laurence from the lodge

Tom, Laurence, Jennifer, and Steve from the end of the pavement

a photo of Jennifer at the top I like though the smoke makes it seem like an artificial background

While riding up to Schweitzer we again talked to Kim who then invited us to join him for an afternoon ride on his sailboat - a great opportunity and a great host!

Tom and Kim on the sailboat

Tom, Jennifer, Tom, Kim, Laurence, and Jon enjoy sailing

Jennifer at the helm

Thanks, Kim, for a great afternoon!

After the sailboat ride, Jennifer takes a lesson on this board

Tom has the next lesson

and the other Tom from Moscow also has a lesson

Day 6 Sandpoint to Bottle Bay, to Priest River, and return to Sandpoint
73.7 miles    5:45 riding time
The howling wind added to the noise of the nearby main line of the Northern Pacific Railroad.  Someone's rain fly was not tied down right and was especially loud.  Eventually it blew off eliminating the noise and that sleeper's supposed privacy as only mosquito netting remained to block the view in.  After she retrieved the rain fly, it was correctly replaced and was much quieter.  I won't name names, but if you have questions, ask Jennifer.

Rider services tent and others down and damaged in the night's wind storm

 It was still very windy the next morning.  Like everyone else in camp we weren't sure what we'd do as we prolonged breakfast not wanting to cancel riding while not wanting to ride in this wind.  Finally we decided to ride across the bridge, see how much we were buffeted by the wind, and maybe make the ride to Bottle Bay.  The wind on the bridge didn't buffeted us as much as we thought it would, so we headed to Bottle Bay which put us on the leeward side of the peninsula. When we reached the windward side, it was a cross wind which had died down some, so Corrie, Tom, and Jennifer decided to head to Priest River which gave us the long 73 mile option for the day.  With the promise from Corrie that he wouldn't drop me, I joined them.  More gravel.... but this section was more like hard pack which wasn't bad riding.

Tom, Jennifer, and Corrie on the road to Priest River

 Just before we reached Priest River the wind changed again (what problems for the fire fighters!), but became a Northwest wind which gave us a tailwind as we headed mostly East back to Sandpoint.  During dinner it switched again, to directly out of the North which brought the only clear deep blue skies we'd see on this week long ride.

Day 7 62.3 miles   4:18 riding time
The last day of a supported tour can be less than pleasant because I'm never happy to see a ride end combined the rush everyone gets in to get home, but no one rushed this day.  Winds were fairly calm but remained out of the north which gave us a mild tail wind at first; the wind died by lunch which was in Spirit Lake.  We kept a semi-pace line back to Coeur d'Alene where no finish line awaited us.  Laurence, Corrie, and Linda left while Tom, Jennifer, and I went to the beach for a final swim.

Linda, Tom, Jennifer, Corrie, Steve, and Laurence at the Coeur d'Alene finish

 
Here's the rest of the photos

 Ride Idaho compared to other supported rides
The per day cost of $126.43 including parking, is a little lower than most supported tours. The organization and structure of Ride Idaho is pretty loosy goosey.  On day one the volunteers knew nothing- they hadn't read the website and apparently had no orientation meeting.  They could not tell us how long we could park in the lot behind McEuen Park while unloading, if the ride times were really in Mountain Time as the web site had clearly proclaimed, or anything else.  It almost seemed a rider had to talk to Earl, the chief, in order to get the straight story on almost anything.  I didn't like the inflexible schedule that virtually required turning in luggage before breakfast- meaning we couldn't wear warm clothes to breakfast, come back, brush the teeth, and then turn in the luggage with the warm clothes and tooth brush- and that seems so easy to fix!  They made the right calls on rerouting us away from fires, but a phone call to the coach would have let us sleep in after the hardest riding day of the tour while awaiting that 0900 meeting!  Earl was doubtless taxed revising the route and talking to sheriff, county reps, Forest Service people and others, so he didn't want to borrow someone's land line for that call to the coach which should have been delegated to one of his capable staff.  Also, a thumbs down on the Wallace and Sandpoint bucks- in lieu of a provided meal.  Some places wouldn't let you use them for tips, some wouldn't let you combine them with use of a credit card (if you exceeded your meal allowance), and some refused to take them.

Mechanical Support seem excellent.  On day two, we discovered that Linda's 16 straight spoke racing wheel set was toast.  Much to my surprise the mechanics had a set of wheels to rent her, saving her vacation!

In summary the ride was good, the food good, the break and snacks adequate, and the volunteers helpful and always pleasant if not knowledgeable enough.  I'd do it again based on the route they choose. Of course, riding is always more fun with friends, so bring your riding buddies like the 5 others from Twin Riders Cyclists who made it even better!

Happy cycling for fun, fitness, and transportation!


Steve 

Bicycling Oregon's Grande Tour - 3 Day Version

Sean, Carol, Christy & I are preparing for cross country bike ride next year, and in preparation, we thought we should try a mini tour.  We were glad to be joined by Amy & Paul, friends of Christy's from Portland who can't join us for next year's tour, but who would make great additions. We had planned on riding The Old West Scenic Bikeway, but a week or so ago  decided its elevation gain may be too much for the group's training at this time.

Christy gets credit for all reservations and planning.  The 4 of us  going on the tour met at Eagle Hot Lake RV Park (it's clean, spacious, nice grass on which to set up tents, pleasant staff, but be forewarned if you're planning to ride the Grand Tour- they have a mosquito problem).  We'd planned to ride the 10 miles into La Grande for dinner but with a late arrival, we drove into La Grande for a Mexican dinner which did not sit well for 3 of the 4 of us.  Before that problem settled in we celebrated our arrivals with excellent cherry pie from Carol & Sean's orchard and oven.  Amy & Paul arrived at 0900 the next morning as scheduled.  Carol had made us save pie for a 2nd breakfast, but luckily there was enough for everyone to have breakfast pie!  I'd like to blame Amy & Paul for the 0930 departure, but we took that long to repack from our car camping.

Celebrating the start with Carol's home made cherry pie- cherries fresh from Carol & Sean's orchard

Day 1   48.7 miles  Riding Time 3:36  La Grande to Baker, OR  elevation gain 1,644 ft
 

The group departing for the 3 day tour: Sean, Paul, Amy, Carol, and Christy (missing- Steve the photographer)

We rode the 10 miles to Union in a pack carefully maintaining 15 MPH through the slight ups or downs like a racing team pack but with this slower speed.  I was thinking, this isn't going to work for me, touring is more social with little emphasis on speed, but when we reached Union, the hills began; we picked up a sweet tailwind that nearly blew us up the hill, and the group broke into small conversational groups and paid little attention to speed- my idea of touring. However,  I can handle just fine a 15 MPH warm up get my body into bicycling mode.

investors in wind power apparently don't believe the tail wind we were enjoying is unusual

Sean arrives at the top of the first hill

Amy arrives at the top of the first hill

Doug's rule:  We'd taken a break just before the top of the hill to watch a train come under the overpass we were standing on, and I rushed to the nearby top thinking it was a good place to photo everyone passing by.  They all came crawling to a stop in front of me - just when I wanted the photo.  I taught them Doug's rule:  If I'm pointing the camera at you, don't stop until you've passed me by at least 10'.  It's Doug rule, that I learned by violating it once, but it's now in place for our future rides!

We passed through North Powder where we had a lunch break at a pic-nic table provided by the laundromat/motel.  We were soon enjoying a close up view of the Elkhorn Mountains.

riding toward the Elkhorn Mountains

a little closer to the Elkhorns

just about to turn toward Baker

We enjoyed close up views of the Elkhorns most of the way into Baker blown by that sweet tailwind.  3:36 seems like a short touring day, but with the lack of sleep after the Mexican dinner, it actually felt like the right amount of miles.  We headed to the Mountain View RV Park (clean, pleasant staff, NO mosquitoes).  There was some celebration in Baker, so we caught what was supposed to be the free shuttle (actual cost $1 each way) downtown for dinner at Barley Brown's Brew Pub; it gets our recommendation.  Because of the lack of sleep associated with the intestinal issues of the night before, Carol, Christy, and I were ready to go back to the tents.  Paul and Amy learned a lesson: when touring, do your own thing and stay out enjoying the town late- even until 10:00 at night-  if you're with an early to bed group or a team that's recovering from intestinal issues!

Day 2   Baker to Catherine Creek State Park  39. miles  Cycling time: 3:41  elevation gain 2,100

 day 2 departure from camp in Baker, OR  Christy, Paul, Carol, Amy,. Steve, and  Sean - taken by the helpful staff

 To our relief the winds calmed down during the night, and we started in ideal weather conditions. We were soon to the "smooth unpaved 1.5 mile" section the maps warned of.  It's decomposed granite and presented no problems even on Carol's non-touring 28mm tires.

Sean finishing up the unpaved section just out of Baker

 
This is the day with the most climbing with four climbs followed by four descents.

the riders enjoying the view while contemplating the descent and climbs that lie ahead of them

riding thru a small herd of escaped cattle adds to the rural experience, and adds greatly to Amy's memory since she is afraid of not just cattle-  but cows!

At the top of the next climb, we took a break and decided we'd do lunch at the next "town" which the map shows as Pondosa although the written instructions show as Medical Springs.  It's hot,  and so is my water, so when I see the last of the group ride by the turn of the century Pondosa Store, with its large shade trees overhanging the store and its outdoor pic-nic tables, I was torn between staying with the group and taking the promised break.  The break won out, and I enjoyed the store's cool air, my cold Squirt and ice cream as well as a tour of the store which was a bachelor's boarding house until the mid 1950's when Podosa's sawmill closed. All the houses in town (I think they said 85 houses)  had been moved  elsewhere after the mill closed.  As I wrestled with myself about the stop and what my fellow travelers would do, I imagined them eating their PB&J sandwiches on a hot dry hilltop.  One mile farther on is a large private swimming pool in Medical Springs (which currently offers no services) where a family reunion was being held.  I imagined my group talking their way into the party, snacking, and drinking cold punch,  but I could find no sign of touring bikes about, so I continued on, but on the hot dry hill I imagined them parked in the back with my cohorts hidden in the shade somewhere enjoying that ice cold punch.  However, I soon found my cohorts They were waiting for me in a small corral on a hot, dry, shadeless hilltop.  I wanted to feel bad, but I was still thrown that my group skipped such a pleasant and interesting stop.

Pondosa Store as it appeared for Cycle Oregon Aug 2015 - photo by Jonathan Maus

inside the Pondosa store- a possible overnight stop for future riders of the Grande Tour. The store has only recently reopened, and management would like to eventually rent out the upstairs rooms, but they aren't ready at this time, and I didn't swing an invite to check them out.  The lobby (like an old hotel)  is very nice in a rustic sense.  Meals are not currently available

The group waited for me on this hot, shadeless knoll.  Is it my imagination, or does Christy look like a wildwoman? Perhaps she's thinking of clubbing me as I enjoy an ice cold Sprite and ice cream while she waits for me here in the sun?

Meanwhile... Paul finds shade in the corral, and makes the most of it.  I thought only a cat could conform its body to a spec of shade - photo by Christy

Most of the climbing on The Grande Tour happens this day between Podosa and a 4,178 summit which Carol had convinced herself was 4,678.  However, she was not disappointed to reach the summit at 4,178 ft.

Carol reaches the 4,178 ft summit

We had a quick lunch near the summit, and coasted down to Catherine Creek State Park where we set up camp.  Having a good night's sleep and no intestinal issues the night before, this day seemed a little short, but the state park offered a bit of hiking, good shade, and a poor swimming hole - maybe 18" deep after Paul dug it out- where all soaked and cooled off a bit.

Paul, Christy, Carol, & Amy cooling off in Catherine Creek

Dinner was excellent - some oriental noodles with chicken in a peanut sauce with a few of Amy, and Paul's cashews sprinkled on top.   It was another early night as we seemed accustomed to the touring schedule of going to bed and getting up with the sun.  No mosquito problem at Catherine Creek State Park.

Day 3  60 miles   3:49 riding time   elevation gain 653 ft

Another good night's sleep and early rising.  We'd decided to have a snack for breakfast and ride the 20 miles downhill to Union for a breakfast out.  A convenience store clerk suggested the Union Hotel with what he called 4 star prices was our only option in this sleepy town (I was expecting a working man's town with 0600 breakfasts) but  the wait for an 0800 opening wasn't long.  Food was excellent and the price not too bad.  We sped through Cove, a small town in a beautiful location, but without a central business district.  It looked like we missed nothing - which is sad to say of a clean little town in such a beautiful spot.  The only activity in town seemed to be the 7th Day Adventists gathering on Sunday morning! - maybe they lend their building to another denomination on Sundays? The rest of the day was rolling through beautiful farm country.

not far out of Cove, Oregon

Sean, Carol, & Christy pass a couple of local cyclists outside of La Grande

Grande Tour is generally well signed, but don't count on a sign at every turn

Paul and Carol appear to be wishing we finished at Riverside Park where the route officially starts, but we had started 10 miles into the ride at Eagle Hot Lake RV Park, and have another 10 miles to go!

The route never crosses the freeway in the La Grande area remaining on the northeast side where not much of La Grande lies, and we didn't want to ride the frontage road, so we didn't find an ice cream place to celebrate finishing.  Riverside Park is a nice city park on that side of the freeway though which likely works well to leave a car in when riding The Grande Tour.  Showers back at the Eagle Hot Lake RV Park were $5. 

We had a great time and are considering trying The Old West Scenic Bikeway in September when we hope Marilyn, Bert, & Linda will join us! If considering Grande Tour, do it in the published direction.  The tailwinds we enjoyed on day 1 would have been a killer in reverse.  We had irksome headwinds on day 2, but they weren't killer headwinds.

If you're interested, here are the rest of the photos: 

Happy cycling for fun, fitness, & transportation



Steve