July 9th...La Grande to Baker City

Glad to be blogging again! I lost out on a week as I had numerous problems with my ancient laptop (8 yo) that still came from Africa, and its temperamental power supply, not to speak of our Satellite internet on the tour that is somewhat unpredictable and not always able to work re natural obstacles like mountains obscuring the way to the satellite. The media guys are doing their level best to help us out, but there is just so much they can do. I now figured out how many get to blogging - they use the nicely air-conditioned public libraries in the towns we sleep over! This is where I am now, enoying the cool envirorment as the sun is so hot outside (>90F). We had a great ride in from La Grande this morning, with a gentle climb of maybe 2 or 3% in the middle. It is always a pleasure to see Walter with his Huge RV - SAG wagon at the top af all major climbs, always with a smile and ready to help one out with water and a word of encouragement as well as a while in the shade under the awning of his beautiful RV coach. It took Walter 10 days to train the cyclists NOT to stand their bikes up against the sides of his RV....and I think he's finally succeeding!
The ride today went through farming communities, and I stopped many times to photograph the lovely snow capped mountains, and spend some moments stroking a cat or feeding pet donkeys or horses some carrots that we brought along as snacks. Took awesome pictures of huge bronze statues at the hot springs outside La Grande. The artwork in bronze is incredibly well done....even to the expression in the horse's eyes! The road raised up gradually, in what we call a "false flat", as the road looks level but is in fact climbing at 1%. How a cyclist knows this, is by the strange feeling that one's tires are sticking to the pavement! The ride was delightful, and I rode with Tess Fox and a couple of other girls that can move. The climb turned out to be a 3% grade winding up through a lovely canyon. After the crest a fast down hill rewarded us with a thrill for our climbing efforts earlier. The girls formed a paceline for a while, and we kept moving at about 33km/h. We stopped for coffee in a cute hamlet called "Haines", where a few authentic cabins that originally stood along the Oregon trail can be seen, as they were relocated to a place of honor in the centre of the village. More gorgeous farms with fat cattle followed, against a backdrop of beautiful, snowcapped mountains. Baker City is all about Cowboys, horses, cattle and rodeo's and many folks wear cowboy hats and jeans, and of course....drive those great gas guzzling Dodge trucks that I'm sure are a huge asset on any farm. Coming into town one sees all kinds of farming and cattle handling equipment for sale. I've always been interested in farming and enjoy checking out the related things. The size of the tractors used here astonished me, as around Pendleton the wheat fields are very rolling and steep, so tractors with creeper tracks (like tanks have) are used in stead of wheels. The wheat produced there are transported to the huge grain silo's along the shores of the long lake that we rode along on Monday, from where it goes in wheat train cars to be sold.

We had spent the night at a lovely campsite in La Grande, next to the public swimming pool, which we could use for free, as well as the showers. Our tents were pitched under huge generous trees. It felt luxurious on the thick carpet of lush lawn, and I promptly took a nap apon arriving there while waiting for the Gear truck to be opened. The train yard next door kept many from a good sleep at night but I had no problem as I was really tired after a fabulous ride into La Grande.
Yesterday we had an awesome ride out of Pendleton, and at about halfway the road kicked up sharply into a winding mountain pass (called Cabbage Hill) with several switchbacks, cattle gates and majestic views of the quilt-like patches of wheat fields below, in different stages of ripeness, from greenish to gold and wavy, and with some already being harvested (brown). The pass is in an Indian reserve. This climb was over 10 miles long, and some cyclists really struggled their way up while the mountain goats among us flew up and past. I chose to ride at a steady pace in easiest gear that I can sustain for long. This meant that I had the energy left to fly down the other side at speeds of up to 70km/h....a thrill I enjoy immensely, though not without its dangers! After about 20 km of fast solo riding I stopped at a lookout for a sandwich and joined up with two delightful guys - both around 7o(!!) and strong, fast cyclists. Since the profile was generally down hill, the 3 of us gunned it and did the remaining 30 km to La Grande ( of which part was on the interstate) super quick, as I managed to pull at 40km/h and more. What a blast! The vegetation changed from rolling wheat fields around Pendleton, to fir forests and gorgeous mountains around La Grande. The cycling may be strenous at times, but what a privilege and honor to see God's world from so close up. Living conditions in camp are just great, if one is a but adjustable, and we are getting fed in a great way, by a wonderful team of support staff that work their hearts out for us cyclists. The ladies in the kitchen are doing an amazing job!!!