This must have been the hottest day so far on the tour. The ride was short, about 75km, but we still left around 7am to try and avoid being roasted on the road. The profile from Baker City to the tiny village of Huntington is going down all the time. Combined with a real potent tailwind, we had a flying ride with a 31.1km/h average, coming into Huntington at 54km/h! The group was delightful, funny and fast riders...George Vanderkuur, John Vandersteen, Barb Mellema, Cynthia Aukema among others. The road winded alongside the freeway, and passed little farms where tenacious people seem to wrestle a living off this really dry landscape. Passed some ranches with nice quarter horses - saw some lovely golden Palominos. Part of the way - the last half, we rode on the interstate, as we had to go through a valley with no other road available to the cyclists. There were some road construction going on as well, and on a particular bridge the road was narrowed down to only one lane,which really scared the nervous ones among us. No wonder, since the trucks kept roaring by at 60mph. Fortunately the Lord protected all of us and we all came home safely. A group of 16 young guys, and a girl, decided the ride today was too short. They opted to ride an alternative route which included going over an additional mountain pass. They thought the route would just be about 20 miles longer, but discovered their mistake after crossing the mountain. The road turned into a dirt road, so they had to go back over the same pass to Baker city, climbing another 2000feet, and then continued on the same route the rest of us had taken! So they ended up with 180km in stead of the 75 we did! Other mountain goats had too much energy too, and went to climb the grassy slopes of the high mountains around Huntington, despite the searing heat. Pushing 50 provided me with enough wisdom to minimize exposure to such heat, so I took a shower and a nap on the wooden floor of the school gym. Our group was in town about 2 hours before the gear truck, so we invaded the only watering hole in town, to the delight of the owner, who promptly upped his prices by 20%! To listen to the locals and chat with them was delightful in itself. Their world is much different from our frame of reference - but they are salt-of-the-earth folks! No internet access at the public library today, since it is only open on Monday to Wednesday! The elderly ladies in the diner/bar that were having a drink with the former female judge of the town, who was visiting, welcomed us to their table - the "MAFIA" table....Mature, Affectionate, Feminine, Intelligent and Articulate ladies! Markus Lise, Joanne Tipple and some others enjoyed a game of pool. Markus is Henry Lise's brother, and a pastor. We rode together nicely for some time yesterday coming into Baker City. It is great to see how people open up and relax more. Some timid ones discover they can actually ride a bike real well and fast, and their confidence is visibly growing. The few mountain goats that went to climb the high peak behing the camp site were still at 10pm and we could see their flashlights blinking in the dark coming down the slope. I just pray that they will be safe and not break something in the process. The wind has been really strong all afternoon and flattened my tent three times! The floor is covered with a fine powdery dust that I'll have to sweep up early tomorrow morning. I decided not to sleep in my tent as goathead thorns stuck right through the floor and footing canvas into my foot just now. There are lots of these horrible thorns about and I don't want my air mattress punctured! So with the 35mph wind wanting to destroy my tent, and the thorns threatening to deflate my precious nighttime comfort, I think I'll go sleep in the school gym tonight! Taking the tent down in the very strong wind and in the dark was a mission in itself as the wind turned into a parachute!
All in all a pleasant day! The group is starting to feel more like a family now, and it is amazing to see how good we get along. I read somewhere that endurance sports not so much builds one's character, but reveals it! True, but it certainly teaches one a lot about oneself, and one's potential and limitations! We are going into the next time zone tomorrow, and into our third state, Idaho. Can't believe tomorrow is already the 12th day of the tour. it is really flying past! I'm enjoying every moment though, and find the interaction with all the new friends very stimulating, and the group dynamics captivating. People sure are very interesting!
Friday morning I woke up and discovered a whole gym full of war-with-the-wind refugees that sneaked in during the night. Some were not very quiet though so I only got to sleep at 2am!What did I learn from this experience? Pop-up-tents may be very convenient and quick, but they pop down even easier when the wind is blowing strongly!
No comments:
Post a Comment