Today was somewhat challenging, with three lengthy climbs and variable weather (rain). Still, it was also an incredibly scenic day as we rode through Oregon’s national forests and got a taste of the Pacific Northwest. We also met some great bikepackers who made a lasting impression, and we had a fun lunch stop at El Cocinero, which had huge portions!
quote of the day
“I think I’m just a destructive person” - Nicole
Yuncong: “Is that an infection, or new skin?”
Nicole: “I don’t think new skin looks like that”
Yuncong: “So should I remove the whole thing or leave it?”
Nicole: “I don't know… I’m just 19”
ride overview
Mileage: 80.1 Miles
Elevation: 4,942 ft.
Points of Interest: Wallowa Whitman National Forest, Whitney and Austin (ghost towns), Strawberry Range, El Concinero
Ride Dedication: Emily Allred
tales of the trail
The morning started with Matt’s favorite wake-up music – Bagpipes! We packed up our stuff, and we were joined by another bikepacker who was also making his way across the country, but he was headed in the opposite direction from us. The morning was fairly easy, with a slow ascent as we entered Wallowa Whitman National Forest. The first rest stop was at a picnic area, where we quickly fueled up before getting back on the road. We had our first big climb of the ride, and a fun descent, with great views of the forest surrounding us. Our second rest stop of the day was halfway up the second ascent, and my group took some time to change out a tire before we started ascending again. We had yet another fun descent and passed by two ghost towns, Whitney and Austin, which we briefly peeked at as we rode by (there wasn’t a lot of activity). One group also had a great time talking to and riding with a bikepacker named Josh, who most definitely made a lasting impression!
As we were riding, our group spotted rain clouds in the distance, which prompted us to shelter under an awning for a bit. It's a good thing we took the chance to shelter, because it started pouring, and some of us took a nap to wait out the rain. After the rain had passed, we continued and finished our third big climb of the day, and we were treated to another fun descent with views of the Strawberry Range in the distance. At the bottom of the mountain, we stopped in Prairie City to eat at El Cocinero, which had insanely big portion sizes and left us with leftovers for days. After a late lunch, we finished out the ride with a quick 13-mile descent into John Day. At the stayover, we were given Subway for dinner by the church, and they let us use the showers next door! Earlier in the ride, Matt had challenged each group to produce a song, and we finally got around to listening to eachothers’s songs before heading to bed!
Thank you, John Day Methodist Church, for giving us a place to sleep, donating Subway, and finding us a place to shower across the street!
cyclist’s corner
Today’s Rider: Katie Kobel
How are you feeling today?
I am feeling great today. I was very nervous going into this day because I look at the routes way ahead of time, and it seemed like it was going to be hard, but my group made it a lot better, and it was still kind of hard, but I had a lot of fun with it, and it looked nice too.
Which chore have you been doing for the team in the past week? Can you share your process doing this chore?
So I run the Instagram account, so every day after we're done riding, I have to upload photos to the Instagram and keep everyone aware about what's going on, and to do that, at the end of the day, I ask everyone to submit their photos, which they don't usually do on time. So I try to post it at night, but sometimes I have to do it the next day if the team is not uploading their photos.
What’s the best food you’ve eaten on the ride so far?
So when we were in Boulder, I think it was, we went to this restaurant called Tibet Kitchen, and I had some dumplings, and it was really good. It was recommended by Jason's friends that live nearby.
Do you have a favorite accessory to wear with your ride uniform?
So I used to wear this necklace that was an Aspen leaf, because my grandma had a similar necklace, and she lost it. So I always try to find it for her, and then I finally found it and bought it in Boulder, and I used to wear it every day, and it caused no problems, but then it started giving me a rash, so I had to stop.
Any favorite team memories so far?
So my favorite team memory is day nine. So that day, my team did not finish the ride because we were super far behind, and we kept taking really long at the rest stops, and then bad things kept happening, and it was so bad that it was funny. So that was my favorite day, and we had to get picked up in the van
Anything else you want to talk about?
I want to give a shout out to Veronica and Jessica, because they are great ride leaders, and they make people slow down when they're going too fast for me.