Day 4 Kah-nee-ta to Prineville

Day four. A nice short 60 mile day before experiencing the 117 mile grind for tomorrow. We left the Kah-nee-ta resort, immediately descending a steep hill back to the canyon floor. While at maximum speed, I heard the loud clatter of something falling to the road from my bike. I immediately surmised that it was my tire pump which I had removed from the frame to allow me to carry my loaded bike up four flights of stairs, since the elevators were too small (this is something that continues to be a problem. We have not yet been on the ground floor of any motel). Anyway, I stopped my headlong descent, slowly pedaled back up the hill, looking for the errant pump. I finally found it in the ravine beside the road, and managed to give my mountain-biking shoes a real trial by fire. They worked magnificently on the slope of volcanic rock scree. I now had to play catch-up, since the rest of the group had long since disappeared up the road. I caught most of the riders, and enjoyed a pleasant ride in the cool of the morning. We were hoping to exit the reservation at about the time that the Indian Museum opened, and we arrived just at the right time to be the first customers.

The museum had many displays showcasing typical Indian culture before the influence of westerners, and how they coped with the influx of Europeans. It was difficult to look at the pictures of Indian kids dressed up in neat little uniforms, being surgically removed from their heritage, and punished if they spoke their native tongue.

After the museum, we headed across the high desert toward our destination of Prineville. I was riding with Ilkka and Stu by now, and we made good time to Madras. We were so wrapped up in our little paceline that we missed a turn and actually took a shortcut to town, but encountered the traffic that our alternate route would have avoided. At our SAG, we could see a fence where people were making a memorial for one of their local soldiers who was one of the two who were kidnapped and killed in Iraq a couple days earlier.

The three of us set out again, looking for a Dairy Queen, which is Ilkka’s favorite post-ride destination. Not finding one in Madras, we figured there had to be one in Prineville, so we pressed on. We arrived after noon in Prineville, and found a DQ on the way in. I had a Heath Blizzard, my favorite. It was a great finish to a short, but hot day. Prineville had lots of good stores, so we stocked up on things we forgot or lost. The owner of a local laundromat offered to do our laundry for $ per bag, so we loaded up a bag with our stuff all mixed together and had it back in an hour. It was great to get a real wash, not just the sink treatment.