Day 7 Baker City to Ontario

Day 7. Today was a downhill day. We had a short climb out of Baker City, and then a long, long descent down to Ontario, our last stop in Oregon. I was the last one out today, due to trying to figure out the camera problem. I rode for a while with Mike, but then Andy, a staff member came flying by on his light but ill-fitting borrowed bike. I just had to give chase, and we rode together for the longest stretch of fast riding I have ever experienced. We flew into the first SAG having averaged over 30 mph for quite a few miles.

After the SAG, It was a short, but excruciatingly hot stretch in to Ontario. Much of the riding was on interstate 84, since there were no other roads through that strertch. Interstate riding is not really that bad, except for the sharp road debris that can give you a flat tire in a jiffy. The heat had slowed many of the riders. I found that Kent, a rider from Madison in Virginia, had settled on the same pace as myself, and Ilkka and I rode with him for quite a while. Overall, I averaged 17.2 mph for 82 miles. This is my fastest day ever! We were so happy to find the motel, which was made difficult because they had changed the name without telling us. Because we were early, we found a Mexican restaurant and chilled there for an hour or so, just to get out of the triple-digit heat. Some of our riders were adversely affected by the heat, and were badly dehydrated. We will all watch our physical state better tomorrow.

All my pictures were erased again by the camera, so there are no pictures today. By trial and error, I have surmised that if I format the card in someone else’s camera, it will work in mine, and not erase. I will attempt again tomorrow, but I am not very optimistic. Tomorrow is a short day, followed by a rest day. Ye-haa!