Days 8, 9 and 10 - Mt Vernon, OR to Boise, Idaho (201.2 miles or 322 km)

Riding up toward the Dixie Pass.  Strawberry Mountains in the background.

Sorry for the delays in reporting but we had some long days and not much internet or phone service on this last leg.  Amazing changes in topography, climate, vegetation and experiences, but all good.  Except maybe my 2 flats on the same tire, one in the morning and one in the afternoon on Sunday, June 22nd, but all's good.

Day 8  - June 22: Mt Vernon, OR to Unity Lake, OR

Days Mileage:  60 miles

Miles since Pacific Coast: 419 miles

Well, we left the Warmshowers.org lodging at the Bike Inn although we never met the woman that owned and runs the cottage beside her home, but we did meet her lovely dog Barbie, her couple of goats and her two amorous bunnies in the pen behind the house.  

Overall, a nice stay and a cool start to the morning, with sunny start and cool temps in the high 40s to 50.

We rode a short 8 miles to John Day to have our real breakfast at the Outpost.  Breakfast is the most important meal of the day to give you enough energy and protein to face the day's challenges.  We estimate we're burning over 4000 calories on most days, although I think I'm gaining weight not losing.

John Day appears to be a very bike friendly town as it is on the TransAmerica bike route and gets lots of  crosscountry cyclists passing through.

Unfortunately I went from a nice thumbs up ride to....

getting  a flat in the morning and another flat in the afternoon (2 miles from our destination).  Thanks to Tom, who is an engineer by trade, the fixes went smoothly and he graciously lent me another tire to replace my rear tire which is obviously shot.  I'll buy new tires in Boise.

Some of the beautiful Eastern Oregon countryside

I even got to pull Cathy in a covered wagon.

We made it over two major passes today:  Dixie Pass at elevation 5, 277 feet

and Blue Mountain Summit Pass (which I renamed "Son of a Bitch Pass" since it seemed to go on forever and the grade was very steep) at 5, 109 feet.  And it was very hot.

 

After my second flat we finally reached our cabin at Unity Lake State Recreation Site near Unity.  Nice accommodation with solar showers and a beautiful sunset.

Sunset on Unity Lake, Oregon.

And had a fine ribeye steak dinner at the only place to eat in Unity.

Day 9 - June 23:  Unity Lake to Vale, Oregon

Days mileage: 70 miles

Distance since Pacific Coast:  489 miles

A beautiful, long, but overall easier ride today to Vale.  After a huge breakfast at the Burnt River Market gas station, tended to by some very nice, down home waitresses we set off into a dry, hot day. 

The pass in the morning was El Dorado at only 4,600 feet with minor 5% grades or less.  And then descended most of the way to Vale   Some scenes of the day:

Changing from Pacific Time Zone to Mountain Time Zone in Oregon

Yes, I'm smiling about this pass because a) it was in the morning and cool, and b) the grades were less than 5%.

A shady (but very hot) lunch in a park in Brogan, Oregon.

"On the road again, I just can't wait to get on the road again..."

Sagebrush country

Riding down the ribbon of highway, eastern Oregon

Setting up camp in Vale, OR.  Don't know why this photo won't rotate correctly.

Day 10  - June 24: Vale, OR to Boise, Idaho

Days Mileage:  71 miles

Miles since Pacific Coast: 560 miles

The campsite in Vale was great for our tents but around about 3 am the wind really started howling with gusts up to almost 40 miles an hour.  Needless to say we did not sleep well after that.  We hastily made breakfast of egg scramble and oatmeal (thanks Cathy and Tom!) and packed up to take off toward Boise today.  Note flag blowing in the photo below before we left.

The ride was a fairly easy ride today with a strong tail wind and no climbing.  However temperatures did get up to the high 80s so we needed to keep hydrated.  Thank goodness our angel Cathy was along the road when we need refreshments, water, snacks, etc.

We all reached the 500 mile mark today!  At different locations (since I rode my bike to the ocean to dip my tires and then rode back to Florence so I've done 12 miles more than Tom and Steph.

500 mile mark for Greg, outside Vale.

500 mile mark for Tom and Steph on the road between Vale and Nyssa.

We just got ahead of wildfire somewhere near Vale.  Note the haze and smoke in the background.

Finally crossed from Oregon into Idaho.  As you can see we were elated!

And we finally arrived, hot and tired at our good friends Tom and Joni's home in Boise.  Tom and I worked together in Washington, DC for 7 years in the Disaster Assistance Support Program.  We had many good times as well as gnashing of teeth times.  But overall I think we had a wonderful job and experience improving how the US responds and assists with disasters and humanitarian assistance.

As you can see we clean up nicely!  More to come in the days ahead.  We're taking 2 days off in Boise to rest and recover from the grueling hot, long days with significant climbs.  We'll depart Friday, June 27 heading north to Garden Valley, Idaho where we'll stay in my friend Joe's cabin thanks to their hospitality and friendship.