After 8 days and 569 miles we are spending our last
night in Oregon. Oregon is a beautiful state but it
can be a real challenge on a bicycle. After the 117
mile marathon we did 83 miles over 3 tough mountain
passes the next day. Everybody was pretty beat up
after that. Today we biked 63 miles to Ontario, OR but
a lot of it was downhill or flat. We did have to do a
few mile on I-84. It was a new experience to ride a
bike on an Interstate.
Tomorrow we are suppose to have a fairly easy day of
62 miles into Boise, Idaho. On Tuesday we get our
first rest day. We are really looking forward to that.
We are holding up well physically except for the
expected muscle soreness, stiffness and soreness in
the butt. On a trip like this, the big enemies are
sunburn and dehydration. We’ve been able to avoid
those problems so far with lots of sunscreen and lots
and lots and lots of water and Gatorade. Our alcohol
consumption has dropped to zero if, for no other
reason than, we want to avoid any dehydration.
It was a grueling week but getting through it gives us
the confidence that we may be able to actually
accomplish our goal of getting across the country.
Some people do the trip in segments over a period of
years. Some will leave the trip in Boise and a few
other will join.
If any of you are really, really into the details the
main tour guide has a website that details the trip by
day. Just click on the day for a full report and some
pictures. The site is:
http://www.bamacyclist.com/Journal2007/North07/07north.htm
We appreciate the reply e-mails. In some areas where
we have stayed the internet access and the cell phone
service is poor. I tried to send some e-mail replies
yesterday and gave up in frustration. Meanwhile the
cell phone wouldn’t go for 10 seconds without dropping
the call.
BTW, if you didn’t figure it out already, the cell
phone system in the U.S. is an abomination and an
embarrassment. Vietnam has better service. If the cell
service providers spent half as much time and effort
making sure calls could be made as they spend trying
to find ways to rip off their customers there would be
a huge improvement. In the next presidential election
I’m voting for the person that will promise to jail
the management of Verizon and AT&T and get a system
that works. How’s that for single issue politics?
Anyway, off to Idaho tomorrow. We can start looking
forward to the Tetons and the Continental Divide.