Saturday, July 25th, 2015
Start/End: John Day/Ochoco Divide, OR
Mileage: 83+
Weather: Sunny and cold in the morning with a very warm afternoon
There are some really awesome things that this team can check off of their bucket list or just list of things they have done and after tonight, sleeping at the top of a mountain will be one of those things! The predicament about that, though, being on a bike trip, there is only one way to get to a mountain top…climb it on your bike.
Today we arose a little earlier than usual and fortunately our location relative to the time zone favored this early wake up. It was very cold, though so crawling out of warm, snugly sleeping bags was not exactly welcomed by everyone, but none the less, we all woke up and got ready for the day, one we knew would be a challenge.
Our ride today had two dedications that were very special. First we wanted to dedicate the ride to Taliq, a ten year old boy who has a brain tumor. Today is his 10th birthday and we hope that he got a card from us! One of our rider’s heard about his story from social media and we just couldn’t say no.
So we got on the road heading west, ready for the first 31 miles that were just a little downhill. This was pretty helpful in allowing us to save our energy for later. Despite the cold, it was a beautiful morning. We saw some beautiful fields that were nestled between large hills. We did follow the John Day River for quite a while in the morning, passing through the John Day Fossil Monument Park. We passed through the Picture Gorge….and gosh! I wish I would have gotten a picture of it. The road just disappeared through this gorge as we followed the river that apparently has a lot of fossils in it!
Our first stop of the day was in Dayville, which was a quaint little village. We stopped at a cafe near a general store, which actually was a full service bike shop! We took a little bit longer of a break getting to meet some great people and exploring the store and before long, were on our way again. We had a little more downhill before we started to climb our first peak. We have definitely climbed with steeper grades, but this hill just seemed to drag on. It was kind of amusing because we did pass a tree that had been adorned with hundreds of shoes… It was definitely random, but kind of a fun sight to see.
We stopped for lunch before reaching the top and it was very hot. Sitting at lunch, many of us were sweating when we weren’t in the shade, so it was a quicker stop for lunch and we were back on the hill. Then we received our beautiful downhill that was very earned. The wind as we descended felt nice, as did not having to peddle. We then came upon a town called Mitchell, Oregon and of course we stopped to explore a little, being sure to buy some ice cream and/or freshly made maple bars (donuts). Others got some refreshing iced coffee and relaxed because at that point,me had about 15 miles left, about 10 of those would be uphill. And uphill they were!
Through the hot afternoon, we fought our way to the top through the heat. It was really interesting because we actually passed a part of the Forrest which had been burned from wildfires in past years. Seeing the remains of this Forrest fire was really interesting. It seemed so dead, but because the trees had been burned, fresh green grass was growing on the surface, which, when the trees are fuller, would not be possible.
As we got closer to Ochoco Divide, we were feeling so tired and ready to be done for the day. The forests became more fuller and less impacted by wildfires in past years which was reassuring. Once we reached the summit, we could not have been more exciting, especially when the campsite was within site! It was very basic, but hey! We don’t need much. We set up our tents quickly and many fell asleep to take naps. Dinner came later on with some fresh watermelon and cold cut sandwiches. They tasted amazing and bed could not sound more appealing at this moment.
-LAH