Monday, June 10, 2002

Starting out from Ontario, Oregon along the Idaho border, I began my early morning journey west on US-20. I had used the difference in Mountain and Pacific time zones to "gain" an hour, leaving at 7 A.M. which, of course, was really 6 A.M. It's a good thing that I did this because, as I rolled into Vail, I came to a complete stop.

Several miles of US-26 were being resurfaced (well, not just at that moment) and so it was necessary (apparently) to allow traffic though only one direction at a time. I found myself staring directly at the back of a large flatbed semi-truck rig carrying a large, industrial sized electrical transformer. When it became apparent that we weren't going to move for a while, I shut down the bike, dismounted, shrugged at the lady in the minivan behind me and took a walk. Turned out that, in front of the truck was another one just like it and in front of that was one of ODOT's finest sporting a stop sign.

Once our caravan was allowed to proceed, I noticed that the road surface had not yet been sealed. It had a kind of "chip" consistency that played havoc with the tread on my tires; not an entirely confident feeling. It was somewhat like riding along four miles of steel grating. When we reached "good" pavement again, I made a quick pass around the trucks and resumed normal cruising velocity.

The rain returned soon after and I noticed that many of the fields had been recently cut, some of the fields had bails sitting in them collecting water and likely becoming very heavy. When I was a boy, I helped some dairy farmers collect bails for barn storage so I had some idea of what would have been in store for the farmers... except modern farmers use forklift machines to hoist bails. Kids these days... with their new-fangled machines.

It was getting cold again and I was reminded... again... that I had not yet installed those heated grips. Note to self: install heated grips soon. And, speaking of notes, the note pouch that I have attached to my left arm took flight as I passed (and waived at) a group of bikers going the other way. Oops. Additional note: buy replacement note pouch; check Velcro.

At Prarie City I stopped to fill the gas tank. Across the gas island, a man in an RV offered to "swap" gasoline bills. While it was a generous offer (for him) I respectufly declined. My bill was $8.45, I can only imagine what his must have been. Thirteen miles later, I arrived in John Day for the first time ...again.

Just as Marsing had been a make-up stop, this was my second attempt to collect a rally stamp at John Day. The last time I was here at the Grubsteak Mining Company, it was a Sunday in April. The sign on the door indicated "new hours," Monday through Saturday. This, despite the fact that the tour book indicated that they were open seven days a week. You can imagine my despair. Now imagine my surprise when the sign on the door said, "Now Open Sunday!" Someone, please make up my mind.

My irritation was short lived as I was soon feasting on eggs, ham and pancakes. The waitress cheerfully stamped my book and asked me about the other places I had been. While I was eating I listened to the KJDY local weather report that indicated a current temperature of 55 degrees. No wonder I had been so cold.

The balance of my trip home to the Portland area was more or less the reverse of my trek east, along US-26. By the time I reached Redmond I was hot. The sun had come out at last. In Madras I finally stopped to switch gloves and to shed the jacket liner. The ride through Warm Springs, near Mt. Hood and even Sandy was pleasant and comfortable.

That wraps up two days of riding for a total of just under 1000 miles. At this rate I should probably begin saving for new tires; I'll need at least a new rear tire by the end of summer.

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