Field Trip 21

 The started out in Meadows,  just 2 miles south of New Meadows.  The ride north was fast, it was nice and cool.  After transitioning from the Meadows region, there was a long prolonged downhill through very pretty forest, mostly along the Little Salmon River.   By the time I got to Rawlins, the heat started to build. I correspondingly slowed down quite a bit.   The plan was to eat lunch in Whitebird, and I met up with some other cyclists who are travelling the same route. By this time it was HOT.  They decided to bum a ride to the top of the upcoming Whitebird Hill.  I decided to do the climb.  The hill goes from 1700 feet to 4200 feet over about 6 miles.  I stopped a total of 7 times to try to cool down.  Total climb took me just over 2 hrs, not counting stops.  After a quick but all too short downhill, it was a slog against the wind to Grangeville where I was supposed to meet Leslie.  I was cooked. After sitting in the airconditioning for a few minutes, I decided to bag it and go th

Day 9 Today I climbed out of Hells Canyon into Idaho.  You cross the Idaho State line as soon as you cross the Snake river. I rolled before 7:00 AM to beat the heat, but it was hot on the climb.  I climbed for about 1 hr and 40 min,  then some downhill into the town of Cambridge.  The route heads north on Idaho 95 which was uncomfortably busy.  Tonight we are camping in New Meadows.   The heat really slows me down.  It peaked out today at 111. Tomorrow is the first 100 mile day.   Morning Ride Distance 92.33  mi Elev Gain 5,341  ft Time 7 h  25 m Try this route

  Day 8 Rest Day 7 days ago we started out from Florence Oregon. We are spending the day in Oxbow which is in the very steep and very hot Hell's Canyon. I spent the day eating and sleeping, bike inspection and cleanup. Some big days ahead. Weekly Totals: Total Riding Time: 32:36 Total Miles 440.2 Total Climbing: 18015 Just a Note:  There is no cell or internet coverage in Oxbow.  This will post when we have internet. We saw this bicycle repair post right outside of our campground on our evening walk. There's a pump and a lot of tools all attached by steel cables.   This is up on the road just above our campground.

  Day 7. Today we leave the Baker Valley and Baker City and make our way to the Hells Canyon of the Snake River. The route heads east from Baker City, then turns north. The landscape is large hills covered with sagebrush. The narrow valleys that have streams in them support irrigated agriculture which from my point of view looked mostly to be cattle ranching. You climb over Flagstaff Hill, with a good view back to the Baker Valley. The first town on the route is Richland, I stopped there for a snack. Right out of town is about an 8 mile climb, average grade 6%. It was exposed and with a headwind. On the other side you drop down to the Pine Creek Valley which contains the town of Halfway. There's a beautiful view of the Blue Mountains to the North. Still some snow on the tops. The route into Richland follows the Powder River, and you are again following the Powder River down its canyon to our stop for the night Oxbow; which is right on the Snake River. The numbers;

 Day 6 Today the route leaves the John Day River Valley, climbing Dixie Pass topping out over 5000 ft.  Here's a backwards view of the John Day Valley This was about 1/2 way up Dixie Pass Of course there's a picture of the summit: Then about 7 miles downhill.  (Didn't touch the brakes once).   At this point we're in the Wallowa Mtns.  There are 2 passes on the way to Baker City.  The first is Tipton summit: The second one didn't have a sign, but did peak out at 5082 ft.  Supposedly its downhill from there to Baker City. You drop into the Powder river canyon. Pretty river, but there was a very strong headwind all the way to Baker city.  Had to treat it like a climb.  Low gears just plodding along.  I actually came to a full stop once due to the wind.  I've visited Baker City several times before, for the Elkhorn Classic Bike race several times and for Cycle Oregon.  This corner of Oregon holds a special place in my heart.  I raced the last version of the Elkhorn

 Day 5. The ride today heads east in the valley of the John Day River.   The land is irrigated and from the looks of things its mostly hay growing and some ranching.  The heavy truck traffic has thinned out.  Mostly ranch vehicles.   The land is surrounded by hills and the occasional mesa.  I actually had legs for the first two hrs,  then put putted into Prarie City Who knew? e I spotted this on the way to John Day.  We are staying tonight in Prarie City.  Tomorrow we climb out of the valley into the Wallowa Mtns,  over 3 passes, and down into Baker City.  Morning Ride Distance 46.02  mi Elev Gain 994  ft Time 3 h  7 m Try this route

 Day 4. I left Prineville at about 8:30, heading east on Rt 26.  This takes you through the Ochoco Mt range.  Crossed two passes today, the first was Ochoco Pass  The heat jumped up on the eastern side of the pass.  Dropped into a valley then  partly up the next side to the town of  Mitchell where Leslie met me for Lunch..  After lunch it was straight up to the next pass, Keyes Summmit.   I was feeling kind of sick after lunch so I stopped several times on the way up to let the nausea clear (Note to self: Turkey with mayonnaise  doesn't mix with exercising in the heat).   I crawled up Keyes Summit at less than 5 mph.  Fortunately the remainder of the ride was downhill until the last 4 miles.  Here's a couple of  shots of the scenery. Morning Ride Distance 88.44  mi Elev Gain 3,924  ft Time 6 h  39 m Try this route Tomorrow, we make our way further east.  Planning on something much shorter.  Stay tuned. 

Day 3.   The ride started out with a 4000 ft climb to the top of McKenzie Pass. This area had a big lava flow recently (late 1400's).  There is a large area of solidified lava.  I had a problem with pictures so I can't share a picture of the sign at the summit. Here is a shot of  the 3 Sisters Peaks to the south of the pass I also lost a shot of some pretty orange wildflowers. Morning Ride Distance 91.10  mi Elev Gain 5,082  ft Time 7 h  20 m Try this route

 Day 2  Today the route goes east from Eugene, along the McKenzie River, which is the easternmost tributary of the Willamette River.   Last year in September there was a devastating fire in the river canyon, which took out many homes and the whole town of Blue River.  They've started salvage logging so there's quite a bit of logging traffic. In addition, they are clearing burned trees near the road as a safety measure, this lead to lots of traffic delays.   It was HOT.   Average temp 90, max 105.   We stayed at a campground along the McKenzie River, fortunately not affected by the fire, no internet connection.  Tomorrow, over the Cascades to Eastern Washington. Some Pretty Wildflowers along the Way The only covered bridge across the McKenzie River. Morning Ride Distance 70.90  mi Elev Gain 1,122  ft Time 4 h  40 min Try this route

  Morning Ride Time 6 h  2 As we start, I dipped my rear wheel in the waters of the Pacific Ocean The wind was whipping in from the north and there was blowing sand,  so we found a sheltered beach along the jetty of the Siuslaw river. This is triangle lake, lunch stop.  This is a shot of the north fork of the north fork of the Siuslaw River The Adventure Cycling Map shows 77 miles on this route between Florence and Eugene.  I ended up with 94.7 due to where we stayed.   Approximately 1900 feet of climbing.  Tomorrow we head to the base of the Cascades. Try this route

Adventure Day 2. We made our way south through the Willamette Valley to Eugene, stopped for some shopping, then through/over the coast range to Florence.  Road cuts on this route are mostly sedimentary rock. Very dense forests. The area is very familiar, having lived here at the turn of the century. Everything is very green and lush.  The  coastal mountain forest is a mixture of deciduous trees, mostly oaks, and conifers. It was good to see a lot of the clear cuts were filling in with fresh growth.   Here's the support crew and vehicle.  Lots of madrona here in the coastal forest.  Siuslaw River Bridge, Florence Oregon  Tomorrow morning the fun begins..

 And so the adventure begins. We are making our way from Spokane to the Oregon Coast. Our route takes us across the Columbia Plateau in Eastern Washington where the road cuts show good examples of the Columbia Basalts which cover this whole region.  Then down the the Columbia River Gorge, to just below Portland.  Note to self: try not to go to Portland on Friday at rush hour. Our View as we headed downriver to Portland.  If you're interested in some of the local geology, check out Nick Zentner's talk on Youtube about the Bridge of the Gods.

This is a test of loading a ride file from Strava. This was the ride on 6/2.