AAN Day 5 - Prineville to John Day, OR

Daily Statistics:
Mileage: 115.7 Average Speed: 15.0 mph
Vertical: 5472 feet Depart: 5:55 AM Arrive: 2:28 PM
Calories: 7691

Today was a long, but very interesting day on the road. I spent the first 65 miles riding with John Langhans, a 65 year old retired actuary from Maine. He said he most recently worked for the PBGC, and the worse things got, the busier he was. Anyway, we started out with a slow gradual climb for about 30 miles to the top of Ochoco Pass, at 4720 feet. The grades were very modest, but it was just setting us up for the next one, about a 7 mile ascent up to Keyes Summit, at 4369 feet. Here the grades were in the 5-7% range. It was a good workout getting to the top. The photo shows the look back down the hill, to give you an idea of the climb. John wanted more time than I did at the second SAG, so I continued on my own the rest of the way.

At this point we were proceeding down a nice little canyon, with interesting rocks on both sides. This photo doesn't do the terrain justice, but it gives you some idea of the variety of scenery we had during the day.
When I got to the third SAG, the cafe across the street where I had planned to have lunch was closed, but a little store behind the SAG supposedly sold sandwiches. They didn't look very good to me, so I opted for an ice cream sandwich instead, and headed to town. It was about 30 miles of pretty tame terrain, mostly flat without much to report on. This picture was at the SAG, which was in a very pretty spot.
The good news is we were just short of the advertised 117 miles. Tomorrow is supposed to be another tough one, with 3 good climbs. Check back to see if I made it.