Saturday, June 26, 2010

AAN Day 6 - John Day to Baker City, OR

Daily Statistics:
Mileage: 82.1 miles Average Speed: 13.5 mph
Vertical: 5191 feet Depart: 6:13 AM Arrive: 12:55 PM
Calories: 5525

After being apprehensive about today, following a very tough day yesterday, I felt pretty good when we left. When we left town we started a slow climb immediately, and about 15 miles in started to climb seriously. About halfway up, there was a viewpoint with the Conestoga wagon shown here. That was a REAL tough way to travel. With that in mind, I headed back up to the top of Dixie Summit (5277 feet). There was a nice cruise down to the base for the next SAG, where there was a small cafe where I had a lovely blackberry cobbler.

After the SAG, we started climbing again, to the top of Tipton Summit. I stopped on the way down to take the following photo, which is a good idea of the lovely scenery we had most of the way. White capped mountains in the background, and forests, first with fir and pine, then just pine, made for a very nice day on the bike.
After one more climb over Snall Summit, I finally got to the next SAG. The second SAG was at a lovely site on Phillips Lake. I had bought a lunch from the cafe in John Day, which was waiting for me at the SAG. It was great to sit at a table in the shade and eat a nice sandwich, chips, apple and cookies. The road then followed the Powder River much of the way into Baker City. Here I show a couple of guys fishing in the river. It had a lot more rapids in many spots, and I love flowing water along the road as I ride. It makes me feel good.
The final miles into the city were pretty easy, although a slight headwind was not really appreciated. I got in in time to watch the overtime of the US World Cup game. They had chances, but it was not to be. See you tomorrow!

1 comment:

Bonnie said...

Rest. my friend!