June 17, 2019
Day Eight: Burns, Oregon to Juntura, Oregon
I didn't feel much like getting up early and riding today. I was dragging as I got everything together, and by the time I was finally riding out of Burns the sun was up and it was warm. Unlike yesterday evening when I rode into town on the busy main drag, this morning I used some quiet streets which led me US-20, where I'd be for at least the next couple of days.
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US-20 had a decent shoulder, but it was unfortunately very busy - much more traffic, including large trucks, than I'd expected. It seemed especially busy after the last several days of riding on virtually empty roads. I guess I'd been spoiled by those great roads.
It was going to be one of those days when I just wasn't that into the riding, and all I wanted to do was move farther to my ultimate destination, which seemed a long way away indeed. This mood happens at least a few times on every bike tour I do.
After a while I was surprised to see another touring cyclist going the other direction. I pulled over onto the shoulder on his side of the road and we talked for a while. He had started on the east coast and was almost finished with his 50-ish day tour to the Pacific. He wasn't bothered by the busy traffic this morning like I was, though - "I'm from the east coast", he explained. Well, I'm from Kentucky, where there are many, many low-traffic paved country roads - US-20 seemed pretty bad to me.
Not long after that I encountered another touring cyclist, although this guy was only doing a week long trip across Oregon. His female companion rode up and three of us talked for a few minutes. I told them I might try to get to the town of Vale today, about 90 miles away, and stay in the amusingly named Bates Motel. They both gave me blank looks. They were probably 30 years younger than me, and didn't get the reference to the famous motel in the movie Psycho.
That made me feel old.
Later I stopped at a combination tractor repair / Indian artwork store and bought a Diet Pepsi and some peanuts, mainly so I could use the "Customers Only" bathroom there. I checked my map. It was still 35 miles to the next little community with services, and it looked like there were multiple long climbs before then. I abandoned the idea of getting all the way to Vale today.
The first of the climbs began as I left the store. I crept slowly up. Then there was the hair-raising descent. I know people who love those long descents on the bike, and I can sometimes enjoy them myself, but never,ever with traffic.
The rest of the afternoon went like that. I passed into the Mountain Time Zone, which was a milestone, I suppose.
After a long descent I arrived in Juntura, which consists of several large shade trees, a few houses, a church, a post office, and most importantly, the "Oasis", a combination of restaurant, store, campground and tiny motel.
It was super hot and dry now, so I walked into the restaurant, drank several glasses of ice water, and obtained a cheap motel room without even looking at it first. As expected, it was pretty dire. But it had an air conditioner, and I only noticed a couple of hairs on the bed sheets. Good enough.
Sometimes I amuse myself while bike touring by imagining the reactions of certain of my friends and relatives to some of the places I stay during these trips. This time, I especially enjoyed imagining the reaction of my brother to the Oasis Motel. He's developed rather refined tastes in his middle age, and I can't envision a scenario in which he'd sleep in a place like this.
After doing the usual post-ride chores I had dinner at the restaurant, then walked back to my room to do a little work with the computer. The room had a TV, but no antenna, cable, or satellite. Instead there was a DVD player and a varied selection of DVDs. Also, a selection of reading material including a frayed 1985 edition of National Geographic magazine. I miraculously had a good cell signal, though, so I was able to amuse myself without resorting to watching a Kenny Rogers movie.
Today's ride: 60 miles (97 km)
Total: 660 miles (1,062 km)
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