I've Been Through The Desert on a Bike With No Name

July 27, 2018

The air was full of sound.

The Surlys are anxious to get out of Richland

We left Richland and our personal herd of sugar ants at 5:30 to try to get ahead of the heat forecast. We have a lot more desert to ride through so no dawdling this morning.

The morning was cool but I could feel the heat trying to break through and sear my remaining brain cells.

The morning started out serene and colorful

I was fascinated by the lone tree on top of this otherwise treeless hill

I believe this is the spine and skull of either a humanzee or Bigfoot.

We had 41 pretty tough miles to ride so were careful with pacing ourselves and eating and drinking frequently. As we climbed, so did the temperature. It was manageable, but there was no shade to provide relief from the sun. Although we've ridden through stretches of desert, the last 2-3 days are have been the most desert-intensive of all. Desertsy?

At different times I noticed that it was silent except the sound of my pedaling, but I could hear some sort of faint, but distance harmonic noises. I can't describe them except that it was a subtle continuous humming. Maybe it was wind filtering through the sage brush, or maybe it's some new agey thing like energy from the rocks, as someone told me once. But it was clearly there. I experienced it in Arizona last year when we were walking in the desert. So either. There is something to it or the road has taken my sanity. The line below sums it up well:

The heat was hot and the ground was dry
But the air was full of sound-
A Horse With No Name, by America

With that, enjoy this video:

I did a selfie in case I overheated and couldn't remember my name. Fortunately, in the desert you can remember your name cause there ain't no one for to give you no pain.

We passed the Oregon Trail National Park but it was located way up a steep incline so, as much as I wanted to see it we passed. The heat was hot. But we did get to see some of Oregon Trail ruts that are located near the road. It was cool. I've seen some of the ruts near Mount Hood and Pioneer Woman's Grave but these are more well defined.

We didn't stay long at the ruts because its hot and we wanted to get to the air conditioned hotel in Baker City. Jen scoped out a nice bike path option to get us to the hotel. The Leo Adler Memorial parkway runs about 3 miles along the Powder River right through town and it's beautiful. We got to the Bridge Street Inn at around 11:30 but the room wasn't ready so we went for second breakfast next door at the Oregon Trail restaurant, which also has a hotel. Clint Eastwood, Lee Marvin slept here, probably not together, during the filming of Paint Your Wagon in 1968. I would have liked to stay where Clint stayed, but reviews indicate that the Bridge Street was better. We had a good breakfast served by a very efficient server and then checked in. The room was great. We met a TransAm cyclist from England outside.

Clint Eastwood slept here. But not the Grumbys.

This labyrinth is a replica of a 12th century labyrinth in France

Later in the afternoon we walked through downtown Baker and to Safeway for dinner foods. Tomorrow is another shortish day to Sumpter.

Today's ride: 42 miles (68 km)
Total: 1,830 miles (2,945 km)

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Bruce LellmanVery creative post. I loved it. And a video to boot!
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6 years ago

Ron SuchanekTo Bruce LellmanTHANKS!
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6 years ago