Date: 2007-06-05
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Miles today: 0.0

6-1-07Baker City, Or.43 miles today3660 miles totalToday was almost like taking a zero. We planned a short day because of the services...there aren't any for a while after Baker City and we didn't want to ride into the afternoon with the hot temperatures.We started the day at the local cafe in Richland, Or at 6am. We both ordered omelettes because they seem to hold us better for the ride.We headed west and started seeing quite a few mule deer. There were even two that were fairly close by and they didn't run, they hopped off.That seems to be a popular way for them to get away because I've seen it a number of times now.We had the 40+ miles this morning with no services.This is the Oregon Trail we're following now. We could even see the ruts from the wagons off to our right.We were also climbing most of the morning. The biggest climb was up Flagstaff Hill which was about 1000 feet.I think I figured out the grinding sound from my bike is not the crank, but the cog freewheel.We ran into Adam and Maria who are heading east on the Trans Am Trail. They were riding a tandem and pulling a trailer. We talked for about 15 minutes. We found out that McKenzie Pass is now open. We get to go over that pass and not the long way around Santium Pass...the alternate route.We rolled into Baker City, stopped for lunch, the got a room and went to the library. I checked my journal and see my ol' buddy Chief has posted some of the pictures from the middle part of this bike ride. I have to remind everyone that Chief gets to write the captions, so don't blame me!! :-)) I'll find time somewhere to add captions to the pics Chief didn't know anything about and I'll put pictures on the journal entries that more or less go with that day and place.I stopped by the local bike shop and Paul confirmed that I needed a little work on the cog freewheel.I called Co-Motion and asked if they had an in-house warranty program. They do and are expecting me about Wednesday.I answered email this afternoon while Mrs Gorp went and had pictures downloaded, mailed stuff home and did laundry. I'm so clean. :-))I wanted Chinese food tonight, so we walked to a local place and ordered some very good Chinese food. I had a dish with shrimp and was expecting some tiny salad shrimp, but it was loaded with tasty, large shrimps. :-))We walked to another restaurant and ordered dessert.Another great day on the Trans Am Bicycle Trail6-2-07John Day, Or80 miles today3741 miles totalMrs Gorp and I were not looking forward to today's ride because we had 3 passes to climb and it was supposed to be our hottest day yet on this trail.We had some of the continental breakfast at the motel, then because it was over 50 miles and 2 passes before our first services, we decided to go to the local cafe and have omelettes for breakfast.I was stuffed when we checked out of the room and started riding.We rode along the Powder River and were steadily climbing for the first 20 miles, then climbed a fairly steep hill up to Sumter Pass.We got back into the trees once we got above about 4000 feet in elevation. That helped me a lot because I just don't care for the treeless, arid, high desert.It was a nice ride and was still cool enough that it was enjoyable.I looked to my right and saw a mule deer standing in the forest watching me ride by. It never moved...I just kept on rolling.There was also lots of dredging that had been done near Sumter in search of gold.Sumter Pass was 5082 feet high. We saw a couple on a tandem bike rolling down the hill pretty fast. They had enough time to yell out a quick hello, then they were gone.We rolled down the other side and then started our second climb of the day. That pass was Tipton Pass and it was 5124 feet high.It was getting warm out, but with the help of a few clouds, it still felt pretty good out.We rolled down that hill. I saw 2 bike riders struggling up the hill, but I was going too fast to notice much about them. I just yelled out a hello to them, but was keeping my eye on the road. :-))We got to the first services of the day. There was a cafe and I took a look at the menu, but with the heat of the day, I just didn't feel like eating much.I ended up buying a coke and having part of a bagel from this morning's breakfast. That was plenty.We signed the bike register there and headed on to our 3rd climb of the day. That one was Dixie Pass at 5277 feet high.It turned out to be the easiest one of the day and before I knew it, I was at the top.Mrs Gorp had gone into the woods for some reason ;-)) and when she came out, I was just summiting. There were mosquitos following her and I was going slow enough that a couple even landed on me.I swatted them as I was picking up speed on the downhill side. :-))That was a nice downhill and it lasted for about 10 miles into Prairie City. I got there about 5 minutes ahead of Mrs Gorp and stopped for a soda.We were sitting outside on a bench when a local came by and started talking.When Mrs Gorp told him that we had rode from Yorktown, Va, the guy said he could tell that she had rode a long way and climbed a few mountains because her legs were so...ummm, muscular. :-))I'm glad my legs are just normal looking legs. Ha!! :-))I don't think she appreciated that comment too much, but I kinda enjoyed it. ;-))We headed on towards John Day, Or, tonight's destination.Mrs Gorp got ahead of me when I stopped to take a picture of a young buck mule deer that was standing in the shade of a bush to stay out of the heat.I got my pictures, then headed on. In about half a mile, the rear of my bike started swaying. I looked down to see my rear tire was almost completely flat. :-((I was only 4 miles from John Day and it was hot. I decided to pump up the tire and see how far I could make it.That got me about 1 1/2 miles before I had to stop and pump it up again.The next time I made it to town and found Mrs Gorp sitting in some shade waiting on me.We got a room at the Best Western and I got some housekeeping rags and turned on the AC in the room to fix the flat in the nice cool air.That's the second time I was able to fix a flat at a motel and the third flat I've had on this trip.This flat was an actual puncture flat. The other two flats were caused by a faulty tire.We went to a nice restaurant after the bike was back together and I even had a glass of wine with dinner.Even though it was an 80 mile day with 3 passes to climb in the heat, it turned out to be a very enjoyable day.I keep forgetting to mention the volcanic rocks we saw 3 days ago. They remended me of Devil's Postpile on the John Muir Trail. In fact, a lot of today's ride reminded me of some of the JMT.Another great day on the Trans Am Bicycle Trail. :-))6-3-07Mitchell, Or70 miles today3812 miles totalWe ate the continental breakfast at the Best Western and made a bagel for later.We were riding west by 7am. Today was supposed to be the hottest day yet, and it was. There were some records set in this area of Oregon.We had a nice ride for about 30 miles to Dayville, Or. It was slightly downhill and followed the John Day River.We stopped at the local cafe and had another breakfast because we knew there were no more srevices for 40 miles and it would be hot.We got to John Day Fossil Beds National Monument and started heading up river. It also started getting hot.The road was nice and we pedaled and pedaled...about 30 miles of uphill to Keyes Creek Pass at 4357 feet high.We were in a very arid part of Oregon and there wasn't any shade...or almost no shade. We found two places in that 30 mile stretch with a little shade, so we stopped at both of them for a break.There were some trees finally when we got to the pass, but there were only trees for a short distance, then back to barren land.It was a fast 7 mile downhill to Mitchell. I was hoping for another nice motel to escape the heat, but the only motel didn't have any AC, so we opted for the hotel...which also didn't have AC, but was closer to the cafe. :-))The hotel only had a tub, no shower. I took a bath, then had to let all the water out and refill the tub just to get clean water to rinse off with. I don't like tubs. :-))We had dinner and found out the restaurant is closed on Mondays, so we went to the little general store and bought donuts for tomorrow. They'll have to last us for 50 miles of riding tomorrow morning before we hit the first services of the day.We passed two east bound riders earlier today and talked to them a while. One guy was getting off in Montana, but the other guy was doing the Trans Am.I asked where he came from because of his accent. He said I'd never guess. I said "South Africa". He said I guessed right. :-))We also ran into three guys that were riding to Colorado when we hit Mitchell.I saw one turkey and two antelope today and forgot to write about the two osprey I saw yesterday.Thank goodness it's supposed to cool off some tomorrow. Mrs Gorp's bike thermometer read 108 today.There was also a penned up 350 lb bear across the street here in Mitchell. They look much better in the woods.Another great day (but hot day) on the Trans Am Bicycle Trail. :-))6-4-07Sisters, Or92 miles today3904 miles totalWe woke up early and packed up, then left just as it was getting light out at 5am.I felt great leaving Mitchell...just something about that little town that I didn't care for, but I'm not sure what it was.Anyway, it felt really good to feel like I was escaping early. :-))We had Ochoco Pass to climb over today and it would be almost 50 miles with no services.This was the earliest we've left yet and it was nice riding and watching morning develop...and no cars on the road yet. :-))Ochoco Pass was a 16 mile climb from Mitchell and it was 4720 feet high.The nicest part of the climb was that we got back into some beautiful trees once we got above 3500 feet.When I stop pedaling my bike, the chain just droops. The cog freewheel is really starting to stick. It wasn't too bad when I was going slow and climbing, but when we got to the summit of Ochoco and I started going downhill, it was dangerous with so much slack in the chain.I held the brakes to keep my speed slower and tried pedaling to keep the slack up, then the cog came loose.I don't think the guy in the bike shop in Baker City tightened it enough when he took a look at the cog freewheel.I turned my bike upside down along the side of the road and Mrs Gorp held it so it wouldn't fall.I took the rear wheel off and the cog came right off in my hand. You really learn bike mechanics when you have no other choice. :-))I kept fiddling with all the pieces until I got it put back together, then finger tighened the bolt. It takes a special tool to tighten those bolts and I didn't have one.I put everything back together and even though I still had a drooping chain, the cog was working again. :-))We got down the hill and rode into Prineville...a nice city of about 10,000 people. I wasn't feeling real happy about the problems I was having with the bike, but then I saw a Startbuck's!!We pulled in there and I had a large cup of Starbuck's and an apple fritter and life was good again. :-))We were there about an hour. It really did make a difference...I felt good and we rode on.We had another 23 miles to Redmond where there was a bike shop at.I was riding in front of Mrs Gorp and I guess I had my eyes on my chain at the time that she started yelling "did you see that!! did you see that!!"I stopped because of the excitement in her voice and I got to see a badger...at least I guess it was a badger...I've never seen one before.Mrs Gorp said it ran right in front of me and had a groundhog in it's mouth. We watched it running through the field, stopping every so sften to look back at us to make sure we weren't following it.We really have seen more animals and a greater variety on this trip than I've ever seen in the woods.We got to Redmond and stopped at Mountain Cycle. Carl is the owner and he really was helpful...not in fixing my problems, but in pointing out what the problems were and what caused them.I need a new cog freewheel and I do need a new crank afterall. He said this one was shot.He offered help to get a rental car and offered to let us leave our stuff at his shop, but I was feeling good and I had promised Mrs Gorp earlier today that I would get her to the quilt shop in Sisters, Or before it closed.She had stopped at that quilt shop back in 1998 when she was hiking on the PCT and had always wanted to go back.It was another 20 miles to Sisters and the wind was blowing about 20mph in our faces. Mrs Gorp had gotten ahead and when I got to Sisters, I kept riding until I found her standing in front of the quilt store.See, I told her I would get her there. :-))We went and got a room, then after getting cleaned up, we went back to the quilt store.Mrs Gorp was excited...she had all those fabrics to look at (she's going to make a quilt about the Trans Am Trail) and Jean Wells was there. I guess she's a famous quilter and owner of the Stitching Post.I looked around and after my excitement wore off, I went outside and sat down on a bench.Mrs Gorp came out later with a bag full of materials for a quilt. We went to a restaurant and I ate a whole medium pizza...all by myself. Guess I was hungry. :-))We have less than 200 miles left and if my bike was good to go, we would be at the Pacific in 2 days, but it looks like it will be at least 3 days before we get there.I'm about 100 miles from the Co-Motion warehouse in Eugene. We'll get close tomorrow, then hopefully get things fixed the next morning.Another great day on the Trans Am Bicycle Trail. :-))