Day 8
June 8, 2005
Today we enjoyed the benefits of leisurely making our way out of Baker City. We woke up late, hung out while the bikes got tuned up, and made a late jaunt over to our next stop: Richland.
When we checked in last night we arranged to have an extended check out time, 1pm. We knew we would be taking full advantage of the warm bed after the long day we had yesterday. We woke up around 10:30 and headed to the connected restaurant for a nice little breakfast. As we were preparing to pay, we noticed a guy on a recumbent bike, a bike in which you are seated pedaling with the legs elevated. He looked to be loaded and headed out for a distance as well so we went out to chat after paying. His name is Kirk, in his forties, and he is headed east as well. He had to lay over in Baker a little longer than he was hoping while he waited for a part to add to his bike. We chatted for a while, wished each other well and headed back to the room to get packed up.
Chaz got to the bike shop around 1 with his bike, Chris and I followed a little later. When he told the guy what he needed done, basically a tune up, the guy said they closed at 6 and would try to have it done by then – not exactly the most promising news. So when Chris took his bike in for his tune up we all kinda held our breath that the guy wouldn’t flip out and tell us to come pick them up tomorrow. I’ve heard the local bike shops don’t like when the cross-country trekkers come in with their repairs and hope to be in and out – this guy definitely fell into that category. And we weren’t even being pushy about a time frame, he just gave us a little attitude for free I guess.
We ended up camping out in front of the bike shop for four hours, taking little strolls intermittently, calling friends/family… I proud to say, in that time frame, I performed a mini-tune up of my own on my bike. I was thinking about taking my front wheel in to have trued, but when we encountered the less than welcoming greeting and realized we were going to be there a while, I decided to figure it out and do it myself and save a few bucks in the process. I ended up tightening my rear brakes, before they were only putting a little drag on the wheel when fully applied, now they grab nice and tight. I adjusted both sets of brake pads, got those nice and even. And I trued my front wheel, all by myself. I was most proud of that accomplishment. For those who may be lost, when a wheel is out of true, the rim and thus the wheel wobbles back and forth, basically… Now it’s nice and even the whole way ‘round, and my brakes are only a few millimeters from the rim, the way I like it. It was a great feeling to perform my own tune up on my bike. Thanks to Jeff and his crash courses in bicycle maintenance for getting me through several incidents already, the tune up definitely included.
We finally got on the road around 5:30 and headed for Richland. I know what I said before, but this was definitely the most beautiful ride of the trip. I don’t even know how to describe it. I kept taking pictures hoping at least one of them would somehow begin to capture what it was like to be out there. Miles of untouched rolling land, manicured farms scattered here and there, snow capped mountains off in the distance, high wispy clouds against the clear blue sky... And the air was the cleanest I’ve ever breathed. At first I thought I caught a whiff of chlorine, then I realized it wasn’t any chemical at all, it was just pure, clean air, seriously – it was amazing. I realized that was what I wanted to wake up to every morning. Then a long down took me into a bit of a canyon where the road followed a river for a while and it kept getting better. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I love riding alongside water. Whether it’s a still lake, a babbling brook, or a rushing river: it is almost impossible to have a bad ride whenever you’re riding next to water. I could truly write out ten pages on the ride to Richland alone, but I’ll hold off for now. Maybe one day I’ll kindly ask you to pay $14.95 to buy the book and read the chapter with the extended thoughts and metaphors of that ride…
I pulled into a quiet, sleeping Richland around 9:15 and was thankful to find the guys at a little restaurant. The restaurant was closed when the guys got into town but the lady in the attached bar had them open it back up so they could get a bite to eat. Not knowing how far behind I was, they had them prepare some chicken tenders to go for me. I got there just as the food was being served and was able to enjoy the meal with them.
After dinner we went hunting for a place to crash. We ended up staying at the town’s public park. They had a little pavilion with a little semi-enclosed, carpeted stage up front. We slept on the stage and woke up with the sun the next morning.
Today: 46.14 Total: 480.82
Today we enjoyed the benefits of leisurely making our way out of Baker City. We woke up late, hung out while the bikes got tuned up, and made a late jaunt over to our next stop: Richland.
When we checked in last night we arranged to have an extended check out time, 1pm. We knew we would be taking full advantage of the warm bed after the long day we had yesterday. We woke up around 10:30 and headed to the connected restaurant for a nice little breakfast. As we were preparing to pay, we noticed a guy on a recumbent bike, a bike in which you are seated pedaling with the legs elevated. He looked to be loaded and headed out for a distance as well so we went out to chat after paying. His name is Kirk, in his forties, and he is headed east as well. He had to lay over in Baker a little longer than he was hoping while he waited for a part to add to his bike. We chatted for a while, wished each other well and headed back to the room to get packed up.
Chaz got to the bike shop around 1 with his bike, Chris and I followed a little later. When he told the guy what he needed done, basically a tune up, the guy said they closed at 6 and would try to have it done by then – not exactly the most promising news. So when Chris took his bike in for his tune up we all kinda held our breath that the guy wouldn’t flip out and tell us to come pick them up tomorrow. I’ve heard the local bike shops don’t like when the cross-country trekkers come in with their repairs and hope to be in and out – this guy definitely fell into that category. And we weren’t even being pushy about a time frame, he just gave us a little attitude for free I guess.
We ended up camping out in front of the bike shop for four hours, taking little strolls intermittently, calling friends/family… I proud to say, in that time frame, I performed a mini-tune up of my own on my bike. I was thinking about taking my front wheel in to have trued, but when we encountered the less than welcoming greeting and realized we were going to be there a while, I decided to figure it out and do it myself and save a few bucks in the process. I ended up tightening my rear brakes, before they were only putting a little drag on the wheel when fully applied, now they grab nice and tight. I adjusted both sets of brake pads, got those nice and even. And I trued my front wheel, all by myself. I was most proud of that accomplishment. For those who may be lost, when a wheel is out of true, the rim and thus the wheel wobbles back and forth, basically… Now it’s nice and even the whole way ‘round, and my brakes are only a few millimeters from the rim, the way I like it. It was a great feeling to perform my own tune up on my bike. Thanks to Jeff and his crash courses in bicycle maintenance for getting me through several incidents already, the tune up definitely included.
We finally got on the road around 5:30 and headed for Richland. I know what I said before, but this was definitely the most beautiful ride of the trip. I don’t even know how to describe it. I kept taking pictures hoping at least one of them would somehow begin to capture what it was like to be out there. Miles of untouched rolling land, manicured farms scattered here and there, snow capped mountains off in the distance, high wispy clouds against the clear blue sky... And the air was the cleanest I’ve ever breathed. At first I thought I caught a whiff of chlorine, then I realized it wasn’t any chemical at all, it was just pure, clean air, seriously – it was amazing. I realized that was what I wanted to wake up to every morning. Then a long down took me into a bit of a canyon where the road followed a river for a while and it kept getting better. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I love riding alongside water. Whether it’s a still lake, a babbling brook, or a rushing river: it is almost impossible to have a bad ride whenever you’re riding next to water. I could truly write out ten pages on the ride to Richland alone, but I’ll hold off for now. Maybe one day I’ll kindly ask you to pay $14.95 to buy the book and read the chapter with the extended thoughts and metaphors of that ride…
I pulled into a quiet, sleeping Richland around 9:15 and was thankful to find the guys at a little restaurant. The restaurant was closed when the guys got into town but the lady in the attached bar had them open it back up so they could get a bite to eat. Not knowing how far behind I was, they had them prepare some chicken tenders to go for me. I got there just as the food was being served and was able to enjoy the meal with them.
After dinner we went hunting for a place to crash. We ended up staying at the town’s public park. They had a little pavilion with a little semi-enclosed, carpeted stage up front. We slept on the stage and woke up with the sun the next morning.
Today: 46.14 Total: 480.82
posted by SuperByron3000 at 6/11/2005
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