Paul Buth enjoying his lunch on top of the mountain
Happy to be on top of the mountain
Lou Havemen filling up his bike at the gas station in LaGrande??
road to Baker City and train coming down the valley
Several cyclists taking a break along the road
View from road from Pendelton
Paul and Teresa Hoeksta and Anne taking a break after fixing another flat tire and climbing the road from Pendelton
George VanderKur giving us his words of wisdom
View from the road from Pendelton and the switch backs.
Lou Havemen looking out over the hill we just climbed. Must be getting a new idea for Partners
Today is the first time it seems I can get on the internet after several days. It has been frustrating for cyclists as they are eager to check email and update their blogs. Today it is working well and has a strong signal.
Monday the group had 12 flats and 7 accidents. Again nothing major. Just minor run ins with fellow cyclists or falling at a stop.
Day 9 Pendelton to LaGrande. 57 miles.
Hank and I got up at 515 packed our tent, sleeping bags and termarest by 6 ate breakfast packed our lunch before 645 started out before 7 am. It is interesting how long it takes to get ourselves packed up and on the road. Everyone comments about how long it seems to take for them and they try to figure out how they can do things quicker. It seems we need about 1 ¾ hours to get up and out of camp each day. When we get into camp it takes same amount of time to get our gear bag, setup our tent, sleeping bag. Than we try to grab some food at the end of the ride finish our lunch and take a shower. Everything seems to take more time here on the road than at home.
The road out of Pendelton to LaGrande was very quiet, lots of switch backs as we were climbing the mountain, and beautiful views. We climbed to 4000 feet for over 10 miles. It was not as steep as Stevens Pass and not as hot. We really enjoyed the ride. Everyday we seem to see such beautiful views. We are blessed to see this from the view of the bike. So far I have not seen any wild life. Hank saw some quail.
Today the group had 18 flats and 3 accidents, nothing serious. A number of people have had more than one flat at a time
Day 10 La Grande to Baker City 49 miles.
Hank got out before 7 AM and I started at 7. I started biking with Joan. Bob and Lisa Brouwer pulled us part of the way and I finished the ride with Joan and Christina from Sarnia Ontario. Hank had one of his better days today and is enjoying the experience. He is geeting stronger. He is sleeping well.
According to the elevation on the map it looked like we would have a major climb again. It was not as steep as it appeared. We only climbed for 3 miles and it was a gradual climb with only a short part at 6%. We again went through beautiful country and I took some pictures but my camera failed as my battery ran low. I had not charged it for a while. This is really unfortunate as I did see some great views and visited several interesting times.
Along the way we stopped in several quaint villages. Including Haines, where we understand there is an underground city that Japanese and Chinese men lived in to build the railroad. The town it self looks to the Elk Mountain range which still had snow on them. The valley itself is irrigated and we rode along potato fields and large fields of beef cattle. The area appears to be very prosperous. The people in Haines were extremely friendly and they had a neat salon the served the best potato soup the cyclists had tasted. There was also a general store that had many interesting things in it. Our visit to Haines was delightful and I would recommend people stop along here if they ever have an opportunity. One lady who just drove up to me as I was pulling out of town, asked what was happening with all the cyclists in town. I explained to her what we were doing and why, gave her our card. She asked if she could donate right then and she gave me $10. God is amazing in how He is using us to communicate his message of hope. We are being blessed as cyclists
Day 9 Pendelton to LaGrande. 57 miles.
Hank and I got up at 515 packed our tent, sleeping bags and termarest by 6 ate breakfast packed our lunch before 645 started out before 7 am. It is interesting how long it takes to get ourselves packed up and on the road. Everyone comments about how long it seems to take for them and they try to figure out how they can do things quicker. It seems we need about 1 ¾ hours to get up and out of camp each day. When we get into camp it takes same amount of time to get our gear bag, setup our tent, sleeping bag. Than we try to grab some food at the end of the ride finish our lunch and take a shower. Everything seems to take more time here on the road than at home.
The road out of Pendelton to LaGrande was very quiet, lots of switch backs as we were climbing the mountain, and beautiful views. We climbed to 4000 feet for over 10 miles. It was not as steep as Stevens Pass and not as hot. We really enjoyed the ride. Everyday we seem to see such beautiful views. We are blessed to see this from the view of the bike. So far I have not seen any wild life. Hank saw some quail.
Today the group had 18 flats and 3 accidents, nothing serious. A number of people have had more than one flat at a time
Day 10 La Grande to Baker City 49 miles.
Hank got out before 7 AM and I started at 7. I started biking with Joan. Bob and Lisa Brouwer pulled us part of the way and I finished the ride with Joan and Christina from Sarnia Ontario. Hank had one of his better days today and is enjoying the experience. He is geeting stronger. He is sleeping well.
According to the elevation on the map it looked like we would have a major climb again. It was not as steep as it appeared. We only climbed for 3 miles and it was a gradual climb with only a short part at 6%. We again went through beautiful country and I took some pictures but my camera failed as my battery ran low. I had not charged it for a while. This is really unfortunate as I did see some great views and visited several interesting times.
Along the way we stopped in several quaint villages. Including Haines, where we understand there is an underground city that Japanese and Chinese men lived in to build the railroad. The town it self looks to the Elk Mountain range which still had snow on them. The valley itself is irrigated and we rode along potato fields and large fields of beef cattle. The area appears to be very prosperous. The people in Haines were extremely friendly and they had a neat salon the served the best potato soup the cyclists had tasted. There was also a general store that had many interesting things in it. Our visit to Haines was delightful and I would recommend people stop along here if they ever have an opportunity. One lady who just drove up to me as I was pulling out of town, asked what was happening with all the cyclists in town. I explained to her what we were doing and why, gave her our card. She asked if she could donate right then and she gave me $10. God is amazing in how He is using us to communicate his message of hope. We are being blessed as cyclists
Some interesting things are happening informally in our camp. A number of younger cyclists have taken it upon themselves to look out for several older riders who are finding the ride challening. They ensure these riders are assisted if they need help and encourage them each day. Some of the young people are being very intentional in having intergenerational interactions on the tour. There is a very good spirit on the tour and very little grumbling. Everyone is impressed with the organization, the attention to detail and the quality of food. The only negative thing being said is that people are eating too much and will find it hard to go home and cook for themselves again. We are very blessed each day.
Riders are having sore muscels and some are have sore butts including myself. We hope we get tougher as the weeks go on.
For those of you wanting to read other cyclists blogs go to www.seatosea.org Than click on events and than blogs. Several of them have some lots of interesting stories and have different perspective on things.
Baker City is also very interesting. Many of the buildings has cap stones that dated to 1888, 1889. We talked to one of the store owners who has Dutch background and told us about her father’s home that was made of granite and had three feet thick walls. We rode past it and rang the door bell to see if he was home as he does speak Friesen. Unfortunately, he was not home but when we rang the door bell we notice the vestibule was made of white marble. It was an amazing home.
We are enjoying our visit here as well as the town has lots of history and has many old buildings. This is another great place to visit if you are in the area.
Baker City is also very interesting. Many of the buildings has cap stones that dated to 1888, 1889. We talked to one of the store owners who has Dutch background and told us about her father’s home that was made of granite and had three feet thick walls. We rode past it and rang the door bell to see if he was home as he does speak Friesen. Unfortunately, he was not home but when we rang the door bell we notice the vestibule was made of white marble. It was an amazing home.
We are enjoying our visit here as well as the town has lots of history and has many old buildings. This is another great place to visit if you are in the area.
1 comment:
Sounds like you're seeing a lot of beautiful scenery. We've been busy with grandkids. The weather has been fairly good. Tomorrow it will be muggy. O well...
Glad to here you're all OK and enjoying the experience. May God continue to bless and keep you all safe.
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