A pattern seems to be forming: whenever we have a roughing-it kind of night the next one is super great at a Warm Showers host. Last night we went to Bates State Park where their water was turned off and bathrooms locked for the season. Apparently being the first bikers of the season has some downsides. That evening and night was the coldest we’ve had so far, thankfully we were warm and cozy in our sleeping bags while the grass frosted over. We started the day off early too, leaving camp at a record time of 7 am. We might not do that again though because it was freezing! The night had gotten down to the 30s and it wasn’t that much warmer in the morning as Josh kindly washed the dishes for me with the soapy stream water. We climbed two passes this morning Tipton (5,124) and Sumpter (5,082) (for more info see the Jake Report below), and I have never been so thankful for a hill. There is little wind to cool you off as you pump through each rotation and your body creates more and more heat. We sped down the first pass at 30 plus mph with just about all of our layers on. I have decided that wind or cold are my two morale crushers.
We are now warm and cozy again with our hosts in Baker City, OR. It is so nice to be warm without having to work at it. Our hosts have given us the run of their kitchen. This is a very dangerous thing to do with two calorie devouring machines. I may or may not have eaten half the box of frosted flakes as an afternoon snack, and the scary part is I think I would have finished it off without knowing it if Josh didn’t keep making comments as to my love of cereal.
In other news we are moving onto map 3 of 12 tomorrow!
Jake Report Day 8 (yesterday):
Miles: 62.7, Time on bike: 5hrs 30min, Average: 11.4, Running Total Miles: 404, Weather: Partly cloudy, morning tailwind, afternoon mixed wind,
Jake Report Day 9 (today):
Miles: 50.9, Time on bike 4hrs 45 min, Average: 10.7, Running total miles: 455, Weather: morning very cold and sunny, afternoon sunny with headwinds 5-10 mph.
Over the last 2 days and all of the passes put together we have climbed almost 5,000 feet.
We are now warm and cozy again with our hosts in Baker City, OR. It is so nice to be warm without having to work at it. Our hosts have given us the run of their kitchen. This is a very dangerous thing to do with two calorie devouring machines. I may or may not have eaten half the box of frosted flakes as an afternoon snack, and the scary part is I think I would have finished it off without knowing it if Josh didn’t keep making comments as to my love of cereal.
In other news we are moving onto map 3 of 12 tomorrow!
Jake Report Day 8 (yesterday):
Miles: 62.7, Time on bike: 5hrs 30min, Average: 11.4, Running Total Miles: 404, Weather: Partly cloudy, morning tailwind, afternoon mixed wind,
Jake Report Day 9 (today):
Miles: 50.9, Time on bike 4hrs 45 min, Average: 10.7, Running total miles: 455, Weather: morning very cold and sunny, afternoon sunny with headwinds 5-10 mph.
Over the last 2 days and all of the passes put together we have climbed almost 5,000 feet.