Saturday, June 24, 2017 Day 6 Across America North

Leaving John Day, OR with Strawberry Mts. in background

Baby Choo Choo Train for Declan

    

Tesla Charging Station at Baker City, OR next to I-84

Wallawa Mountains from Baker City

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After yesterday’s 115 mile ride, I felt a little tired, but definitely not sore.  I consider this a small victory given the limited amount of climbing I had under my belt as a new Florida resident.  I left the town of John Day knowing that I had three good climbs and then a long, slow downhill into Baker City, OR.  This 80 mile jaunt would start off a little warmer (57 degrees) and end up a bit warmer (84 degrees).  The climbs were a little shorter than yesterday and the downhills were gentle, yet fast (42+).

The scenery in eastern Oregon is spectacular as seen above in a photo taken by my friend, Marty Stabler.  Most of the mountains are still snowcapped even now and the Douglas Fir trees have given way to Ponderosa Pines.  The scent of pine in the air was unbelievably aromatic and sweet.  Our ride had us cross the John Day River and Powder River many times as we made our way toward Baker City.

Bee Relocation Program:  One funny story that could have been a sad tale!  At the second rest stop today near mile 58, I was describing to one of the staff (Karen) that I'd cycled through some bees on the way up the mountain about 10-15 miles back.  As I'm telling this story, I hear a buzzing sound coming from the vicinity of the top of my right shoulder.  I did a double take when I realized there was a bee lodged between my Under Armour bottom layer and my top layer cycling jersey.  I asked Karen for a little help, and she released the bee without either of us getting stung!

Interesting Photos:  The baby Choo Choo Train above is for my grandson, Declan.  This train was at the entrance of a railroad museum that we passed by.  The Tesla Charging Station and the Wallawa Mountain photos were taken from the parking lot of our Best Western Hotel.

Stay healthy and have some fun this weekend.

Steve

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