71.56 mi / 4:37:42 time / 15.4 mph avg. / 27.5 mph max. / 1285 ft. climbing
Staying at Bully Creek Reservoir County Campground

It was nice to not have to worry about freezing to death overnight, and the morning was a full 20 degrees warmer than the previous morning. I headed out of the Montour Reclamation Area through the ominous Black Canyon, and once I was through the canyon, I was suddenly back in Iowa! Perfectly flat, with straight roads laid out on a 1-mile grid, cornfields, and even a herd of black-and-white Holstein dairy cows, which I don’t think I even saw in Iowa. It seemed odd that a whole lot of places I passed were watering their lawns; they must have some kind of “use it or lose it” policy for irrigation water, so everyone decides to use it.

Since it was flat and there was no wind, I was making really good time, especially since I did the 30+ miles to New Plymouth without even stopping for a break. Then I crossed the Snake River and entered Oregon, my final state to cross. I was immediately greeted by a cool and unexpected surprise: a bike lane! But then a minute later, that was balanced out by an uncool greeting: billboards advertising the horrors of meth addiction (I guess I’ll be locking up the bike more often!)

Ontario felt like the biggest city I’ve been in since at least Gillette, WY, and maybe even Rapid City, SD. Certainly the first traffic lights I’ve seen in over a week. But apparently not big enough for the library to open before 2pm on a Wednesday, so I sat outside with another guy and used their WiFi from there. Due to the time I was making, I was toying with the idea of putting in another 100+ mile day, but instead I decided to use the extra time to do some much-needed laundry. My clothes didn’t really stink too bad (except for my shoes, which might be forever damaged by those first days of wetness), but they were all crusty and caked with salt. Conveniently, I could also reach an open WiFi hotspot from the laundromat (I don’t think it was theirs), so I was able to be pretty productive.

Then I did a late lunch at McDonald’s, and cruised the next 15 miles along US 20/26 to Vale. Among the items I got at the grocery store there was a loaf of Goldminer California Sourdough Roasted Garlic Bread. I figured I’m only one state away from California now, so it’s appropriate. Then in camp I read the label that says “Maple Leaf Bakery, Inc., Des Plaines, IL”. I guess I’m not doing a very good job of eating locally! (and I did finish the whole 780 calorie loaf tonight, along with a can of Chili-Mac, a can of Noodle Soup, a Nutty Bar, a Pepsi, and a Toblerone).

But the most exciting event of the day was….a shower! The first one I’ve had since Cody, WY, 10 days ago. It took three rounds of shampoo on my hair before I could even get a lather to form. So combine that with the laundry, and I’m a clean machine, ready for the final push to the end!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, September 12th, 2007 at 8:58 pm and is filed under bike. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.