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DAY 7

Oh, yes, ♫ I'm the great descender ♪ . . .

RIDE OVERVIEW: There were lots of smiles on faces this morning as riders queued to load luggage. Today was to be mostly unearned downhill along the Interstate and then the Snake River. In fact today was the first day riders would ride parts of the Interstate. Mike had talked to them last night at Route Rap about the protocol for Interstate riding--Ride as far right on the shoulder as possible, get behind the guardrail when you have a mechanical or need to stop, avoid running over tire bits that contain little tube puncturing wires, avoid pacelines, ride in small groups so that one person can always turn to face the traffic coming from behind, and, most importantly, cross on-ramps and off-ramps using the shortest distance between two points and beware of fast moving exiting and entering traffic.

Once again, the scenery today was spectacular. Many high brown grassy hills folded one behind the other, long swooping roadways cut through the hills and stone; cattle ranches, cattle and cowboys; vegetable farmers growing onions, sugar beets corn, potatoes, wheat, and mint. Derelict wooden buildings, a cement plant, even one place where two RR tunnels cut through the hillside. Picture perfect romantic west--the unsuspecting would never guess that this was Oregon, our next to last day in the state.

I have an infected nailbed on my right great toe and it was a killer in my tight cycling shoes. Nonetheless, I rode Sweep today for about 48 miles, and then threw in the towel and climbed aboard Silver. Hi ho Silver, and away! Silver carried me to the second SAG stop which I (wo)manned after that. This gave Karen a chance to get in a few miles. She was eagerly awaiting me at the SAG stop, a put-in place on the Snake River. There were several people camped there in their RVs and the entire area reeked of dead or dying fish! The route from here on in was along the Snake and through vast vegetable fields. It clouded over and rained a few drops on some of the later riders, but nothing serious. I was glad the rain was minimal as thunderstorms had been forecast for Ontario in the afternoon.

At Route Rap this evening we said good-bye to four riders: Dennis & Dr. Steve, and Kent & Pete. Each was given a farewell packet and each said their individual farewells to the group. We will miss them. Dr. Steve quipped that without Dennis' permission he had signed Dennis up for a bike tour from Fairbanks to Miami. Dennis responded that there was a Fairbanks about 3 miles from Miami, so that must be the tour start.

Ontario--located in an area of Oregon known as Western Treasure Valley--is an Indian word said to mean "beautiful lake" or "beautiful prospect of rocks, hills, and water." In this city on the Snake River and the border with Idaho, you can still walk in the wagon wheel ruts where the Oregon trail crosses the Snake River. Four rivers converge in the Western Treasure Valley: The Snake, the Malheur, the Owyhee, and the Payette. The origin of their names is interesting. Malheur means evil hour (bad fortune) and was named by the Hudson's Bay Company's Peter Skene Ogden who lost a cache of furs there in 1825. The Owyhee 's name evolved out of a scouting expedition led by Donald McKenzie in 1818. Two Hawaiian Islanders accompanying the party disappeared in the Owyhee River area and by the 1830's the river had become known as the "Owyhee," a derivation of the word "Hawaii." The Payette River was named after the French trapper Jose Payette, and the Snake's name is suggestive of its snake-like windings and was also given to a tribe on its banks.

Well enuff history. Suffice it to say that today was another beautiful day to be on our bikes and out in the grand American countryside.

HEARD ON THE ROAD TODAY: 

DUH! OF THE DAY:  Goes to moi again, daahlinks. Was so anxious to get myself and Paul F to the walk-in clinic by 4:30 (the latest they would accept patients on Sunday), that I jumped into the van with the phonebook map and directions and forgot my wallet and medical information. DUH! The Clinic wouldn't let me run back to get it as it was 4:25 and I wouldn't be able to get back by 4:30. Tammy, one of the women who works at the Holiday Motel, ran it to me. Thank you Tammy!