June 30, 2006
Day 11: To Dayville Presbyterian Church
The morning was sunny! I ate breakfast at the cafe and got on the road at 8:10 AM, early for me. The day starts with a moderately steep 1600 foot climb to Keyes Creek summit, elevation 4372 feet. A headwind kept me cool during the climb. After the summit it looked like a desert. No trees for several miles. Eventually I descended into a sheltered canyon along Mountain Creek, with a few trees. The road closely follows the creek down to the John Day river.
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When I got to the John Day river I turned north on highway 19 to see the sights at the Sheep Rock unit of John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. I stopped at the visitor center, the James Cant ranch house, and pedaled up the road to Blue Basin. Then I turned around and backtracked 5 miles to highway 26. The scenery was spectacular. I'm glad I waited for the rain to go away.
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Back on highway 26 I pedaled through Picture Gorge. It was spectacular even though the deep shadows made it difficult to take a good photograph.
Once out of Picture Gorge I had a swim in the warm John Day river.
I turned onto a side road and climbed a mile up a steep grade to an overlook of the east mouth of Picture Gorge.
Then a few more miles to the town of Dayville (2348 feet elevation). I got groceries at Dayville Mercantile (formerly owned by an avid bike tourist). That's where I learned that the best place for bike tourists to stay is at Dayville Presbyterian church. It looked like a thunderstorm was brewing, so that will be a good place to stay dry.
The church has a full kitchen, so I'm free to cook something different than my usual 1-pot stew. So I walked back to Dayville Mercantile and bought a frozen pizza. The thunderstorm started as I walked back to the church. The church doesn't have A/C, so I slept under a window in the fellowship hall rather than sleeping on the carpet in the hot windowless sanctuary. I had the whole church to myself. Unfortunately I couldn't get the church's Internet connection to work, so I couldn't check my email. I never did read email during this trip.
Today was a great day. Good weather and fantastic scenery. I'm glad I didn't ride here in the rain yesterday.
Distance: 51.7 mi. (82.7 km)
Climbing: 2310 ft. (700 m)
Average Speed: 9.0 mph (1.4. km/h)
Maximum Speed: 29.7 mph (47.5 km/h)
Hiking: 2 mi. (3.2 km)
Today's ride: 52 miles (84 km)
Total: 446 miles (718 km)
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