June 25, 2025
Day 15 The Best Surprise of the Day
Halfway to Mundo hot springs
| Heart | 3 | Comment | 1 | Link |
We were so hot and tired last night, we ate early and went to the motel. Around 6:30 pm, we got in bed to read, really to fall asleep quick. I woke this morning to a FB message from Joan Langkow saying, “we are in Halfway, OR also.” We met Joan and Kris when we hiked through the Alps in Switzerland in 2016. We had not seen them since. It was about 6:00 am but I replied. “We are going to the breakfast truck at 7:00 am.” We didn’t hear back, so we prepared to leave with bikes loaded. As we opened our room door, at the very same time, Kris and Joan walked out of their motel room directly across from us! We made lots of wild, excited sounds as we hugged and greeted each other. Kind of forgot about all the other guests still asleep. 😂 We had the best time catching up over breakfast, but definitely not long enough. My heart was so full as we said good bye and started our day off the right way.
The first 20 miles are fairly calm, with the exception of climbing up to the Oxbow Dam. We rolled consistently along the reservoir until the Brownlee Dam, then began our ascent to the top of Hells Canyon. Jon said, it brought back lots of work memories and most of them good. It was a slow slog but didn’t get to be any easier than a slog. The difference today was the weather wasn’t as hot and there was some tree shade every once in a while. We also had opportunities to get water and food which was so necessary. We stopped at a place Jon remembered from his work days, The Gateway Store. The new owners were so kind and ready to serve. First thing he did for us, was bring us two big glasses of water. We ordered burgers, which were delicious and came with the best baked beans I have had. Secret sauce included jalapeños.
After 1:25 hrs of climbing, we reached the summit. We were so glad to be done! The last 18 miles were a gradual descent into Cambridge for a night at Mundo Hot Springs. When we got here another cross country cyclist from the Netherlands joined us for camping, dinner and a soak in the hot springs. Roel is an impressive, nice and friendly young man. He wanted to do a solo adventure and that is what he got. He is headed to the OR coast and still wants to keep going, so he might head down the coast to San Francisco.
Today's ride: 60 miles (97 km)
Total: 687 miles (1,106 km)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 3 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 1 |
1 month ago