Days 11/12: Finding Rhythm

June 21, 2025 to June 22, 2025

I am getting into the rhythm and spirit of this tour. I am actually looking forward to the road and where it leads. We are meeting new friends and experiencing special places. Like Shannon’s Place in Tonasket, WA , BoHo in Holdingford, MN or the Bicycle Bunkhouse in Dalbo , MN, the Spoke’n Hostel is a special place where cyclist find blessing. I would venture to say every visiting cyclists wants to linger just a little longer. Yet, Renee and Lance, Russ, Rhonda and I continued our journey and we found ourselves at the Community Church in Dayville, OR. The church has been hosting cyclists since 1976 when the first Trans America cyclists crossed the country. That was three nights ago.

The alarm went off at 4:30 AM. Renee and Lance are packing up. It’s hard not to hear as we are sharing floor space in the fellowship hall. Yet I fell back asleep and never heard them leave. They like to go fast and far, averaging 100 miles a day. I hope we see them on the road again in the future.

Russ is just the opposite. He takes each day as it’s comes, without rush or agenda. At least he woke up before Rhonda and I left. We said goodbyes but knew we would see him on the road as we headed back into town to the cafe for breakfast. I highly recommend the Dayville Cafe. Much of their food is homemade and very tasty. However, when you go there for breakfast, order the 1/2 plate, which is more food than most standard helpings elsewhere.

Now fueled we turned back up the road. I didn’t get far when I noticed my rear tire went soft. Like Paul’s thorn in his side, my tire has been giving me some issues. I thought I had the puncture from a few days ago sealed. We limped back to the church to find a better solution. I guess we missed Russ. I found the hole that the sealant wasn’t plugging. It’s not a big hole. Thorn size. I need to send an e-mail to Silca. I tried a plug to no avail. Finally I removed the wheel and inserted an inner tube…a fancy but cheap TPU tube. Finally we were back on the road. We caught up to Russ, said goodbye a third time. 13 miles later Russ caught up as I was replacing the tpu tube with a good ole butyl tube. For a 5th time that day we wished Russ well as we caught him and passed him. (As of today the tube is still holding).

30 miles into the day we road through John Day which wasn’t at all as my 30 year old memory was the last time I passed through. After a quick Subway lunch, we are back on the road slowly climbing up the John Day valley. So gorgeous. So green. To keep it green, clouds like to form and bring rain. As we climbed our hard hill of the day (7 miles, nearly 3000’ up) the clouds let loose. Some rain, some graupel, but cool, almost cold. The rain came, went and came again. Finally we reached the top. Now it was a cold cruise for 4 miles to Austin Junction and a lunch/dinner. The smoked tri tip sandwich was pretty good. But I was shaking and shivering like I never have. I needed to get to camp and into dry clothes.

Bates State Park was a mile away with a hiker/biker site. As we started to unload the camp host offered us the three sided picnic shelter used for bikers when the weather didn’t cooperate. The shelter protected us from the cool breeze and occasional rain.

We were soon joined by Robert and John, whom we briefly met at the junction. They asked if they could share the shelter. Well of course. Robert and John were college roommates from North Carolina back in the day. Robert now lives in Oregon and John in Nashville. They’ve been cycling westward since Easter. By 6:45 we were all in our sleeping bags/tents and soon out. It was a long day.

64 miles 3458’

Like Renee and Lance these boys like to get an early start. So by 6:00 we were saying goodbye. After an oatmeal breakfast we loaded up and started down, then up, then down, then up then down and across the road. The high country around these parts is beautiful. It brought back memories when we helped Dave Fotsch celebrate his 56th birthday in 2013 by cycling 112 miles in this country. Except today the rain decided to come and go and come back. The two big climbs were not as big as yesterday’s. However my legs are tired. Finally we lost elevation, the sun poked out, the temps warmed up some and the headwind increased just as we entered Baker City. Whether it was too early to check in to our motel or the fact our oatmeal breakfast was a long time ago, we found a late lunch. AJ’s Corner Brick Bar and Grill was open. Apparently the only restaurant in town that was open. It was packed, not just because it was the only open joint but more so because of the food. I recommend the pasta with blackened chicken in Cajun sauce. Oh so good. So good that after we checked in to our motel and settled in and took a nap, we returned for a dinner pizza. Another full day.

Tomorrow is another rest day. Not quite a week out, but then what would we do in Cambridge for two days?

51 miles 2776’