Ride Date: 12 September 2015
Starting City: Sammamish, Washington
Ending City: Baker City, Oregon
Miles ridden driven: approx. 385 miles (no GPS track)
Wow, has it really been over 5 years since this ride? Have I been so lazy that I haven’t written up this ride report in that time? Yep. Totally.
Like most people, I planned to arrive arrive the day before the start of the ride to take a nice, relaxing drive down to the start city, Baker City, Oregon. I was really looking forward to this ride for several reasons-
Many of my mother’s ancestors came through this area in the 1800s. Could I perhaps find some family history information on this trip?
I have driven through the La Grande, Baker City, and Farewell Bend areas countless times going to Idaho and Utah but never really had the time to stop and explore. Time to remedy that.
I have ALWAYS wanted to see Hells Canyon on the Snake River.
The Joseph/Enterprise area in northeast Oregon is one of my favorite places that I went as a youth. I came here a couple of times and fell in love with the Eagle Cap Wilderness and Wallowa Mountains.
Cycle Oregon 2015 Route Overview Map
Little did I know this would a very memorable trip but for some rather unwelcome reasons.
I set out at about 11 am, taking a leisurely pace.
All packed up and ready to roll...
Pooh Bear is all packed up and ready to roll...
The drive to Baker City was uneventful. Actually kind of relaxing. And I got to catch up on some Podcasts.
Pooh Bear rolling down I-84 to Cycle Oregon.
When I arrived I forgot to mention that I was in the “No Snoring Section” (i.e. the CPAP area where they provide power to the tents) so there was a bit of a mix up, requiring me to switch tents. Oops.
That night dinner was an AMAZING chicken alfredo following by an equally amazing concert by a local country/blues band called The Wasteland Kings. As they played we were treated to an EPIC Oregon high-desert sunset. And the governor of Oregon read a proclamation officially naming that week “Cycle Oregon Week”.
Day 0: Watching Wasteland Kings in Baker City, Oregon.
Quite the start to an epic week!
Highlights:
That sunset!
Great music by The Wasteland Kings
Amazing dinner
Lowlights:
Which tent am I in again? Oh yeah, I need power for my CPAP.
The power connection kept going down during the night, which of course woke several of us up. The power cords all had friction-switch breakers which had to be reset every time. Made for a bit of a long night.
}B^)