Day 7: Baker City to Ontario

Fortunately there is a great part to each ride and today was no exception. Temps starting to heat up a bit but I am using the neck cooler thing that Friendship Quilters made for soldiers in Iraq and I periodically pour water through the holes in my helmet so I am managing reasonably well. Our ride started on "old" route 30 in Baker City; "new" route 30 runs contiguously with interstate 84. This is another location where route 30 was an evolution of the Oregon Trail.It was essentially a downhill ride at a wonderfully moderate grade that permitted very fast cycling with no need to brake or worry. Old route 30, the interstate and the railroad track were running all in parallel. Eventually there was no more of the old road and we had to ride on the interstate itself-- this was not bad at all because the shoulder was wide and we were still whizzing along at a good pace.

We left 84 at Huntington and headed south on 201 to Ontario. This is where we began to follow the Snake River, interesting initially just because one has always read of pioneers following the Snake but soon the valley widened out considerably and we lost sight of the river entirely. The last 25 miles was, dare I say it, pretty uninteresting. Through an agricultural area irrigated by the Snake and tributaries-- flat, hot and tedious. The final three miles to the hotel was even worse-- lots of traffic, lights, bad pavement, turns, and urban sprawl at its worst. Oh well, I tell myself-- must take the rough with the smooth, the bitter with the sweet, the thorn with the rose.

Went into a new time zone yesterday. Now we are only two hours behind New England. Today we ride only 60 miles into Boise. Tomorrow is a much needed rest day. Both John and I will try two pairs of shorts today and I will wear two pairs of gloves. John has bruises on his "sit" bones, I won't give the details about my "private" parts and my hands are very unhappy.