Today was our our longest ride (122 miles), but it was generally downhill. The elevation started at 5,100 feet and finished at about 2,300 feet. The day started with a 1,000 foot descent over about 5 miles and a few miles later we were climbing right back up to 5,100 feet. After that it was a long and steady descent with an occasional small climb. We traveled on Hwy 26 and 17 to Baker City. The shoulder of these roads were great. We stopped in Baker City so Matt could check a local bike shop for a part. While we were there, we noticed that storms were developing along the mountain ridges. We still had about 80 miles to go for the day. We head
ed south into a strong head wind, which made the going a bit tough, even though it was downhill. We rode Old Hwy 30 most of the way. This road ran parallel to Interstate 84/30. We would be forced to ride the interstate for about 12 miles. After about 25 miles, the wind changed directions and the ride became a lot easier. It didn't take long to notice that the reason for the change in the direction of the wind was that the storms were getting closer, ever so slowly. With about 40 miles to go, road work bit us again today. About 6 miles of the route dropped to one lane. It would not have been bad, except this was the section of the ride that we rode on interstate. Larry transported us one at a time through this section and were were back on the road. The terrain was now very arid and the temperatures soared into the low 90s.
From the time Larry dropped us off, it was a race against the approaching storm. The wind was 20 - 25 mph with gusts higher than that. For the most part, it was a tail wind. Every now and then you could feel a few rain drops, but we managed to make it to the hotel dry. We actually had time to shower, eat and clean our bikes before the rain came.
