Tuesday, June 3, 2003

Bend to Hines/Burns, Oregon

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Today was a great riding day. For the first half hour, we rode with Cheryl, Bruce's wife, who set a great pace for the day. Unfortunately, Joe and his critters then joined in. Of note, this is the first time in cycling history someone tried to draft behind a teddy bear.

Mark dedicated his ride today to his daughter, Maggie.

"Yes, Joe, they went thataway..."

Yes, bears do indeed "go" in the sagebrush. We rode today through high desert that was beautiful.

Jim steals himself for another day of Bruce's humor. It takes some doing to maintain his good nature in the face of Froggy madness.

The road today was largely empty until we got closer to Burns. Great riding weather and road conditions. And Joe regaled us with his high-style, singing voice. None of us knew (or cared) that "My Ding A Ling" has 10 verses. Joes knows everyone of them. And sang them to us. Again, and again. Meredy, it was very, very ugly. But it pushed us to unparalleled speeds as we tried to escape.

Bruce did great today. Felt good, pounded the pavement, and kept our spirits up.

"Wait a minute, are we facing the right way?"

Jim rides ahead to find a good turn-out for the trucks so we can portage to the next riding location. This is our story, and we are sticking to it. He is not really in that much better shape than the rest of us. Really, he isn't.

Tricia has been bungee corded to the front of the van to share the breeze. Hook 'em, Horns.

Joe gets reassurance from his critters that he is indeed leading us in the right direction. Fuzzy can be so comforting.

A "retirement community" we encountered along our way. Notice that Bruce and Cheryl lean on that railing like professional lounge lizards. Mark can't decide whether to drink or breathe. Jim is still smiling (his attitude is wonderful).

Miles and miles of sagebrush and skies empty except for the occasional hawk looking for lunch

We did a team total today of 125 miles.

Tomorrow we will be heading to Harper, Idaho where hotel accommodations are non existent.  We will, therefore, be continuing on to Boise tomorrow evening.

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