Trish & Phill's Tandem TransAmerican

Tour 2003 

Jul 21 Baker City - John Day 88 miles

These early mornings are nice time be out on a bike. There are few cars and it's cool. So cool in fact that I have a pair of socks on and also a raincoat to keep out the wind, by 8 AM they are removed and the sweat is dripping but it's just too cool until the suns out to be in shorts and thin top only.  It's also the time to see lots of deer and other animals.

We stopped of at a place called Austin Junction according to the maps it was a good stop to have food, we were lucky as there was a local motor bike club in town and the restaurant was open for them. The owner told us that ordinarily we would not have been able to get a meal as they don't open Mondays, thank god for the bikers otherwise we would not have been able to eat for the rest of that day , well apart from the bits and pieces that we have in our bag. Whilst in the Cafe we met another biker who was on his way to Virginia. Equally he would have gone hungry today.

Mike & Phill

Today's ride is slowly going up hill, we have three mountain passes to go over each rising 1000 feet then dropping off quickly. We stopped the night in John Day.

There is little opportunity along the way to stop off and buy anything to eat or drink on this section so anyone considering this ride should take note to carry ample water and lunch with them.

 As you can see from the terrain there is no shade at all from one stop to another in this case around 66 miles.

Earlier in the day we passed Farms where they have sprinklers running to grow grass that will feed Cows. It seems an expensive exercise and a waste of good water (they just such it out of streams running down the hill, mostly as snow melt). So there will be a green patch of grass - maybe a couple of acres surrounded in bone dry scrub land, it looks odd.

Today's temperature was again over 100'F. Trish really suffers with this heat. To help us along in the heat we have been wetting ourselves down from water out of the Creek beside the road. After the clear waters we have traveled alongside this has been easy but now we are in an area were the Creek water is getting dried up. The little water in the Creek is often slimy and warm and access is down rocky banks (metal cleats on the sole of the shoe makes this activity treacherous). However it is a savior and we do use the Creek water - picking the slim off our clothing is a better option than cooking in the sun!

Page owned & maintained by Trish Collins email to  trishphill@aapt.net.au.  Last Updated 28/07/2003