Our day began with a distraught anticipation of daylong rainshowers, and a cheeful vision of lunches packed for us by the Hugens. Another homerun inside a slam-dunk for warmshowers.com houses. Thanks, Hugens!

It was our great luck that the rain avoided us almost all day long. It had clearly showered here and there, but not when we were either here or there.

The first leg of the next four days to Ogden, Utah ended up being a surprisingly long and boring 50+ miles. We don’t have any pictures to show you, because there wasn’t much to see. Imagine a long, straight road. With some shrubbery, landfills and factories edging it. And imagine that long road being longer. Now imagine that twice. All we wanted was a cup of coffee, but for 55 miles, all we got were chipmunks and woodchucks scurrying into their holes as we approached, as if we were some sort of low-flying bird of prey with wheels. Turns out we *were* in the Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area, so these woodland creatures did have something to be skittish about. Another note - the only birds of prey we seemed to see were the F-16s and A-10s from the Mountain Home Air Force Base.

Things looked up in Great View, across the Snake River. We were 55 miles in and all we needed was coffee, but we found a burrito joint! Score! It wasn’t even noon, and we only had 18 miles ahead of us to get to our destination - Bruneau Idaho. Again our expectations for small, crappy towns were blown out of the water by the great people at the local pub, “Cowboy’s Pastime” (It used to be called “Chet’s Pastime” until it burned down while Chet was overseas at war (WW2). “I plan on coming back,” he told his friends back home, “so start building it back up again.”

Dave Tindall, a guy who has 8 or 9 sister’s in law, took to telling us his stories of ranching. His brother was sitting next to him at the bar Or at least I think it was his brother. I’m definitely sure the guy sitting next to him was married to the bartender, and the bartender said that Tindall was her brother in law. Then again, maybe she just had a bunch of sisters. In a town of 200 (including all the outlying areas), everyone’s probably related or married to eachother. That’s not to say everyone was running around with five or six teeth, walking a dog with three legs. Although they did tell us the story of this one lady who had one tooth. It was one of their sisters in law. Seriously. They wanted to give her a job, but they didn’t want the public to have to see her, so they gave her the cleaning job on Monday mornings. Turns out, she couldn’t clean worth shit! (their words, not mine) I’m not sure what they ended up giving her as a job, but they told us another story about how just last week, she lost her ID and new set of fake teeth in a night of drunken chicanery at a bar down the street in Grand View. See, partying in Idaho isn’t all that much different from partying in New York City. People jumping on tables, flashing their boobs, losing their teeth. Not like I know anyone who’s lost their teeth…but I do know someone who HAS fake teeth. And she’s toured France! As far as I know, she’s never lost them though. But even Andy has lost his ID. (It turns out it was in his couch).

Another thing about Cowboy’s Pastime. They’ve got a Mario Brothers arcade game and a Neo-Geo there. Not *Super* Mario Brothers… Mario Brothers. I’d never even played this before. I now have the top 4 scores there. I have a photo to prove it. That and more photos will be uploaded later. Wifi at this campsite (!) isn’t all that strong…

By the way, if you’re around on May 16th, they’re doing goat-roping in the back room. We hear it draws a pretty big crowd.

Every time we tried to leave Cowboy’s Pastime, it started to rain, so they gave us more beers. Our grand total of 11 drinks cost us $22. Score again! Finally, around 3:30, we left to find the campground that Patrick Hugens recommended. It was a slightly inebriated 6 miles down the road, backed up against some massive sand dunes that Andy & I ran down, watching the thunderstorms recede to the south. There are some pretty epic photos we’re going to put up sometime soon. We’re there now, and it still might rain on us, but we’re in the tent, ready to call it a night.

Today we went to the Hot Springs way out in Idaho - about 2 hours drive from Boise.  We went with Rachel and Patrick Hugens - you can see their amazing touring photos here .

After the hot springs, we had lunch in Idaho City and saw the sights - what an amazing little town.  ..and then we came back to boise and ate baked potatoes made of ice cream!  so good!  photos coming  later.

there were a number of water falls coming down into the pools of hot water

this one was REALLY HOT

I wasnt so daring to jump in the FREEZIGN cold river after the hot springs.. but they were..and they went all the way under.

i’ll try to update this every week or two:

day 1 - 95 miles, Portland, OR to The Dalles

day 2 - 105 miles, The Dalles to Hermistan

day 3 - 97 miles, Hermistan to Le Grande

day 4 - 55 miles, Le Grande to Baker City

day 5 -80 miles, Baker City to Fruitland, ID

day 6 - 65 miles, Fruitland to Boise

day 7 - 0 miles, Andy’s Birthday/Rest day in Boise

p.s.  its soooo nice to post on a normal sized computer!  with FAST internet.

Yesterday we rode from Fruitland, Idaho to Boise.. it was about 65 miles.. a pretty easy ride. In the beginning, we just kept a good 20-22mph pace with the wind mostly at our backs. We decided to stop in Emmet, Idaho for lunch. Yet another town with loads of closed storefronts and few places to go. Durkee is awesome becuase it only has the one place to go and its very worth it!  However, in Emmet we ended up eating at Subway as we took a wrong turn away from town and it seemed easiest. We later rode back to look into the main street area (2 blocks) and didnt find any food places open. On our way into Emmet, we passed a sign that said RACES TODAY. We were all very curious about what kind of racing this was and well, we want to see every little town thing there is to see. So we asked around.. HORSE Races at 1pm. Sweeet! We had some time to kill so we rode around a little and then went over to the track. We missed the first race by about 40 seconds -  1 minute 3 seconds was the winning time.. but we saw the next two races which were just 200 meters or something like that.  The flying 200 on a horse, sorta.  Anyway, it was awesome. We got some beers and sat on the bleachers with all the town folk - boy do we stand out. Some 8 or 9 year old kid came over and asked Ken if we were jockeys. ha! andy and i are both over 6ft tall.. hard to tell sitting maybe, but definitely not jockeys. anyway, he sat with us for the races and was just so thrilled about the guys.. i dont think he really even noticed i was there, but i just took pictures and laughed. so awesome.

after the races, we decided to get back on the road and ride the remaining 30 miles to Boise.. we had wind to fight for a while, but it was a beautiful day. we all take turns pulling (when not uphill) but with the wind, and Andy in front, we were peddling hard downhill. Or at least I was. I need to pedal hard downhill with the wind behind me to keep up with Andy.  :) The harder it is, the sooner i’ll be able to keep up going up hill!

We arrived in Boise around 4:30/5pm where we met our new Warmshowers friends, Rachel and Patrick Hugens. They are amazing - they treat us like gold and they have so many awesome stories to tell too!  They have toured all over the world.. Africa, Tibet, Mount Everest base camp, all over the U.S…  their home is decorated with amazing things from all of their travels and we got to sit and go through some of their tibet/everest photos after dinner.  Really impressive.  They cooked us a fantastic dinner and we all got a good night rest.  Today is our first actual rest day and it started with a huge breakfast and lots of coffee!  In a couple hours, we’re going to head to the Hot Springs with some Champagne to celebrate Andy’s 27th on the 27th!  Then we’ll see more of Boise and relax till we get back on the road tomorrow morning.    I couldnt possibly ask for anything better.  Warmshowers has treated us so well!  As I type, Ken and Andy are playing Mario Cart on their Wi.    ummm, yeah!  you wish you were us, don’t you. 

one of the jockeys was thrown the first race... that's him walking down the track. his horse took off and kept racing.

if we had more time, we probably would have been betting. This kid told us that his 16yr old sister was betting on the horses... i guess you dont have to be very old to bet. i never knew.

In North Powder, Oregon we ate some greasy food. This was one stop on a long list of awesome places on our first easy day. After three straight 100+ mile days, it seemed like a good idea to chill out a little bit and ride something like 50 instead. This let us hang out at Hot Lakes, diners, historical towns and the like.

Oregon has four condiments!

In Baker City, just about everything seemed awesome. Including Bev from Bella’s, who we regrettably do not have a picture of. Just keep in mind that her wine store sponsors the annual Elk Horn Classic stage race in Baker City so that the female racers get equitable prizes to the men. Bev, you seriously rule, and if you check out this blog, we want to tell you something: “You seriously rule”.

Bev recommended motels and food for us. It was sub-freezing that night, so not camping didn’t feel like copping out. She also pointed us to Barley Browns, who’s home brews and ample meat selections had us at near-food-coma status by the time we were ready for dessert. Our server recommended the giant chocolate cake. We acquiesced, easily. Andy then suggested she prepare it however she saw fit. So she brings out this heaping mound of chocolate awesomeness, smothered with whipped cream, a shovelful of vanilla ice cream, and a whole patch-ful of strawberries.

nom nom nom. We'd already had steak, wings, and ribs...

Moments later, it was gone.

We had to skip karaoke at the shady bar on the wrong side of the tracks, because we were too stuffed to even get our legs over our bikes

Ed took some photos of us before we left, and he’s gonna meet us in Chicago to take some photos of us half way done. Then when we’re home, he’s coming full circle to see how we’ve changed. This is what he’s got on us so far.

Nice Illustration!

Bo, Center, from Croatia, got lost in the middle of Oregon and has been cooking for truckers ever since.

The tiny town of Durkee Oregon can’t have more than 50 residents, but it’s got the “Redneck Cafe”, owned by a Croatian dude who was sitting at the counter the entire time. We got our 30-mile morning coffee there. The guy, “Bo”, his two regulars, and his waitress talked us up for 45 minutes. How does a Croatian guy end up running a greasy-spoon trucker joint in a tiny town between two 10,000 person towns? We…we’re really not sure. He claims he got lost, and just stayed. We wished we were hungrier. 

this dog, sissie, was HUGE! she sat in the bag of the truck.. the truck owned by the folks inside the redneck cafe. They passed us several times on the road.

Durke maybe has 50 people living in it.. maybe. One thing that every town of every size has, is a post office. and this was the one at durkee. so small, so awesome. i put some postcards in thier mailbox so they would have something to do on monday.. hopefully the mail actually goes out there.. :)

We're in Idaho!

One state down, 13 or so to go. Hey Mom, I don’t know if you’re the kind of mom who’s saved ever single paper I wrote in elementary school, but I totally wrote a paper on Idaho when I was in fourth grade or something. I can’t remember a thing about it, but if it’s stuffed in the back of your attic somewhere and you could find it and scan it and send it to me, I’d totally put that up, because it would be hilarious.

More photos and commentary to come. Internet connection out here is weak.

where to start… okay, first - yesterday was HARRRDDDD! Last night was warm thanks to Tristin and her family in Le Grande. Thank you! and after yesterday, we decided to take an easy day and just ride 55 miles or so to Baker City, Oregon. AND we took the easier route to get here. AND we stopped at every single town, place, roadside attraction that we saw. Including the hot lake outside Le Grande.. 250 degrees. Crazy!

We went through North Powder and had some lunch (giant sandwiches) at a totally awesome diner. Then we went through Haines, where the Cattle drives used to meet up. Such an amazing tiny little town. Photos coming.. so awesome. THIS is where andy and i decided to mail our post cards and i handed mine off to andy to drop in the box and rather than dropping them in the box, he decided to go in and talk to the post office lady. this is great BECAUSE she told us about Bev at Bella’s Kitchen/cafe shop in Baker city. Bev is also a cyclist and she gave us all sorts of tips, called camp grounds and motels for us and told us her cycling stories. Now, we are in Baker City, a cute little town with a bowling, good beer and high winds. Its supposed to go down to the high teens/low twenties tonight so we opted to get a super cheep motel room at the Bridge Street Inn. I’m gonna jump in the shower (yes!) and then we’re gonna get some beer and meat and maybe do some bowling. Tomorrow we’re headed to either Ontario (70 miles) or to Boise, Idaho (approx 120 miles)… Once in boise, we’re going to stay with two more fantastic warm showers folk for a couple nights.  This will be our first actual rest day where we go to the hot springs and do lots of off-the-bike-relaxing things.  and we’ll celebrate ANDY’S BIRTHDAY!  sweeet.

so, im tired. my legs hurt. but this is amazing so far. so many beautiful things, great people, and new challenges.

Haines post office and store fronts..

steak shop.. library next door. awesome.

get yer gold samples..

next to the hot lake...

enjoying the easy day. wind at my back. giant snow covered mountains on either side..

bike rack outside Bella's

At times today, I’ve never been filled with more strain, awe, and terror. We bid adieu to the Columbia River, who’s unparalleled vistas and ample winds guided & pushed us over 200 miles. We took our leave of the sight & surface of the state of Washington. We faced our first real mountains as we turned Southeast towards Idaho.
From Hermiston, the first 33 miles took us to Pendleton, a small town facing some hard times in the deserts of Oregon. The bike shop we aimed towards turned out to be closed for good. “Just another closed storefront on Main Street,” according to the man at Zimmerman & Co. TrueValue next-door.
Across the street, Main Street Diner remained open, and we fueled up for the 4,000 foot climb over Cabbage Hill & Dead Man’s Pass on our 60 mile way to La Grande. Later in the day, we were told that a cup of coffee before a long ride lessens the pain on your legs when you’re done. This may or may not be true. My legs are still killing me, but maybe a little bit less than they would’ve if I hadn’t had that cup of coffee refilled four times. Or maybe a little bit less than they would’ve if I hadn’t had that Advil & Arnica at the same time.

The route to Dead Man’s pass snakes through expansive farmland parallel to route 84. Our road switched back on itself over and over and over and was less steep than the interstate. In a few hours, maybe three or four cars passed us. It was a few hours that was the first test of our endurance. Horses, bemused by our presence, ran with us to the right. The blue sky’s dotted clouds illuminated the expansive landscape. At Dead Man’s Pass, we were excited to see our first patch of residual snow. This proved we were high up! We had accomplished something!

Our cheer at our achievement grew, in spite of the day’s hours winding down and the great distance still ahead. It was still 30 miles to La Grande, and it was 4pm. It was cold up here, and we crossed our fingers, hoping that the rest of the way was downhill. Our cheer soon began to wane as that small patch of snow turned into several, and those several turned into a full covering, several feet deep. An hour passed. We had declined some, but we had also climbed. We weren’t getting very far. Not only was the snow everywhere around us on the ground, but it was coming at us from the sky. Yesterday it was 85 degrees and today we were getting snowed on. It was getting colder. The prospect of having to camp on top of that mountain had me terrified. La Grande was still 25 miles away, but we knew it was mostly going to be downhill, and 25 miles was close enough to get us off that mountain. Another warmshowers.com home was waiting for us down there.

The mountain began to point downward for good. The snow abated, then kicked up again, stronger. WIth the sun low in the sky and the clouds keeping us from even that light, I wore my sunglasses to keep the stinging flakes from my eyes. The road, slicked from the snowfall, curved and descended until forcing us back on the freeway. For 12 miles down the mountain, there was no other way to get to La Grande. It was gorgeous, compared to the other side of Cabbage Hill. Pine forests and the Grande Ronde River to our side. We watched the Grande Ronde grow from a brambling stream to a raging river at the bottom. On a 5% grade down 1-84 in the snow, ducked down into our handlebars to maximize our speed, we almost passed oversize-loaded 18-wheelers in the snow. It was frightening, freezing, and exhilerating all at the same time. I only wish I had had the time to appreciate the scenery. But my main objective was getting inside.