Day One – Hurry Up and Wait

Four forty-five came early this morning. We were hoping to get ahead of the forecasted 95 degrees Fahrenheit. We were on the road by six thirty.

The air was cool and smelled of moist grass. Perfect riding conditions as the sun rose over the orchards along Hwy 70.

Soon we were in the foothills and were feeling very proud of ourselves for getting such an early start. Then we encountered road construction delays… one after another. We spent the better part of an hour stopped and baking in the sun. When we did move, it was slow and sometimes sketchy.

Highway 32 marked the end of major construction and the scenery was beautiful, especially Lake Almanor.

We stopped for the requisite burger and fries at Harold’s Frosty in Alturas. At this point, it was starting to get hot. We used our cooling vests before settling off and planned out the next few stops to re-wet the vests. This is also where we began to enter the high desert. Sage brush for miles. It’s a pretty pastel green color set against the pinkish soil.

We passed Lake Abert, Oregon’s most saline lake that hosts brine shrimp attracting a variety of shorebirds.

We soldiered on through the hot and windy desert stopping a few more times to rest and re-wet the vests.

The rest of the ride was hot and boring.

By the time we rolled into Burns, we were hot and tired. It was a twelve-hour day. We decided to ride to dinner instead of walking two miles. We ended up at El Toreo. We can’t recommend it highly enough. Really, we can’t. ;).

Tomorrow we head to Wenatchee, WA. Highway 395 between Burns and Washington is one of the best roads in the West. Tom is looking forward to that stretch. After that, probably not so much.

Cathy’s Barn-of-the-Day pic (this one may not be there the next time we pass through):