Date: Thursday, June 26, 2003

Miles Ridden: 61

From: Kah-Nee-Tah, OR

To: Prineville, OR

Weather: Sunny and Warm

Today is Thursday, June 26, 2003. We departed Kah-Nee-Ta after a 7:00AM breakfast. If you remember, the climb up to the lodge was very steep and deceptively longer than it looked. We now got to go down the drive. This would have been much more fun than is was due to the fact that while riding down the hill Mary’s hat took flight from her pocket and landed in the middle of the road. A following cyclist stopped in the middle of the road to pick it up. The rest of us had to go right or left and since I was on the right side I dodged to the right. He decided to head to the side of the road about that time and we had a near collision. I yelled and hit the hooks and slid into the gravel on the side of the road to avert a major crash. We exchanged apologies, laughed, and moved on. Whew! That was too close for comfort.

Today was sunny and later in the day warm, very warm. I rode with Wisconsin Steve, Boston Dan and New Jersey Mary. We road comfortably all day, laughed, told stories, ate, laughed, and soaked in the beauty. Many of the riders were moved by the view of the Cascade Range. It was a great day to be alive.

When we went through Warm Springs I was riding behind Mary when I caught some motion out of the corner of my eye. Two dogs were charging toward where Mary was riding. I accelerated and yelled to Mary to watch out. She took quick evasive action and I yelled at the dogs and they stopped just short of knocking her off her bike.

The pull from Madris to Prineville got long and hot. Dan struggled somewhat and fell off the back so we adjusted our speed to be sure no one got to worn out. With fifteen miles to go we crested a long straight down hill run right into Prineville. Dan move to the front and drove this train right home. Steve is very cautious on down hills so he moved to the back. Mary sucked on Dan’s rear tire and I on hers. We just flew down the hill and Dan, who had been so tired earlier, saw the barn and headed for home. His body must have produced some chemical because he just cooked all the way into Prineville; that is, until we spotted the Dairy Queen.

We arrived at the Dairy Queen about 12:15. We pigged out for lunch. I had a cheese burger with fries and a large coke and a medium size blizzard. The others chowed down in a significant way as well.

At the motel I found out that we could take a bag of laundry for $6.00. What a bargin! I spent the rest of the afternoon emailing pictures to Sarah and Jay.

Tomorrow may be our toughest day. We have about 119 miles and over 5,000 feet of elevation gain. I will get up at 4:15 AM, shower, drink a cup of coffee, finish packing and be out by the truck to load at 5:15 AM. Breakfast is at 5:30 AM. We will then hit the road. I would appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

Hope your day has been as rewarding and refreshing as mine. I have always found that my energy seems to come from the inspiration of those who I am around. It is no different here. I thank Big Dan, Proud Mary, and Wisconsin Steve for an absolutely great day!

Click here to see more pictures from today!