Date: Friday, June 27, 2003

Miles Ridden: 117

From: Prineville, OR

To: John Day, OR

Weather: Hot and Sunny

Elevation Gain: 5,460

Today started very early: 4:15 AM. I get up start the coffee, and jump in the shower. I shave, drink a couple of cups of coffee and eat two Poptarts (I like to get some food digesting right away). I always lay out my riding cloths the night before. I am trying to reduce as much decision making as possible early in the morning. I put on spf suntan lotion for aftershave. It is going to be hot and we will spend all day in the sun.

Loading begins at 5:15 AM, and breakfast begins at 5:30 AM. After dropping off my luggage, I pumped up my tires, left my bike in my room, and went to breakfast. Mary, Dan and Steve met me at the lobby afterwards.

It was cold this morning, and I was only in my shorts and short sleeved jersey. Needless to say, I was a bit cold starting out but I did not have to wait to long. As we traveled on Hwy 26 and moved in and out of the shade, I could already tell it was going to be a warm day.

We had a near miss this morning. Mary accidentally clipped Steve’s rear tire and took a spill. She lay on the pavement with both feet still clipped into the pedals. Dan helped her out and fortunately she only scrapped her elbow and bruised her hip. She was very lucky! We were all very lucky!

It was a beautiful day and I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. Dan had a flat early in the day, but otherwise it was uneventful. I could tell you about the great milkshakes in Mitchell or the super clam chowder in Mt. Vernon.

A married couple, Bill and Joyce, is riding a tandem. We were sorry to hear that Joyce suffered from heat stroke and had to stop riding in Mt. Vernon. As we started for dinner, in comes Bill, riding the tandem solo. I expect Joyce to be rehydrated and hopefully riding tomorrow.

Tomorrow is another challenging day that ends in Baker City. We have 89 miles and significant climbing. We are all tired but feeling good regarding our accomplishment today. For some, it is the first time they have ever ridden 100 miles. Everyone here is so supportive of one another.

I have to get to road rap so I will sign off. The human body is amazing at how it can recover from one day to the next. Hope you are well. Thanks for joining me.

Click here to see more pictures from today!