Day 18 - July 23, 2024 - Rest Day / Prairie City, OR, to Baker City, OR (by car)
End: Baker City, OR
Miles: 67 (by car)
I was up at 5:30 and saw that the air was greatly improved from the night before. I had a breakfast of eggs, hash browns, toast, and ham in the restaurant adjoining the hotel. When I told my waitress that I would be looking for a ride to Baker City, she suggested I join the Facebook group Grant County OR Free Classifieds and post a notice, which I did. I didn’t get any offers from the group, but I was grateful for Trace’s help.
The restaurant had a bar and and few tables like the one below.
After breakfast I had a shower and packed my gear. As I was checking out I suggested to the manager, Jenny, to not remake my room until I called because if I didn’t get a ride I would need the room for another night.
At 10:30, as I went out to look for a ride, I noticed that there was little traffic on the road to Baker City. But after hanging my thumb out for about half an hour, Stanley and Teresa stopped and said they were headed to Baker City and would be glad to take me. I removed both wheels and most of the bags to get my bike into their trunk and we were soon on our way.
As Stanley drove, Teresa and I talked about a lot of things. She said she thought cyclists like me ought to get some sort of honor. I told her that the payoff was that I got to have the experience of doing what I was doing. I didn’t mention it to Teresa but I remembered the video below in which Richard Feynman talks about honors.
As we got close to Baker City, Teresa handed me $15 and said it was for my lunch. I said that I ought to be buying them lunch, but she insisted that I keep the money, which I’ve recorded as a contribution on my GoFundMe page.
We arrived at the Old School Bike & Ski Hostel about 12:45. I felt a little strange and think it could have been from both the smoke that entered the car and the three changes in elevation from 3500 to 5000 feet that we made on the trip. I took an extra capsule of Ibuprofen, drank a lot of water, and took a nap for at least two hours.
I walked about a mile to have dinner at the Delicioso Mexican Restaurant. The food was delicious and a welcome change from the hamburgers I had been eating. I was surprised at how many business were closed permanently or for the day, and how empty the streets were of vehicles and pedestrians. The hostess told me that Baker City had become a ghost town because of the smoke.
The forecast for tomorrow says that the temperature will drop tonight to only 65 at 6:30 and rise to 97 by 1:00. The forecast for my next destination, Halfway, Oregon, is similar. The forecasts for the following day predict substantially cooler weather, with highs in the mid to high 80s reached only at 3:00 or 4:00. I will therefore spend a rest day here tomorrow. Earlier today the AQI between here and Halfway was mostly 100 or lower, but now much of it is about 150. I hope that it will be low enough to ride on Thursday when the temperature is lower.
See all of my daily routes here: Cross Country 2024
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