Friday, July 9, 2021

OBC Day 5-4th of July, and Burgers At Last!

This morning I realized we had 50 miles to do today. Originally we thought it was less. What was in our favor was the fact that it was mostly downhill. 

First we had to cross the creek. 

It was pretty easy, except that it was steep getting out. 

We had a good climb right after the creek. We had to roust some cows from our path. I told them we promised we’d never bother them again. 

There were a couple of bulls in the herd too. We were cautious. 

As has been the case with this whole trip, the scenery is amazing. Once we got to the top of the first climb, we were treated to these views. 




We had a decent downhill, then back up again. I told Jana that the next climb that will initiate the climb profile on my Garmin is in 48 miles. While we were done with the longer climbs for awhile, there were still a few smaller, but steep ups. We had to walk some. Overall, though, I was happy with what I was able to climb. Really, it’s because we were carrying just enough water to get us to Denio. It’s so much easier when your not carrying 6-8 liters of water!

The long downhill took us all the way to the valley. 

Going down down down…

…and more down. 

Once in the valley, we had another 14-15 miles to Denio. 

Most of it was gravel

We popped out onto Field Denio Rd

Then we crossed into Nevada!

Neither of us have ever ridden our bikes in Nevada! 

Next stop was the Diamond Bar for some lunch! Yes, they were open!!! 

The kid working the bar plunked down two glasses of ice water without saying a word. Later he took our orders, also with hardly a word. There were a few other patrons. Not one said anything to us! The only person who was at all talkative was the gal cooking our food. 

We spent a good amount of time enjoying our burgers and tater tots/fries. We dumped our trash, and headed on down to our next stop, which was Denio Junction. As expected, they were closed, but we were able to fill up our water from a spigot on the side of the building. 

We each filled up to max capacity (10 liters plus 24 ozs for me, and 11 for Jana). Geez the bikes were heavy! We have to carry water for the rest of today, and all day tomorrow. 

As we were finishing up, the wind started to blow…like really blow! It was coming from the direction we were heading. Jana looked on the map, and noticed we could take the highway as a short cut. It would be easier pedaling, and not so much dust flying. 

Ready!

Long straight blacktop into the wind. 

The route was on the other side of the lakebed. 

We took turns drafting. Twice, Jana it my back wheel with her front. Both times I said, “Too close, Jana. Too close!”

Finally we made it to the turn to Bog Hot Springs. The wind was much better. We arrived at 5:15, set up our tents, and went for a soak. 

Home for tonight. 

I utilized my bike and my chair to tie up the vestibule awning. 

Bog Hot Springs is a series of pools in a creek. 

It was quite hot! The couple to the right are Fred and Tina. They gave us glowing bracelets for the 4th. We hung them on our tents. 

Glowing bracelets!

It was another interesting 4th of July for me! 









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