After leaving Ontario, Oregon two days ago, I traveled to Vale, Oregon, intending to stay overnight there. I was surprised to find nothing available — Vale was preparing for or just recovering from a rodeo event of some kind — so I moved on. I found an RV park In Brogan last night and tonight I’m staying at the Unity Motel in Unity, Oregon.

I’ll post photos and more details tomorrow when I reach John Day, Oregon.

“All bicycles weigh fifty pounds. A thirty-pound bicycle needs a twenty-pound lock. A forty-pound bicycle needs a ten-pound lock. A fifty-pound bicycle doesn’t need a lock.”
  — Anonymous

My bike, with all it’s gear attached, weighs between 80 and 90 pounds, depending on how much food and water I’m carrying.

I guess I should have left the lock at home.

I started the day in Nampa, Idaho. I wasn’t able to update the web site on yesterday’s ride because I stayed in a motel in downtown Nampa and it didn’t have internet access. I had hoped for a campground in Nampa, but there was nothing except RV parks so I found a motel that looked OK as I viewed it from the outside standing in the hot sun. On the inside, however, it was a bit on the rough side. For example, the door lock mechanism looked like it was fairly new, which is good, but it looked like it was new because the door had recently been bashed in from the outside. I think this one will rank with some the top, seedy motels Pat and I stayed at on our Dream Tour back in 2006.

Despite my worries and the appearance of the room, I slept soundly, woke up early and was on the road by 5:45 AM. By 11 AM, I was in Ontario, Oregon looking for a place to stay. Again, nothing but RV parks in town, so I’m staying at a very nice Best Western.

Tomorrow, which was supposed to be a rest day for me, I’m headed to Vale, Oregon. It’s a very short 20 miles from here. I had a choice: I could either take the rest day in Ontario like I planned and then ride 84 miles to Unity, Oregon (the next place past Vale that I’m sure has food, water, and lodging) or I can do 20 miles tomorrow on a rest day and then ride the remaining 64 miles to Unity.

My lucky day started out in Bliss, Idaho and my destination was Mountain Home. It’s about 44 miles from Bliss if you take the Interstate and about 52.46 if you go the way I did.

I got up especially early this morning because the weather report said Mountain Home was expecting a high of 104 today. I didn’t want to be outside in that any longer than necessary. By 5:45, I was sitting down to breakfast at Ziggy’s Express, the only place to eat in Bliss as far as I could tell and it also a convenience store, service station, gas pump, video rental, coffee shop, and who knows what else. I had dinner there last night and I’ll bet it’s one of the few places where your waitress can ring up $50 of gas, PowerBall tickets, and a salad bar all at once and at any time of day because Ziggy’s Express never closes.

At least it was air-conditioned. That’s at least as important as anything else to me these days.

Anyway, back to breakfast this morning. By 6:15, I was out in the parking lot slathering on sunscreen and getting ready to ride. It felt comfortable outside, temperature-wise, but I knew it wouldn’t last long.

Just outside of Bliss, on a very lonely stretch of old Highway 30, I took some pictures of myself riding. Well, my shadow, actually, which is the best I can do solo.

By 9 AM, I was in Glenns Ferry and it was hot already and there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky. One good thing about the weather today was a brisk wind at my back and that kept me at a nice 17-19 mph on the flats and for that last 10-mile straightaway into Mountain Home.

The heat has definitely kept me from taking photos on this trip. After the sun gets hot enough to be uncomfortable standing still, I’d just as soon not stop — I don’t care if it is my lucky day. When the sun is that hot and high in the sky, the light is pretty harsh anyway so maybe it’s OK. In any case, the end result is I haven’t haven’t taken many photos in the first six days of riding.

Today was better though. With the tailwind, I knew I could finish the ride pretty early, so in the first couple hours of riding, I made a point of stopping whenever I saw something interesting. Here are a couple of the better ones from today.

One of my rules from yesterday’s post was about considering the Interstate as a possible route. Well, I did and decided against it today because I’m feeling stronger now after the two exhausting rides on day two and three (the stretch from Brigham City, Utah to Burley, Idaho). The Interstate would have been the most direct route (about 37 miles), but there was a state highway running roughly parallel to the interstate. It looked interesting and it was designated a scenic route, so I took that instead. It was busy with local and farming traffic, but it had a wide shoulder. It would have been about 45 miles to Bliss except I took a couple of voluntary “detours” onto rural roads west of Twin Falls. They were so nice to ride on! Very quiet and I would ride ten or fifteen minutes without passing a car. Here are some photos from one of my detours west of Filer, Idaho.

These country roads were so enjoyable, but I still stand by my rule about considering the Interstate as a possible route. Maybe it should be amended to say the Interstate should be considered as a route of last resort.

There are some downsides to taking these rural roads though. First, it definitely makes for a longer ride and more hills. I think today’s detours added about four miles. Second, it can sometimes backfire. For example, today I was on highway 30 after just having crossed the Malad River north of Hagerman. Ahead on highway 30, I saw a very long and fairly steep (about 5% grade) climb on a shoulderless and recently chipsealed road. The alternative was something called the River Road which, according to my GPS, eventually returned me to highway 30. So, I took the River Road. It was fabulous! Tree-lined and little-used. Then my GPS instructed me to take a right turn onto a Barlogi Lane which would connect to highway 30 about three tenths of a mile later. The first sign of trouble was when Barlogi Lane turned out to be gravel. I passed a couple of houses and the road took a definite turn upward. By the time I gave up pedaling and dismounted to walk, Barlogi Lane was more like a memory or a suggestion of a road. I could hear and see the traffic on highway 30 in the distance, so I continued. When Barlogi Lane leveled out, I was about 40 feet and exactly one fence from highway 30. As I contemplated whether my spindly bicyclist arms could lift my bike and panniers over the fence, I realized the gate portion of the fence actually opened so I was able to walk through. A close call for my spindly bicyclist arms!

The chipseal on highway 30 turned out to be tolerable, but it was still very hot. After I reached the top, it was all downhill again into Bliss where I’m staying tonight.