Today was a very long day. After sleeping under a pavilion and obtaining breakfast at another gas station\/convenience store we were off through some of the driest parts of Idaho. There was a slight climb and a long descent to Oxbow, OR. At Oxbow we stopped at a campground for bathroom break but also to refill our water bottles because from this point forward we were entering Hell\u2019s Canyon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, before getting to Oxbow and right after we crossed into Oregon we encountered an east bound cyclist riding a Bike Friday. I learned that he was from Rockville, MD and that point he recognized me. It was someone that I worked with, at a company called SAIC, over 25 years ago. Small world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After Oxbow it was another climb. Today is full of long and hot climbs. As we approached Halfway another storm was on the horizon so we hung around there for about an hour to let the storm pass. Once leaving Halfway there was another climb and descent to Richland. At 6 pm we left Richland for Baker City. It was still 42 miles to go and still another 2900 feet to climb. I thought we could make by 10 pm. We did not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The climb was longer and harder and sunset was fast approaching. Soon we found ourselves riding in complete darkness on a recently paved road with no stripping to guide us. There was a point were I stopped and told Sue that this was \u201dF\u2019ing crazy\u201d. Not only was it crazy but also dangerous because we were first riding directly into the sunset and then riding in complete darkness. We rode with headlights and tail lights on to see where we were going and to be seen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After being on the bike for more than 12 hours the battery on my Wahoo bike computer was out of juice and stopped. I knew we were going to do 112 miles this day if we made it to Baker City. Since there were no towns between Richland and Baker City we had no choice but to go all the way. When we finally made it to Baker City it was 10:57 pm pacific time or 11:57 mountain time. Since we started before 8 am mountain time we were traveling for over 16 hours on this day. Not all of that time was riding because we did stop in Oxbow, Halfway, and Richland but it was still a long day and a dangerous day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today\u2019s stats: total mileage: wahoo says 90.62 but it was 112 miles, average speed 10.6 mph, wahoo says 7326 feet elevation gain but our estimate was over 8500 feet of elevation gain, elevation descent – wahoo say 5623 feet but estimate was 6500 feet, maximum speed was 33.1 mph.<\/p>\n\n\n\n