Nightrider

Before riding out of Richland, I had to put some more fuel in the tank. I stopped and ate at the Shorthorn Grill, just down the road. After ordering the Shodon Burger, a large burger topped with grilled onions and mushrooms. I was delighted to hear about ‘Fry Sauce,’ which is mayo, ketchup and a dab of horse-raddish. Its something different, as I usually have mayo with my fries. I picked up this habbit from a friend named Moe. She did this the year we thru-hiked the AT.

Riding in this kind of weather, It felt like I was three feet from a large heating element the entire time. I lathered up the sunscreen and still got burned. The landscape was terrific on the other hand.

The yellow lines were a bit further apart than normal.

As I was sitting thirsty at a barren rest stop between Richland and Baker City, a long empty stretch of road 42 miles long, a woman aproached me. She held two water bottles, bent over with her palms on her knees as if she was ushering a puppy over to pet it. She gave me water when I needed it most.

The Sunset was stunning, very red like the other sunsets I’ve watched out here in the west.

Just after the sun fell behind the horizon, the wind picked up and raged the rest of the night. Probably my favorite picture from that evening, this hurried windmill was producing lots of energy I’m sure.

That evening, after it had gotten dark, the bracket holding my Kris Holm T-Bar sheered in half. So I’m stuck in Baker City till it shows up. Once I got a hold of them, Unicycle.com was very helpful and allowed me to ship overnight to Oregon. I now have a flight to catch at 6am the 21st of August, and can’t be slowed down too much.

I showed up in the dark, after riding my uni touring bar-free through the dark. I found the house of my Warm Showers Host and slept behind their house. I was woken up several times by their neighbors dog barking at me, and eventually slept late once I moved to the other side of their yard.

At Deanne’s request, I visited Sorbenot’s. The shop itself was nicely furnished with comfortable couches and art produced by the owner which I really want on my wall. The counter was not under-staffed, which is usually a problem at coffee shops with a drive-thru and walk-in counter.

The woman at the bike shop in town pointed me toward Bella, a gourmet/coffee shop. They have an espresso bar to compliment their large selection of wines, cheeses, beer, biker products, specialty kitchen items, and ice cream. I sat down and enjoyed a Virgil’s Root Beer, one of my favorite things in the world. Afterward, I tasted a spanish red wine(something OTON), and their french pressed coffee. I’ll definitely be back tomorrow morning.

I’m not done yet; I ended up stopping in Baker City Cafe and gettin a cup of Italian Meatball soup and a latte. They were obviously understaffed for lunch, but the barista/server/waitress/busgirl handled herself well through all of it. The soup was served with beer bread which I really liked. It was sweet with a light caky crumb.

As I had run out, I printed some new bussiness cards on a stock with a texture that I really adored. Writer’s Brother’s was very helpful and affordable. I also finally found a paint marker for detailing my back pack.

If you have enjoyed reading my blog during my ride across the country, please consider donating to my savings so that I may create another blog during my hike from Canada to Mexico in 2011.