Baker City!

I've met some wonderful folks biking the same route as me. They're two new friends from North Carolina, Joey and Jessica. :) It's been fun to have cycling buddies and campground neighbors for the past couple days! Tomorrow they're staying here in Baker City, Oregon to do some bike repair. I'll be pushing on to Halfway, but I'm sure we'll see each other again soon.

The longest ride so far happened yesterday: 68 miles, from Mt. Vernon to Sumpter, OR. It included 3 (albeit small) mountain passes! I felt empowered by the presence of my new friends, and the three of us chugged along, gulping water and whooping to keep our spirits up. We rolled into an RV campground in Sumpter just as the sun was setting, feeling accomplished and sore.

Baker City is a lovely town! After arriving here this morning (via a gentle, 30-mile ride along the Powder River) we spent a few hours slumped outside of a hip general store called "Bella Market", which happens to be a hub of the progressive, cyclist culture in Baker City. A fellow Trans-Am cyclist from London walked by, noticed our bicycles, and pulled up a chair to chat. It was a pleasant, easy afternoon to make up for our grueling ride yesterday.

Warmshowers.org has been a wonderful resource. For those who don't know, take heed: www.warmshowers.org is a website that allows touring cyclists and their supporters to connect, providing cheap (or often free!) places to sleep while journeying long distance. Here in Baker City I am staying with one such host. They've graciously given me access to their laundry facilites, shower, guest bed (!), and computer... in exchange for nothing more than my gratitude. It's shocking and inspiring to meet so many great people in this way! This is my third warmshowers.org host this trip, and they've all been wonderful so far.

Blessings to you and yours, may August continue to be a lucky, relaxing, beautiful, and productive month for us all.