I'm out of bed at 3:00 a.m., and out the door and on the road by 3:30 a.m. I drive up US 95 to Tonopah, jog over to Highway 376 and up through the Great Smoky Valley, jog over to Highway 305 and arrive in Winnemucca by lunch. From there, I hop back on US 95, cross the border into Oregon at the town of McDermitt (calling it a town might be a stretch, but we'll go with it....), and make my way into Burns, where I stop for drugs (just sinus medication - sadly, the local Rite-Aid doesn't have any Lance Armstrong-caliber blood doping supplies). Jump onto Highway 395 for the last stretch to John Day, enjoying a preview of the road we'll be biking in a couple of days, when the road suddenly descends steeply through a series of hairpin turns - and it occurs to me that the course map shows us cycling UP this hill later in the tour. After my quads unfreeze, I make my way through Canyon City and into John Day, and locate the Grant County Fairgrounds, which is Ground Zero for the start and finish of Cycle Oregon.
I spend most of the evening walking back-and-forth between things - from the car to the registration - from registration back to the car to get my gear - from my car to the camping area - from the camping area back to the car with stuff I'm not going to need - from the car to the dinner tent - from the dinner tent back to the camping area - from the camping area back to my car for the things I decide I AM going to need after all - etc., etc. Finally, I zonk out and dream about Day 1.
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| Welcome to Oregon! (As viewed through my bug-splattered windshield...) |
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| Tent City - John Day |
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