Bike Across America- Day Four

Thursday, June 22, 2017

Start: Kah-Nee-Ta, Oregon
End: Prineville , Oregon
Mileage today/cumulative: 59.5/294.5
Elevation Ascended: 3,457
Weather: Sunny, 59° at start; sunny, 75° at finish
3D Video – click for a brief flyover view of today’s ride

After riding through the Cascade range yesterday, today was an “active recovery” day, which just meant a few less miles and gentler climbing. The scenery included more views of the Cascades and beautiful gorges on the high desert. We passed through the Crooked River National Grasslands and beautiful farmland. Roads were good  and conditions couldn’t have been more ideal. We even had a nice tailwind for the last 20 miles or so.

My bike had a minor mechanical issue this morning that required some fussing with the front and rear derailleurs. It took the ABB mechanic some time to sort it out and get me back on the road, putting us far behind schedule for our goal of reaching Prineville and getting to the laundromat before a throng of riders descended upon it. We couldn’t push ourselves hard to make up for the lost time because tomorrow’s ride is very long and we needed to take it easy. So, we shrugged it off and rolled along at a good recovery pace. As it turned out, the delay gave us two highlights of the trip.

As we rolled down a country road on the outskirts of Madras, Oregon, we spotted an enormous bull between the road and a fence. Being city folk, we assessed the situation and determined that the bull shouldn’t be on OUR side of the fence. The bull appeared completely unconcerned about our presence, so we did what any non-farmers would do if they saw a beast who could crush them like an ant, standing on the wrong side of the fence but with a perfect view of Mt. Hood in the background. We pulled out our iPhones and snapped photos.

The bull didn’t charge at us and, in fact, he never moved an inch. We hopped back on our bicycles and went looking to tell someone that a gigantic bull was loose. We quickly came upon a farm house down the next road, where we found John and Judy Brown, who we flagged down in front of their farm. We know their names because although our intention was to simply let them know about the bull, it turns out that Mr. Brown is a storyteller. Although we were over a half-mile from the bull and on a completely different road, they both knew exactly what animal we were talking about, saying “oh yeah – that’s the Peterson bull.” Mr. Brown also commented that the bull doesn’t miss any meals. The Browns are retired farmers who own 80 acres with an unobstructed view of the Cascades and, because they’re retired, they “only” grow hay. Before retirement, they farmed garlic, peppermint, wheat, hay, and cattle. Mr. Brown said that they farmed everything you’d see on your dinner plate when you went out on Saturday night (the peppermint was in your after-dinner mint or toothpaste). They asked where we’re from and it turns out that Mrs. Brown has a brother in Knoxville who lives in Strawberry Plains, one of our favorite places to cycle. The world keeps getting smaller. They were kind enough to pose for a photo and wished us well before we rode on. As for the bull, they believed he was inside of a hot wire that runs close to the road. Mr. Brown was unable to confirm this after looking at the photo Bev took and didn’t openly  pass judgment on us city slickers taking snapshots of farm animals.

A few miles later we reached the town of Madras and stopped at their Chamber of Commerce to ask if we could use their restroom. I watched our bikes while Bev went inside to inquire. While she was gone (which was a very long time because when she came out of the restroom, Joe, the President of the Madras Chamber of Commerce, had a bunch of questions for her about our bike ride), a woman approached me and asked “are you one of those people riding to New Hampshire?”  When I told her yes, I am, she replied “I heard about you on the radio!”  She knew that we had started in Astoria and would be coming through their little town. This also explained why, as we drove down the  main boulevard, a number of people gave us a friendly honk and waved. It seems that we were big news in Madras, Oregon.