June 23, 2018
Baker City – Cambridge, ID
179 km (111 miles)
1888 m (6194 feet) elevation
7:34 moving time
1125 km (699 miles) total

Today was a special day for many reasons.

• Our longest ride so far
• The most elevation so far
• Crossed into a new timezone
• Crossed our first state line. Goodbye Oregon, hello Idaho.
• Total kilometers for the trip finally over 1000.

Decided to make up for a couple of shorter days. It was either another short day or a push to Cambridge with a lot of climbing. Had some crazy crosswinds, some headwind but also some nice tailwinds.

We are finding it weird to experience how our bodies can continue cycling for long periods of time without much rest. The key is nutrition, hydration and pacing. We are also finding that our strength is increasing and we are not fearing the hills as much as we did earlier.

One hill we climbed today was 5 km long with a 7% gradient. Another was about 10 km with a similar grade.

Early in the day the landscape reminded us of Iceland. Barren hills, no trees and low vegetation such as bushes and gras. Horses and cattle grazing.

Then the landscape changed into more lush and green along Snake river with big trees, very beautiful.

One of the most beautiful part of today’s ride was along a huge reservoir where we encountered our second deer.

Another great moment was when we were rolling down a beautiful valley with no traffic, on a smooth tarmac, with the wind in our back and the sun in our face.

Before tackling the last big climb we had Gatorade and Snickers at a small shop. Halfway up the climb a white pickup truck pulled up next to us waiving something. We stopped and he handed us Monika’s credit card and cash. She had laid her small plastic bag with valuables next to her on the bench and forgot to take it with her. What a great gesture from a total stranger.