I made it to Irrigon much earlier than expected; the 12.2 miles flew by, if limping qualifies as flying. I didn't meet Lori and Chuck right away; they were out, but their good friend Gennie (I know the spelling thanks to a text message from Amanda) was house-sitting, and she let me in. Very nice lady.
Lori and Chuck arrived a couple hours later, rumbling in on their bikes. They're as open and friendly as advertised (thanks, Amanda!); we've already had some interesting conversation.
Chuck brought reality crashing down on me, though: in his opinion, I should simply stick to I-84. "Lewiston sucks," he said in reference to the weather. "And I guarantee that by the time you hit Missoula, there's gonna be snow." (Yes, he's talking about October.) Further harshing my mellow, Chuck also noted that Route 12 past Lewiston goes up and down a lot, is generally a high-altitude route, and is serious bear country.*
So it looks as though I've got some rethinking to do if I decide to head south. Will this mean canceling on Walla Walla entirely? Poor Becky... she's been prepping for my arrival. And what about Dad and the chase car? Will I be postponing dad's trip west until I hit a barren patch in, say, Wyoming? Or will anyone in my vast (cough) readership be able to do a bit of "chase carring" for a few days? I may be getting to a point where the only way forward will be with the help of a chase car.
Chuck's idea for a southward route brings Salt Lake City back into the picture; we at Kevin's Walk have been going back and forth about this city since at least Seattle, I think; my manager Alan's recently emailed list of possible routes included SLC as well.
So there's plenty to ponder, and it all has to be pondered quickly. Meanwhile, it's time to rest. I'm bizarrely proud that I made it through the day on a single ibuprofen tablet; tomorrow's walk to Umatilla promises to be short, so here's hoping I'll need only one tablet again.
Many thanks to Lori and Chuck (both now asleep) for their hospitality, especially on such short notice. See y'all at 6AM.
(A reminder to readers that this blog's time and date stamps are still set for Eastern time; subtract three hours for Oregon time.)
*Note to Dad: Chuck also gave a much smaller mileage figure for the Lewiston-Missoula route-- around 100 miles shorter.
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3 comments:
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KWC's advice:
Go to Walla Walla. Even if you end up heading south from there and picking up I-84 again, it's not that far out of your way, and it'll be a good place to catch your breath and plan a little. It's a larger city than either Hermiston or Pendleton in Oregon.
Alan,
Indeed. Chuck said the same thing. He's also offering to be my chase car to and from Walla Walla, which is an amazing offer.
Becky just wrote to say she's going to be going on a 2.5-week trip east with her hubby; I'm so close to Walla Walla that I'll arrive well before she's back... Chuck has a contact in Walla Walla as well-- a dude named Bob who runs a biker church; I might be able to arrange something with Bob, and I'm about to email Becky about cheap university lodging, if there's any left now that the academic year has started up.
More on this as it happens.
Kevin
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