Two Grads and a Dad Bike Across the USA: Day 12

Mileage: 58
From: Baker City, OR
To: Halfway, OR

Riding out of Baker we were caught by the race, and a cop car came and told us to pull over awhile and let the race go by. It was pretty cool to see up close. We even saw our friend who pointed us to the high school go by, and he waved. What was even cooler was when we rode on our touring bikes through the “feed station.” As we approached, Lauren said, “Oh no, this will be awkward….”

Everyone cheered for us and tried to hand us water, but Lauren and I were too dumb to figure out how to take it. Of course Dad, like a pro, just grabbed a bottle. The water was cold and much-needed. Lauren and I went back on foot to get some when another wave of racers came through and threw their bottles everywhere (we ducked). They were running low on water at that point, but a nice lady snuck us two bottles anyway. The bottles are pretty awesome souvenirs, with the name of the race and a cute graphic printed on them.

Late in the day we took a rest break in the town at the end of the race, and everyone kidded us that we weren't doing so well in the race. We went to a combination antique/ice cream shop. All of the locals advised us against continuing so late in the day, claiming that Halfway Hill was unrelentingly steep. It seems as if every town in the West is very proud of their hill, and they often claim we won’t make it over, or we haven’t seen a hill as steep. But this time they weren’t really exaggerating, although we were pretty worn out before we even got to the hill.

Regardless, I think it was the steepest and most unrelenting 5-mile hill we’ve seen thus far. I think it was mentally challenging, because the switch-backs were really long and straight, making it look even steeper than it was. We ended up taking frequent breaks, and decided that we might as well walk a little during our breaks (although we didn’t walk too far ever before getting back on). Towards the end, dad got some insane burst of energy and left Lauren and me in the dust.

We’re doing laundry at a Laundromat, and we’re camping outside a motel in Halfway, OR.