Notes and Annotations

FRI 8/6 -- Mitchell to Redmond (67)
Sometimes at the end of the day I just jot down a few quick notes to
help me remember the day's events, and then I go back later and write
it up all punctuated and complete-sentence-y and proper-like. Here are
my notes for Friday; some are pretty obvious, others require a little
explanation:

"a.m. food scrounge (Lucille and I were food police; worked
exceptionally well)"
=====
People were *very* well-behaved at the morning food scrounge (made
necessary by the lack of groceries the day before -- for details see
the post for Thursday). The official eat-breakfast-prepare-lunch hour
was 6-7, and we enforced a strict, no-starting-before-6 rule (the Phil
Law). We cut the 5 apples in half and told people they could have
either a half apple or one of the 4 fruit cups. Two oatmeal packs per
person, max, and the same on granola bars. I cut two tomatoes into
about a dozen slices for sandwiches and set those out. Unlimited
peanut butter; limited cream cheese; take it easy on the jam; who
wants *the* bagel; etc., etc., etc. Everyone was very pro-social and
careful, so much so that we ended up with leftovers of some of the
stuff that we had the least of. And there was plenty for everybody.

"downhill for 10 miles then big uphill (7 miles; 2000') to Ochoco Pass"
=====
[self-explanatory -- the downhill was beautiful, and so was the climb
(but tough)]

"trying to catch Hugh the whole way -- tomatoes -- finally got him at
top of pass"
=====
One of the excess lunch items, it turned out, was tomatoes, despite
the fact that we started with fewer than we typically have. Hugh likes
tomatoes (with his canned sardines(!)) for lunch, so when I found them
on the table during the BLCUO (breakfast-lunch clean-up operation) I
grabbed them and ziploc-bagged them up. Because I was on breakfast
duty, he got a good jump on me, so I had to work hard to reel him in.
Which I eventually did, right at the top of the pass. "Hugh -- the
good news is that you're at the top of the climb. The better news is:
tomatoes! And the best news of all? I'm here to ride with you!" It
wasn't clear to me whether he agreed with my rankings.

"don't eat that"
=====
I had Hugh in my sights, maybe 100 yards ahead of/above me, when Mike
caught me from behind. Just as he passed me there was a major cow pie
on the road. He pointed to it and said, very seriously, "Don't eat
that." I didn't get any closer to Hugh for quite a while. It is very
hard to keep moving forward on a major climb when you're laughing your
head off.

"then downhill for 25"
=====
... into Prineville, where I...

"attempted food rut breakout in Prineville (Mexican bakery) -- no
good; Hugh & Dennis went off on search of more standard fare; I went on"
=====
Of course, I was looking for a pie opportunity in Prineville, but the
ride through town yielded nothing -- not a single worthy cafe. On the
far side of town I saw a Mexican bakery, and thought we (Hugh and
Dennis were with me) should give it a try. Dennis demurred (wisely, as
it turned out); Hugh was doubtful, but willing to consider a radical
expansion of his horizons, so the two of us plunged in. The owner
greeted us and proudly told us all about his various baked treats. We
bought a couple -- a cookie in the shape of what I'm pretty sure was a
pig, and a cream-filled... something. The cookie was not very good,
and the cream thing was inedible(*). I had let the lads down! Hugh and
Dennis headed back into town in search of something good to eat. I put
my tail between my legs and headed on down the road toward Redmond.
But not before doubling back a block to a fresh fruit stand I'd
spotted on the way in where I traded the half-eaten cream thing(**),
plus a dollop of cash money, for a bag of delicious cherries.

"alt route out of Prineville to Redmond (supposedly new wide shoulder
& less traffic)"
=====
There's now a new official Trans-Am route section from Prineville to
Redmond, and we were advised to take it rather than the road marked on
our maps. Well, the old road must be really bad, because there
certainly wasn't anything else to recommend the new one. Yes, it was
newly-paved and had a wide(ish) shoulder, but it was bone-jarringly
rough for long stretches -- almost unrideable, in fact -- and filled
with fast-moving car and truck traffic, and offered nothing of note
scenery-wise.

"Eric arrives"
=====
My son, Eric, flew into Redmond from Anchorage (via Portland) to join
the ride for the last four days. Woo-hooo -- riding with my boy! His
old Williams College buddy, Gary, is getting married in Redmond, in a
week, and Eric is part of the wedding party. So the timing of the two
events is perfect. He'll ride with us (on a rented bike, using a
borrowed tent, or a sleeping pad on the floor when we motel it for the
night) to the coast, then get picked up by a friend in Portland who's
also invited to the wedding, and the two of them will drive back to
Redmond for the festivities. Gary delivered him to...

"Vill squire"
=====
... our modest accommodations in Redmond, the Village Squire Motel, a
little before the dinner hour. He paid into the $16/day food plan,
which gives him the right to belly up to the tour's breakfast-lunch
food table in the morning, and ditto any restaurants we go out to for
group dinners such as ...

"dinner out at 7th St Brew Pub"
=====
... the one we were going to that very evening, a local brew pub
(Jerry being one of today's designated "cooks"). I told him we were
headed to a place just a couple of blocks from the motel, and he said,
"Is it the 7th Street Brew Pub? That place has some great beer." So
things started well for the lad, food-wise.

----------
(*)"... to our Anglo taste buds," I should add. The place was filled
to the rafters with baked items, and the kitchen staff (the missus, I
guessed) was busy making more. This was clearly a place that sells
*lots* of stuff to the right clientele. We were not the right clientele.

(**) I didn't want to be so rude as to throw away the bakery items
within sight of the bakery.

(Sent from my iPhone)