Day 3: Baker City, OR

Things looked pretty hopeful first thing in the morning.  The overnight cloud cover had kept things warmer than we had seen in a long time (temp somewhere in the 40s).  And by the time it climbed into the 50s,we were starting to see some patches of blue.

Another "Why?"  Rotting carcasses strung up on a fence.
I suspect some rancher is sending a message to wildlife,
but I doubt the wildlife gets the symbolism...

Alea rode first, covering 13 miles, including a pretty good climb out of Richland.  But the last few miles were a bit brutal: a long, cold descent; it clouded up; the rain started and the wind became a fairly strong headwind.

Then it was my turn.  The brief rain ended, never to return the remainder of the day.  And with the partial sun, the headwinds didn't seem that bad.  At first.  It wasn't long before it clouded up and the winds became sustained at 15 mph, with gusts reaching 30 mph.  And the bulk of our route was uphill.  So my 29 miles was a lot like a steep 29 mile hill climb, and it took tights, gloves and a light jacket to stay warm.  All I can say is that all of my cycling muscles have now gotten the wake up call that there will be more of the same in the days and months to come.  That should help motivate my body to rebuild some of the fitness that I lost over the frigid winter and colder-than-normal spring.

I have one thermal cycling jersey, that I don't think I wore more than three times in the past two years.  For the past month, I've probably worn it on 60% of the days that I've ridden, and I suspect I'll be wearing it a lot in May.

We are camped at Oregon Trails West RV Park ($31 + tax, power, water, showers, heated bathrooms and wi-fi).  There were some other, cheaper options in town, but after driving past them we decided this was the better option.  At least there is a large field in the back where we can let Lana off leash.