Day 6: Pendleton to La Grande

Today’s Highlights:

Cycle Oregon gave us another awesome route today. We covered 57 miles and climbed 4662 feet. With all the climbing, a few water stops and a great lunch, it took me 6-1/2 hours. That’s almost double what a flatish 57-mile ride would take me.
I dressed lighter today. For the first hour it was 33 to 38 degrees, so it was quite chilly. We had a slight climb for the first 8 miles, then our big 14-mile climb started. It warmed up to 50, so it was perfect for this climb. It was the most fun climb I can remember, because it snaked up Blue Mountain such that we could see cyclists zig zaggin above and below us. This west side of the mountain is wide open grassland, and the views were spectacular. After climbing about 2500 feet, the route was rolling hills for another 20 miles, slowly gaining elevation. Then another big climb, peaking out at 4340 ft 36 miles from the start. That was a lot of exercise for one morning. I had a flat tire just one mile from the top, which only took several minutes to fix.
The east side of Blue Mountain was beautiful pine forest. The ride down was really enjoyable. Part way down the mountain we had to get on interstate 84 and ride on the shoulder for 12 miles into La Grande. We had a very nice lunch at a park off one highway exit.
I finished at 1:30 and started the usual camp chores. We are at another nice school yard and it’s a beautiful afternoon.

Pictures Of The Day:
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Statistics:
Zoom and pan the map to explore the route. Click the name or ‘View Full Detail’ to view more information at Ride with GPS.

Check out Cycle Oregon Classic Day 6 on Relive! https://www.relive.cc/view/1845989525