MVBC Loop Tour 2018 John Day

Hot

Start Date

Sat, 07/07/2018

Number of Days

Total miles

347

When I did my Northwest Passage Tour in 2010 there were several places I said "I have to come back and explore this further". One was the Wallow Mountain Road that was closed in 2010 due to the road washout. I got to do that one on the Wallowa tour a couple of years ago. Others were the Strawberry Mountains and the John Day Fossil Beds. On this tour we spent the first night in the Strawberry Mountains and the second to last day riding through the Fossil Beds. Very fulfilling.

We had some extreme heat to deal with on the tour but a combination of early starts and getting wet a lot got us through. Plenty of hard climbing as well. It was definitely harder for me this year. I'm slower than ever, a trend that I guess will continue.

Mileage

347

Rides

Route	Notes
Day 1 - Big Creek CG Sat, 07/07/2018 31 miles Ravn	Left Canyon City and immediately started climbing at a very gentle grade. We slowly made our way out of the valley and up into the trees.
Day 2 - Austin Junction Sun, 07/08/2018 45 miles Ravn	Cold morning but the route started climbing right away. Back up from the wide prairie to 5,889' at the summit. Then 20 miles downhill to Prairie City. Second breakfast which I regretted because the service was so slow and the day was getting hot. Then east on 26, now following the route of my 3010 tour. Soon came a brutal hot climb. The first part to the prairie schooner was the worst. We all stopped and took shelter inside the display which was funneling through a nice cool breeze. Spent a good deal of time recovering before heading out. The rest of the climb was not as bad. Still very hot but every now and then a cloud would roll by or a breeze would spring up. I stopped a lot. There were some shady places which were delightfully cool as we gained elevation. The summit was 5280'. Then a long downhill to Austin House. The heat picked up as we lost altitude. Camping out back is very nice.
Day 3 - Ritter Hot Springs Mon, 07/09/2018 52 miles Ravn
Day 4 - Ukiah Dale State Park Tue, 07/10/2018 38 miles Ravn
Day 5 - Heppner Wed, 07/11/2018 48 miles Ravn
Day 6 - Layover at Heppner Thu, 07/12/2018 5 miles Ravn
Day 7 - Spray Fri, 07/13/2018 56 miles Ravn
Day 8 - Dayville Sat, 07/14/2018 38 miles Ravn
Day 9 - John Day Sun, 07/15/2018 34 miles Ravn