Day 3, Bursting the bubble

BEST: Huckleberry milk shake in Odessa after the ride


WORST: Headwind


MOST UNEXPECTED: Getting our picture taken for the Odessa Gazette (Four of us rode into town and said hi to a lady who happened to work for teh local newspaper. Stop she said, let me get my camera to take a picture for the newspaper.


The day began softly with a breakfast at the restaurant at the campground. We convoyed across the Columbia river (picture looks like a lake) with a lead vehicle and a backup vehicle because there was no shoulder on the bridge. The lead vehicle was supposed to go at 12 mph so everyone could go at the same speed, but it sped up to 17 mph so riders got strung out along the bridge. A short 2 mile climb up from the river split the group up even more. I had fun catching up with the lead group after waiting for another rider, but it turned out they were in the lead group. Another rider who was off in the bushes caught up with me, and we sped up the road to eventually catch up with the lead group and the rider who wanted me to stay with them for the ride. After the first check point at 20 miles, the gentle wind turned into a 20 mph head wind, and we fought our way through the rather unexciting scenery. I felt this ride was tougher than the first day, and we all struggled. We rode around a corner on a slight detour, and miracle of miracles we were in Odessa. There was nothing around for miles, and the town was hidden from view until it just magically appeared. After our picture was taken by the local newspaper, we rode to the local school for the night. Most of us slept outside in a grass field outside the school, while a few slept in the gym. The outside people got to enjoy the trains which came through every two hours at night blowing their whistles. Dinner was in the cafeteria and was chicken enchiladas. Before the dinner, several of us walked and rode back into the entrance to the City to a diner, and I had a huckleberry milkshake which really hit the spot. By the way, breakfast had been at 6:00 a.m. and we had left the restaurant at 6:45 arriving in Odessa about 2:30.