Day 45: John Day to Mitchell, OR

73 miles, 2868 ft ascent / 3142 descent, 6:14 saddle time, elevations: start 3042, min 2227, max 4360, finish 2771

Canyon to John Day Fossil Beds Nat’l Monument

We started the day with a rather unusual breakfast at the Timbers Bistro, which was formerly a McDonalds.  A local resident told us that McDonalds does not do well in small towns.  During COVID the Timbers converted to carry out only, and it stayed that way.  We walked up to a drive-thru window to order and sat at a very old picnic table on the lot next door to eat.  

The first 30 miles were downhill with a tailwind (that rarely ever happens!). The terrain we were riding through was much like yesterday.  We followed the John Day river through a valley with low ridges surrounding it, until we came to the river canyon (photo above).  Suddenly we were transported into another entirely different landscape.  It is amazing to me that the river could cut such a narrow gorge through solid rock.  We went 2 miles off route to visit the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument.  I learned that John Day actually never came within 100 miles of the fossil beds.  I will have to learn more about him because he has a town, river, roads, and a monument named after him.



After leaving the monument we started a gradual uphill climb that went on for 25 miles!  It would not have been hard except that it was hot (anround 90 F) and there was a steady  headwind of about 10 - 15 mph.  I had not fully recovered from yesterday’s 81 miles, so it was exhausting.  However, as happens with all the passes, I was rewarded with a 6-mile long downhill with grades of bout 6%.  It would have been a fast ride down except that with the headwind and the tremendous air drag of my bike, I was only going 25 - 30 mph.  

View from the Keyes Point pass

I arrived in Mitchell around 4:30.  It is a very small town with a population of about 100.  Due to it being the 4th of July, everything except one market closed early so that the residents could attend a celebration at a park 10 miles out of town.  We checked in at the Spoke’n Hostel and then went back to the market to buy food for dinner.  We got there with little time to spare before they too closed.

The Spoke’n Hostel is a really unique and well run hostel with a very friendly and helpful host, Jalét.  Everything was super organized and labeled.  It was very welcoming and a much appreciated respite for this weary traveler.  We fixed linguini with meat sauce and salad with avacado for dinner.  Once again I ate about twice what I usually would.  Hopefully the carbs will provide me the energy to tackle the pass I will ride over tomorrow, which has 2340 ft elevation gain in 12 miles.  Thankfully we are only going 47 miles. 



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