Well, the plan to go to bed at 4 o’clock in the afternoon and wake up at midnight feeling fresh and ready to do some night riding didn’t feel like it worked out very well initially. The hotel room faced west so we got a lot of light in the room and therefore just tossed and turned for hours and hours and both got really poor sleep. When the alarm went off at midnight, I thought I pressed snooze but I actually turned the alarm off so we got up about 1230, thanks to Vanesa. We did our normal getting-ready routine and were out the door of the hotel at 2 AM, a little bit later than Vanesa had hoped given the length of today’s ride and the amount of hillclimbing involved as she really wanted to be at our destination of Richland, OR before the heat arrived. So when we left we started immediately climbing, and it was actually a very gentle grade but I just did not have it in me to climb well this morning. The gorgeous full moon I’d seen at the motel was covered by clouds which totally disappointed me. There was a mild headwind, which I always find demoralizing. It was hard to see the incline itself, as well as when the hills end, because of the darkness. And I’d gotten awful sleep. All of that together just had me feeling lethargic and not finding any energy or joy in riding my bike. Vanesa, on the other hand, was thriving!! I couldn’t keep up with her and she kept waiting for me because we wanted to ride together to have double the lights to illuminate the road so we didn’t accidentally NOT see any wildlife on/near the road, especially rattlesnakes that might be laying on the still-warm pavement from yesterday’s 100-degree Fahrenheit temperatures. So the first 16 miles out of Cambridge was a challenge because I was terrible, but then we had a glorious 7-mile descent, still in the dark but now better-illuminated as the sky wasn’t quite so dark, into Brownlee Reservoir area of Hells Canyon. We were really wanting to make it 40 miles to Oxbow by sunrise and, while we didn’t quite make it, we were fairly close to it and the steep walls of the canyon and a few clouds were keeping the sun hidden so we stayed cool. It was gorgeous in this Hells Canyon area and we got some really great pictures of pre-dawn and dawn landscapes with Vanesa’s phone which has an awesome night mode. We did not linger anywhere on this ride today, not that there was really anywhere TO linger in this barren area with no services for miles and miles, though we did stop for several minutes at the “Welcome to Oregon sign for pics and a ridiculous new state dance, and we managed to get to 42 miles to Scotty’s Store for a couple of quick cold coffee drinks and mediocre microwaved vegetarian burritos just before the sun peeked over the peaks …and we hung out for only about 20 minutes. After that, boom, we were on a mission to get to Richland, another 27 miles away with more gentle, consistent incline before a 4-mile legit climb out of the Halfway Valley. We were shaded basically all the way to the base of that big climb, which started at the 58-mile mark of our 70-mile day, and we felt really fortunate for that…but then the sun really came out and pushed us to sweat ourselves up that big hill faster than we might’ve otherwise. In the daylight hours Vanesa and I returned to our normal states with me being faster and getting up ahead of her before waiting for her to catch up, but she killed it up that final climb and I was only at the summit for a minute or two before she arrived with a smile on her face of triumph. It was a big downhill to Richland after that, quite steep at 7%, but I descended much slower than I typically do because I felt the gusty crosswinds were too risky for me to really bomb down the hill. I had stayed behind Vanesa because I wanted to take a couple of pictures, so she was probably a mile ahead of me when I got to the bottom of the descent and only had two or 3 miles to ride to Richland. But the annoying crosswind on the descent became an almost pure headwind to get into Richland; I could see V waiting on the side of the road for me ahead in town as I struggled to stay low and aerodynamic in an effort to cut through the wind and arrive in town before what appeared to be an imminent thunderstorm or rain deluge. That wind was probably 25-30 mph and it was tough but I made it, and somehow the expected rain never came though the sky looked extremely threatening. We rode straight to the one motel in town and realized quickly that the motel office is actually in the general store directly across the street. Vanesa went in, with Maui wearing her service dog jacket, and rented us the room. We have discovered that this seems to be the best way to rent rooms, when the hotel owner/receptionist can actually see the dog and see that it’s wearing a legitimate service dog jacket. We’ve had occasional struggles throughout the country when calling to reserve a room and telling people on the phone that we have a service dog and then they tell us she’s not welcome, or showing up with Maui not wearing her jacket (which is not required by law, and the service dog still is afforded the same public access) and they then tell us she’s not welcome or they want to see her jacket. So this time they accepted the service dog but wanted to charge the pet fee so Vanesa had to show the owner documentation that they are not by law allowed to charge a pet fee to a service dog owner because it is not actually a pet. After a couple minutes of kindly dealing with that, Vanesa came outside smiling with a key to room 113 and we came into this cute, simple room and did our normal cleaning, showering, and transitioning from cycling mode to recuperating mode. We walked down the street to Sara’s Richland Cafe and had a delightful lunch and some nice chatting with the two really kind and friendly employees. One lives next door and her dog Pablo, who was a freaking adorable and friendly border collie just hanging out in the yard while we passed by, got info from Vanesa about how she can get Pablo trained to be a facility dog that she takes to school as part of her regular work as a school counselor (she was THRILLED that she stumbled upon Vanesa and got this information from someone that knows the ins-and-outs of the industry). I had an awesome breakfast burrito and a hot Americano espresso, and Vanesa had an amazing grilled cheese sandwich and a coke; lunch was really good and clearly made with love, and we left feeling full in our bellies and our hearts after such a nice experience there with those two ladies. And the lady told me that I could stop and go into the yard and pet Pablo after we left. I did and he was a totally sweet dog and really enjoyed the attention, and I was happily surprised that her 10-month-old adorable puppy (a corgi even though I don’t really like corgis), ran off the porch and got some cuddles and nibbles on me as well! Vanesa, of course, wanted dessert so we stopped and got some Ben and Jerry’s ice cream at the general store on the two-block walk back to the motel, and we just now shared it. Somehow I’m still awake here at 1:52 pm…must be the espresso. But as V watches a movie, I think I’m gonna take a nap. As of now, we have an easy 40-mile day planned to Baker City tomorrow, and though it is still hot now in Oregon, the shorter ride will allow us to NOT have to leave at 1-2 AM, maybe more like 4-5 AM and still arrive in Baker City by late morning before it gets too hot for V. Maui is sleeping upside down on the bed by me and I’m going to now go nap with her. Cuddle time! Oops…change of plans. Now Vanesa is going to buy Red Vines! She earned them today, that’s for sure. We’ll, ok, WE earned them and we split them. For dinner I had the other half of my breakfast burrito and V had Triscuits with cream cheese and 3/4 of a can of black beans. Straight out of the can, didn’t even bother to microwave them. What a star this woman is! We finished the lazy day side by side on our motel bed, her Netflixing a movie and me streaming Stage 11 of the Tour de France (a very exciting stage, I must say). Now, V is sleeping and I soon will be. Wake at 3 am, planned 430 departure for a short 40 miles to Baker City. We can taste home now. I remember on my 2010 Trans Am that I really felt like I was in Oregon again when I got to Baker City.