Huntington, OR

Diane and I are sitting in the shade of the small school in the small town of Huntington, OR, population 570. The school is K-12 and has a total of 90 students. They had 6 graduates last year. The town has one short street and 2 taverns/pubs that experienced a surge of business today. Can you count the bikes?
The people here are very friendly, and so excited to have us that a meet and greet is planned for tonight on the school’s football field, which is where we are camped. Can you find our tent in the picture?
It is unbelievably hot here at the moment; current temperature is 96 degrees F, with an occasional stiff breeze blowing.

Today’s trip was a short one, and mostly downhill. The terrain here is very hilly, as you can see from the picture, and very dry.
We reached our destination by 11 a.m. already, and tomorrow will be even shorter. Reason for that is that a weekend celebration is planned in Boise, Idaho, so the stops are planned in such a way as to get us there on Saturday. After this week, the daily mileage will be increasing. Today I rode with Theresa from Winnipeg, and we engaged in some interesting conversations about Christ and culture.

I’ve said some things about the cooking crew (and there will be more to follow), but you also need to know about Cory, who works for CRWRC in Grand Rapids. Cory drives the SAG vehicle that tows the Johnny on the spot. He doesn’t think it’s much of a job, but as Diane told him, Diane and the cooks put the food into the bikers, Cory provides them with a way to get the food out! In spite of what some might consider his lowly position, he is appreciated by one and all, and we make sure we let him know it.

Jake Kuipers is hovering over me and asking if I’m on the net or not, but no luck so far. I post my notes on Word file, and when internet is available, I simply cut and paste to the blog and hope that there’s enough time to post a couple of pictures.

Spirits are good. There’s a strong sense of unity, and everyone is encouraging of everyone else. We are having a lot of fun, and the work of setting up tents and equipment and taking them down every morning are simply becoming routine. Unless I’m on sweep team, I put the tent up and down and pack everything and I do the dishes for Diane and myself. Diane is busy enough in the kitchen at the time we usually arrive and when we leave so that’s the routine we’ve gotten into. It works well unless I come in late, then Diane puts up the tent. We sleep OK, but nights do get cold in spite of the hot days, and last night again a lot of trains came through town, blowing their horns at every imaginable crossing. So we catch brief naps where we can. We’re both feeling well, and thoroughly enjoying this adventure. Till tomorrow….

Today’s stats:

Distance: 75.96 kms
Average speed: 25.4 kph
Maximum speed: 65.7
Time in saddle: 2.59.11
# of flat tires on trip: 0