Originally Posted by
kevmcd
I grew up in Pendleton and go back every year but I haven't done any bike touring there for almost 40 years. I just looked at the ride from Athena to Elgin on Google maps to refresh my memory on what the climbs were like. I think they are off my list for good.
There's a lot of great scenery around there. Take bear spray with you (but you probably know that). I recommend doing a couple of 2 or 3 night trips this season to iron out the details but sometimes the best plan is to just go for it.
I remember driving to Pendleton with my girlfriend to do a ride and when I went to the back of the car to start unloading the bikes I discovered that I had lined my rear wheel up with the tail pipe and the tire and tube was a liquid chocalatey mess dripping onto the pavement. It wasn't easy to find a tire and tube in Pendleton at that time. I think I got one at a k-mart or bi-mart and the tire I bought kept peeling off the rim as the tube expanded on the hot pavement.
As another poster noted packing light is important. But maybe with modern equipment and gearing breakdowns aren't as much of a problem. (it is a problem with the age of my bike and knees).
my wife is from Pendleton. But the ride from Athena to Elgin along 204 would be a cake walk compared to the ride I’m planning. The steepest part is going to be from Imnaha to Salt Creek Summit along the Wallowa Mountain Loop Road (FS 39). Almost straight up the backside of Hell’s Canyon.
I won’t be bringing bear spray. I’m not an advocate of bear spray… In my personal experience bear spray only makes matters worse. I want to neutralize the problem, hence I have bear
and cougar tags… and I have the proper bear deterrents.
I think this year if I can go at all it will be a shorter trip. I was hoping to have a bike this year to be able to make the trip, but because someone vandalized my daily I had to spend a big chunk of my new bike money repairing it instead.