Dufur, OR - Biking

We hopped on our road bikes and went east of Dufur - more into the wheat fields and desert area. When Andy rode the other day he went west on Lower Dufur Road (Rt 44) which took him into Mt Hood National Forest area. So he enjoyed a different aspect of this area.
Andy had warned me about these long, gradual climbs. But I don't think I've ever pedaled a hill that lasted for 9 miles before. Yep. 9 long, continuous miles.
Actually I was pretty proud of myself considering how little we've ridden lately. My legs felt strong, my breathing was controlled, but I was on fire. I felt that my black lycra biking shorts had become a magnifying glass catching all of the sun's rays. I thought that I might self-combust, the heat was so intense on my face and my legs. But finally, we got to the top...and then another top...and then another top (every summit showed another hill!)...and then there was a cool breeze. We should've been able to see Mt Hood and Mt Adams from this one spot - but both were covered with clouds. Bummer. We pedaled on til we found the road we were looking for to make a loop to head home. Another bummer...it was gravel. We knew this was a risk, so no big deal - we now had almost 11 miles of downhill to enjoy!

Some of the clouds cleared from Mt Hood on our way down, so I had to take a picture to remember her.
It was a great area to ride. We rode past cows & horses, spooked some quails, watched seven deer bound through the wheat, had hawks soaring overhead, and we even saw a coyote. And we saw a whopping six cars in two hours of biking. Now that is a peaceful ride.