Day 62: Hermiston the Cow

August 6, 2022 in Hermiston, Oregon

My second night on the teensy tiny couch was just as uncomfortable as the first, unfortunately. At least that meant I was ready to get up and ride bikes!

I rode with Lorelei and Eliza, and we got onto the bike path I'd fallen down on to make our way to the main roads.

We were pretty much immediately thrown into an aggressive uphill, but it had a friendly dog on the other side so it was almost worth it.

We spent the first half of the ride suffering through some brutal uphills, but after that point, it was smooth sailing. There was one road with an incredible downhill and smooth pavement, and a crop duster plane flew right alongside us for a good while. I will remember that for the rest of my life.

We had lunch right in front of a tunnel, which was pretty late in the approximately 45 mile ride, but a neat location.

Once we got to the host, I finished unpacking my bag, sitting on the floor and panting for a while, and taking a shower, I went to get food with a couple of friends. There was a Vietnamese place downtown, so we took a short drive to check it out. It was okay, but not amazing.

Afterward, we all piled back into the truck and went to a tiny thrift shop, where I found the CUTEST tiny ceramic cow! He was one dollar and I named him Hermiston, after the town I found him in. I attached him to my bike when we got back so he could see all my adventures.

I spent my late afternoon resting before heading out to the downtown area to watch a local parade and grab a bite to eat. I had a hot dog from a food truck, which was a questionable decision the night before a 100-mile ride, but ultimately was fine.

The parade itself was pretty awesome––I still have no idea what it was for, but there were so many awesome floats. We also met the cutest puppy, who really made me want a border collie someday.

I ended up walking the mile back to the host myself. Everyone was planning on going to a brewery and staying out late, and I was ready to hit the hay to rest up for my big day tomorrow.