Seize The World

 My latest stop on the Seize The World tour was Boise, Idaho.  After pedaling through the lonely, barren wastelands that make up Eastern Oregon, I really did not think that there was anything out there to top the experience.  But then I rolled into Boise.  I went there to give a slide show presentation to the Epilepsy Foundation of Idaho, which is headquartered in Boise.  As it turns out, the slide show wound up being just one small part of a much greater experience.

 I have now arrived in Caldwell, Idaho, about 30 miles west of Boise.  The past ten days or so have been spent on a tour through Eastern Oregon.  I now consider Eastern Oregon to be its own distinct region of the world.  Sort of the same way that West Virginia is a distinct region of the world.  To gain access to Eastern Oregon, I spent four grueling days pedaling east up the Columbia River Gorge, beginning in Vancouver, WA, and ending - at last - in Biggs, Oregon, after crossing the river.  It would not have been grueling - and would, in fact have been pleasant - if it were not for the wind.  There is a steady easterly wind that runs through the Gorge, which made a 7mph pace into hard, cold work.  I spotted a barge or two out on the river, plugging away upstream, and tried to keep up as they chugged along.  My efforts were fruitless.  They were going about 8Mph.  At one point, I checked into a hotel after a 19 mile day, feeling thrashed, frozen, and really excited to be in a hotel.  The next day was the day I crossed over to Biggs, made my way to Wasco, and began my Eastern Oregon adventure.  One of the purest, loneliest, easiest, best parts of the Seize The World tour to date.