Day 10 - A Game of Ping Pong (June 11th, 2024)

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City To City: Prairie City - Baker City
Miles: 69
Miles Total: 592
Flats: 0

A view from the first mountain climb





At the ping-pong club




A picture with Judy


    

    In the morning, we slept a little longer than usual. We stopped at a coffee shop and updated the blog a little. We had an easier day and wanted to take things a little easier. We still wanted to be there early enough to have a good night's sleep. Our warm shower host, Judy, texted my dad, asking if we wanted to go to a ping-pong club that evening. We said we were up for it.  
    We climbed up a mountain over five thousand feet tall in the morning.  With three mountains to go over, we slowly and steadily climbed up and over.  The mountains were curvy and steep.   While riding along the small creek almost the entire time when there were flat areas, we could ride above 20 mph in a peloton. 
    Once we arrived, we met Judy. Judy had traveled the U.S. by bicycle in a loop and some in nine months, covering over nine thousand miles.   She is a generous host, fun to be around, and a unique lady.  She's a great storyteller and has many interesting interactions with people she meets.  She told us, "There's a lot of good people out there.  You just have to find them." 
    We quickly showered and ate an early dinner. Judy then drove us to the ping-pong club. When we got in the car, we felt it was a huge luxury to go so fast with little physical effort. During the car ride, Judy told us to watch out for older men in their eighties. She told us that they could beat anyone in the club.
    Being the first people at the club, we set up tables and set up paddles and balls.  Soon, people started trickling in.  With my dad, the best of us, but only mediocre, Henry and I only played a little and never expected to win a game.  Well, I beat Henry best out of three and beat two other ladies as well.  Henry won a few, and so did my dad.  In the end, we had a great time, met kind, new people, and got out and had a little social time.  After ping-pong, we offered to take Judy out for ice cream, but she declined. Then, she offered to take us to the grocery store in her car.  She then convinced us to let her take us, saying that she also had to get a few things at the grocery store, which was a win-win for her.  We again bought a half gallon and ate it with no problem.  We slept in Judy's basement and got another blog post out.

Comments

  1. MichaelJune 13, 2024 at 10:50 PM

    Great update Layla - daily ice cream sounds like a nice treat for the long, hilly rides.

    ReplyDelete

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