USNA 1973 Ride-2-Remember

Day 6, 9 August: Fossil to Mitchell, OR

43 miles and 3930 ft. of climbing.  We departed our B&B at 0530 in 56F, overcast dry conditions.  Right off we started climbing for 10 miles, then a 12-mile descent down and through Twickenham, OR, a ranching community, across the John Day River and then another 10-mile steep climb, followed by multiple short climbs into Mitchell. Upon arriving in Mitchell, I ran out of gas in front of the Tiger Town Pub, so I waited a few minutes for Tes, Ron and Bill to arrive and then we celebrated the ride with a Scottish lager followed by lunch.

We then rode up another hill ½ mile to our rented home for the night and a much needed and looked forward to rest day.

The last three days were very emotional for me as I rode tribute Monday for Reggie Campbell, Tuesday for Jack Allen and Wednesday for Steve Coats.

Reggie was my Chemistry Lab partner, an All-American soccer player and a great friend.  He was killed in a parachuting accident second class (junior) year.

Jack and Steve were my company mates in 34^th Company, excellent students and roommates. They were both selected for Nuclear Power and tragically were both killed in an auto accident just weeks before graduation.

Dave Haefner