Last day of riding

Hood River is similar to San Francisco in terms of the streets - everywhere you turn there is a hill. Bellies full after another wonderful meal (greek yogurt with local apricot preserves, quiche with local tomatoes and home made muffins) we headed out and up. We knew today would be full of climbs and it was. I pondered whether I preferred long climbs on quiet roads or flats next to the interstate. We got both today without choice. 

The terrain was stunning as we moved into the lush green of Oregon. Sherwood Forrest came to mind. I spied some blackberries and we stopped and filled up on them. A curious group of goats got closer and closer as we dined and, as the pic shows, eventually even gave me a kiss.

Our plan was to get to Vancouver today, but the many climbs resulted in a slower-than- anticipated pace. We made it to Multnomah falls where a new friend of Charlie's (they met a few weeks back when CR asked him to take a picture) picked us up and drove us to their lovely home about 30 miles away.

Cath and Steve prepared a feast of Chinook salmon that Steve smoked over soaked alder wood while dousing with lemon. I will dream of that taste! After a great night's rest, I woke up realizing my ride is over. I fly out tomorrow (Sunday) and we decided not to rush it and cycle to Portland today where CR's wife Eiko and two friends are waiting for us. I  have not checked email in 3 days and have noticed the resulting focus on other things. I'm going to wait until I am on the plane to check my in box. This has been a great little adventure and one I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to experience. Eiko is going to borrow my bike and then ship it back to me so at least it will see the Pacific Ocean from Astoria where CR will finish his most recent, amazing adventure....

Flats, Friendly Drivers and Food

The overcast sky turned out to be smoke from forest fires west of us. We could see the billowing smoke across the river closer to Mt. Adams. Our plan was to bike around 50 miles to Cascade Lochs. Yesterday I had three rear wheel flats in 1 mile. I had a feeling this was not due to road debris. I turned my tire inside out and got very intimate with all aspects of it and found nothing.  The last tube we put in stuck the last mile or so into town and was fine as we rolled out of town. At flat #2, I started yelping 'bike stores' and one that came up closest was Salmon Cycling. As we cycled out of town I spied it and suggested we stop there to restock on tubes.

The store was immaculate and its owner a great mechanic and cyclist. He added some goo-like stuff he thought would reduce the impact of the goat head thorns he thought might be the reason for the prolific flats. A few minutes later we were on the road, west.

1 mile out Charlie thought I was joking when I shouted 'flat'. I won't share the additional vocabulary I added, but you can guess. So...I have been caring zip ties with me for years. I had them when we cycled in Europe and they are always in my flat kit. I don't know why, but my friend and bike guru, Richard suggested them once and I followed his advise. This morning as we were  leaving the hotel one of the zip ties fell out and I almost tossed it and then thought better and tucked in back into my flat kit. As we sat on the side of the road those zip ties came to mind and I asked CR if he would take my rear tire back to Salmon Cycling so that Dave could start the tire investigation;  We zip tied it to his trailer and agreed I would find a good Samaritan to drive the mile back with the rest of my bike and panniers. Charlie and I made a quick bet that I would make it back to the bike shop faster than he did. We were close but he beat my about 5 minutes. The Good Samaritan was a local Toyota rep named Tony who pulled up at the gas station where I was waiting in a Sequoia  - and yes, parents, I got his license plate and texted it to CR before I hopped in. And yes, Michael, I had my Swiss Army knife on me.

After replacing the rim tape and the tube and the goo, we hit the road 2 hours later than expected. 

The ride to Hood River is 17 miles - normally a ride we'd complete by lunch. Well, the climbs were, at least to me, tremendous. We climbed for about an hour, rested and climbed some more. The resulting view was worth it (see pics) and we assumed a juxtaposed decent was in order - nope. The directions from Messier to Hood River implied there were some climbs but not a terrain change to inch thick gravel (not good for heavy bikes). We finally had to hop off and push for a half mile. On the way a car passed and let us know the path we were looking for was a half mile back :(. The next 5 miles down a car-less path included views of the river from 1/2 a mile up, a pass through a tunnel that was originally designed for the model T but is now for hikers and bikers ; we passed orchards of peach, apricot and cherry trees that were tucked into the hills. Again, all worth the effort in my opinion. I snacked on an whole avocado, Pringles and turkey jerky and went through 4 bottles of water.

We just finished dinner at Nora's in Hood River, OR where we dined on Ceviche, Gazpacho, local Salmon, etc. and returned cleaned plates to the kitchen.  All this riding makes me appreciate the food - I crave 'real' food - like an orange or tomato. I am not sure where Pringles fit in, but they were delicious dipped in peanut butter!

Tomorrow we are headed to Portland. 

Roosevelt to The Dalles

Roosevelt to The Dalles (pronounced The Dals)

After less than an acceptable amount of sleep, due to the attack of the industrial sprinklers, we filled up on a 'Trucker's Breakfast' at the mini mart in Roosevelt, said our good byes to another biker we met who was going east and  set out towards Bigs, our lunch destination, about 35 miles away. Standing in the sun around 9am, I wondered how anyone out in this sun for long periods of time is anything but dark brown. I have lathered up on sun screen each day and already my arms are noticeably  browner. I am cycling in Tevas and have a distinguishable criss cross pattern on the tops of my feet. Yesterday I missed an inch of skin around the outside of my left ankle, resulting in a light burn, so I am very fashionable in socks and Tevas, through which one of my toes decided to  break early on today.

There would be no mini mart for 35 miles, so we stocked up. I had 6 bottles of various liquids, vitamin water, tea, cranberry juice and OJ. Additionally, I stuffed an avocado and can of chicken in my paniers as a 'no lunch store' back up plan.

We had my longest climb (but not CR's, Sho's or Saya's) today. It was between 2.5 and 3 miles and double the grade at Monteagle. I looked down and counted to 900, one for each pedal rotation,  for the last 1/4 mile. The top (see pic) resulted in a view of a Grand Canyon-style cut, a snow-capped Mt. Adam in the distance and rolling hills of wind turbines rolling around us. I asked Charlie how 'odd he thought Lewis and Clark found the wind turbines' to which he responded with a 'very funny'. 

We were treated to an equally long downhill which was lovely. The bridge across the Columbia into Big is nothing more than an interstate in the sky. There was no pedestrian or bike trail and we were forced to check our back constantly to make sure an 18 wheeler wasn't coming. They were and we hugged the railing as they passed. It took about 3 minutes to get across and I thought that this would be the perfect cure for anyone suffering from low blood pressure. I had a piece of apple pie after lunch, thinking this could be my last day and if so, I will have had pie.

The last 19 miles to The Dalles Ipronounced Dals) was flat our downhill along the river. For the first time, I could smell it and looked for otter which are, supposedly, abundant. We did not see one, but were dazzled by a sea eagle who tried, unsuccessfully, to take flight with a huge salmon in his talons. At the last moment, and before we could get out our cameras, he dropped it.

With 3 miles to go, I got one and then a second flat. Damit - I forgot to make a sacrifice to the gods of the rear wheel flat - I'll do that tomorrow, sorry Charlie, one of the kids has go to go. The good news: I am very comfortable changing a rear flat; bad news: I had fewer rear wheel flats in the last year and am agitated by their prolific arrival. The Queen song 'Fat Bottom Girls' keeps coming to me, which is equally irritating. Tomorrow we  head towards Vancouver/Portland.

Umatilla to Roosevelt (55 miles)

Our hotel stay, despite the name, felt luxurious since we had a working shower with hot water and clean sheets. Across the street was a great little breakfast spot, Java Junky where we fueled up on egg and bacon wraps before hitting the road.

After a short few minutes on busy roads and across the bridge at McNairy dam we hung a left and, to my delight, were on a back road surrounded by fields of apple orchards. We were treated to that scene for about 15 miles before taking Highway 14 west. Highway 14 had a generous shoulder and the traffic was light. Across the Columbia river we could see the heavy traffic on the WA side and were glad to have heeded the local advise to cross at stay on the OR side.

About 25 miles in we stopped in Paterson, population about 6, and had lunch. During the next 30 miles I got my yearly allotment of vitamin E.  There was absolutely zero shade. Fortunately we were all well sun screened and the temperature was manageable at around 85. There was an occasional breeze off the river and the scenery continued to stun me. The gods of the rear wheel flat were not happy with me today - I got two. Sho got one as well. I've used up all my tubes (which I've never done before) so am relying on CR's for any other flats. He has plenty, but when I used my last one I thought how stuck I'd be without another. Next time, I'll bring double the tubes. 

When the lady at our lunch spot said there was 'nothing until Roosevelt' she meant it. Other than a couple wineries which sat high atop the ridge, there was not a sign of humanity. We had plenty of food and drink but were hungry for real food  when we rolled in to Roosevelt, population, 7. The diner at Roosevelt is the town center and there were a couple other bikers there in addition to drivers coming from Portland or Umatilla. We lingered there for about an hour and then headed down to the camp ground which sits on the river.

We had just finished setting up our tents when the moon began to appear over the hills. Within a few minutes we were awed by its size and color.  A large fish (salmon?) jumped much to Saya's delight and we sat, mesmerized, for half an hour watching it rise (see pic).

Before leaving Nashville, I saw a sign on a trash can at a Kinkos that said 'trash only' and wondered who decides what's trash and what's not? I think the same is true with what's funny to some and not to others. We had been tucked away in our tents for 10 minutes when the sprinklers in the camp ground went off - it was like a hale storm. The seemed to pop up everywhere and were not your neighbors gentle sprinklers, but the industrial type that will take your skin off. CR and another camper guy, ran around placing barriers up - this is obviously a problem, because there was a stack of thick white plastic barriers available for just this purpose. The sprinklers were on a timer and a new batch sprang to life in the middle of the night, spraying directly into my tent. CR got to it before I could even get out of the tent and Saya, who shared a tent with me, went right back to sleep after I dried her face and hair. I laid there chuckling thinking how funny it would look to see us dashing around hollering and getting soaked before I drifted off.

Today we are heading to The Dalls about 55 miles away - it's cool this morning as I type with my lower extremities tucked in my sleeping bag and dream of a grande one pump extra hot mocha.

Missed opportunities and stunning views

Today we loaded up the bikes - 12 panniers full of gear - made a quick stop by the bike store and loaded up on food and drink for the 55 miles to Umatilla, OR. Our route was more trafficked than I prefer along Highway 12. We had a decent shoulder but the cars and trucks zooming by made for less than a relaxing time. We were safe, but the traffic was loud and required us to be 'on' all the time. I fantasized about and longed for the hundreds of miles we had experienced last summer in Europe through pastures and sleepy towns as I worked to relax. 

CR is participating in a road kill project which means we stopped anytime we came across road kill and logged it. After the 2nd or 3rd stop, I began to feel inadequate at my strictly 'down time' focus for this trip. I am neither sponsored nor collecting any relevant data. I thought about this for a mile or so and called out 'STOP' as CR and the kids did any time someone saw road kill which needed logging. Everyone came to a stop and I announced that, since setting out this morning, we had passed at least half a dozen signs for wineries with 'tastings happening now' none of which was receiving a visit from us and that from now on,  I was planning on stopping at each one and  photographing it as an example of missed opportunity. As I took my first picture (see below) CR said  'are you making fun of me?' Nope - just noting the lack of winery experience we are having....

About 12 miles out, we stopped to eat and found one of the only shady spots I saw all day. There was an elm tree surrounded by soft, green grass that gave us a lovely picnic spot. I looked for a water spigot and found one we could use to refill our bottles. After I had filled mine and was placing it on my bike, CR did the same and suddenly jumped back, whispering loudly for me to 'come over and bring your camera.' There, in a small dug out area by the window, was a young skunk. After we had taken pics of him, I threw him a cookie, much to CR's chagrin, who said he thought it unfair that I share such a delicious item with a Skunk.

 

After another 20 miles or so the Columbia river game into view. I can only imagine how astonished the Lewis and Clark party must have been to have come upon it, unaware, We hung a left and road along this majestic river, surrounded by gold and brown cliffs. The scene was magnificent. The river is enormous and glistens as it turns around the cliffs that jut above it. We had the  Columbia at our side for around 20 miles before it veered off, leaving us with fields of grain.  I also called this part of the route 'side dish alley' because every mile or so we'd see, and I'm completely serious, a stray potato or onion. They, the potatoes and onions, are transported by the truck load and a few fall out along the way. 

Our last 15 miles was tough, mostly because we'd been in the saddle for so long (7 hours). Our planned stop of Umatilla yielded a local dairy dip-styled burger joint with milk shakes and onion rings. I ordered a salad with grilled chicken and received a portion large enough for 4 people and did my best to eat all of it. My last picture is of the motel sign. As we peddaled up to it Sho said 'is that  play on words, like 'until I come in'? Ah, yeah, was all I could think to say - check out the pic!

Rest day

Charlie suggested a day off - with which I was not going to argue, they had, after all, bike 67 miles  yesterday while I focused on wine tasting. I think a day of icing my elbow from all the reaching and sipping is a good idea.

I started the day with an easy run. Walla Walla was quiet at 6 am as I headed out and the weather was a lovely 75 degrees. On the way back, with a half mile to go, I came to an intersection and a green light. A car approached to my right  and I hesitated although I had the right of way. The man never saw me as he sped through the red light. I caught a glimpse of him and saw that he was staring intently at his phone. I whistled loudly but he never even looked up, apparently completely unaware that he had run a red light. Defense, always the best offense. I exhaled and finished by run, making a note to be extra careful of distracted drivers along this ride. A while back I made the decision to keep my phone in the trunk of my car so that I am not tempted to look at. On my return, I will be more diligent about that.

There is an aviary in Walla Walla that is surrounded by a beautiful park and play ground where we spent the morning. After another delicious meal, lunch at Olive restaurant, we played with the kids in the pool  - Saya and I dominated at chicken. The moon is in some special condition right now. CR, has, of course, researched exactly its state, so read his blog from the science. It's big a beautiful and casts a bluish hue.Tomorrow we plan to ride to Umatilla, OR, about 55 miles away.

Walla Walla has lots of lovely old home - attached are pics of a few of them.

Wonderful Walla Walla