Larry's log:
Once again, 50 bright eyed and bushy tailed riders gathered for breakfast in the motel parking lot at 5:30 am. So did the mosquitos! I had a hearty breakfast and I could tell from my body that the mosquitos did, too. The first 90 miles of the ride were through the Columbia River National Scenic area.The first 20 miles were absolutely stunning. More of the tree shaded stuff. Early on, we climbed above the river. We were treated to spectacular river views and several waterfalls on the way down. These were no Niagara, but were single streams falling at least a couple hundred feet off the edge of cliffs. Multnomah Falls was the best. I spent so much time taking pictures and taking in the scenery, that I was on track for a 12 or 13 hour ride. Ouch! After all of this scenery the riding was on the shoulder of I-84 and its frontage road (where available). The first rest stop was on a section of frontage road. When I was there, two maintenance workers leaned out of their truck and asked where we were headed. So, we said, "Charleston." The lady's response was a loud, "Are you sh---ing me?" After telling her it was true, her next question was, "Why?"Well, if you have to ask, you probably wouldn't understand anyway. However, the tour leader explained to her what was going on. For the next 20 miles or so, the scenery was not bad, basically green cliffs stretching down to the Columbia River on either side (we were riding right alongside the river, in the valley). While we were on the interstate, we were obviously in a gorge. There were several railroads along the river. I heard one train coming from about a mile away. It was neat how its whistle echoed off of the cliffs. Also, I noticed the interstate was "tiered." All that was at our level was our direction. The opposite direction was down about ten feet and a little further toward the edge of the ridge. At about mile 60, we left the interstate and hopped back on the side road. It was a climb of a couple thousand feet for more spectacular views. You could also see Mt. Adams and Mt. Hood. Rowena Crest was a gorgeous view, and we could see the road below that we would be descending toward. About here, the terrain and climate was changing. It was noticeably warmer and drier. The terrain was shorter trees, and soon just bare brown cliffs along the river. At the Dalles, about 80 miles into the ride, I hopped the bridge to Washington State, since I have never ridden there. Midway across the Columbia was a state line sign. So, I crossed it and turned around to rejoin the route along the interstate on the Oregon side. So, now I've ridden in Washington, for about ten feet. The remaining 75 miles of the ride were sunny, hot (well into the 90s) and monotonous. The scenery was more or less the continuous brown cliffs heading down to the river. And about ten miles from the end, even those more or less disappeared. What could have been a 12 or 13 hour day ended up being nearly 11. With an average rolling speed for the day of 17.9 mph, that figures to about two hours spent photographing, eating at rest stops, etc. Boardman is a small town with nothing to offer, so it wasn't a bad thing that we got here late. At the restaurant next door, we got the last of their spaghetti, and they were already out of ice cream. As we were leaving, the guy behind me in line told me we would have a good climb tomorrow. But he said he had power, as he pointed to his white "big rig" in the parking lot. I told him I had power, too, and pointed to my legs. Riders were much more spread out than yesterday. I spent most of the day riding with Judith and Daniel, and I think we arrived about an hour after the first ones.There were still riders arriving for two hours after we got here. Tomorrow we get to sleep late! Breakfast is at 6:30!
-- Larry Schwartz
We survived the day!!!! Actually, Daniel and I had a great day and enjoyed the first part of the ride tremendously. I was smart and dressed warm in the morning but by the time we had our flat tire at mile 44, I had shed all the extra layers. This was our first flat of the trip and we were on I-84 at the time. Not the best spot to change a tire!!! The temperature warmed up to close to 100 degree by early afternoon, and since there was not a cloud in the sky, we were really baking!! The fluids and shade of the rest stops were definitely a welcome site. We arrived just before 5pm at the motel, tired but content. And pleased to know that we could sleep in for an extra hour tomorrow. Dinner was very good. I was able to get a veggie burger at the local diner. And we were definitely fortunate to have gone early to the place, since the restaurant was quickly running out of food!! Tomorrow's ride will only be 107 miles, but we are climbing about 6700 feet. This will make it much more challenging! We are looking forward to it.
Judith Jolly (and Daniel Schaaf)