Lost and Found

We zoomed through the Columbia River Gorge so fast, I hardly knew it was there! After a rustic night camping outside the Legion Hall in Carson, Washington, we had a hot and hilly ride to Maryhill State Park, near Goldendale. Among the highlights, we stopped for lunch at Horsethief Lake park, and hiked down the hill to the near the river's edge, where there are hundreds of wonderful petroglyphs. Missed the cutoff to the lake and ended up at the wrong parking lot, so we had to do a small backtrack to where Pat had already set out our lunch. Let is suffice to say that every mistake we make on the road becomes a learning experience.

The last 20 miles to the campsite were almost unbearable long and hot, except for the finish, a high-speed descent, and the showers at the end of the ride. Here's a picture that Pat took of me enjoying an "adult beverage" while the boys were off having their showers:

The campsite was right on the Columbia River. I was able to post a Facebook update, but we had no Internet, so no blog. 

First thing in the morning (we originally planned to get up by 4 am, out by 5 am, but weary bones need a bit more sleep, so first thing in the morning happened at 6:30 rather than 5), we left camp and started up the hill that we had descended at over 35 mph the day before. By the time we had completed half an hour of riding, we had already climbed over 800 feet, and actually saw the sunrise peaking through stones at Maryhill's full-sized replica of Stonehenge. Then we had another superfast downhill ride, followed by a quick-paced ride out of the Columbia Gorge and into the desert area farther up the Columbia River. It was a long ride, and we knew it would be hot again, so we stoked our inner furnaces, and for awhile, averaged around 25 mph. Over the course of the entire ride, we averaged better than 15 mph. Unfortunately, the Strava app on my cell phone stopped working because the location services would not work in the middle of nowhere, but I have accurate numbers from the day on my Garmin bike computer.

Had an early lunch because we needed to break up the ride into smaller segments, and everyone appreciated the shade of the car, since there were no trees in sight.

Judging strictly by the mileage, we anticipated arriving in Umatilla (pronounce "you" matilla) as early as noon, but the heat started taking its toll, and we had more frequent breaks. Here are the three boys chugging along on a hot stretch of pavement:

Everyone is starting to ride more strongly, and throughout the day, each one of us had our moments of strength, and our moments of fading. But eventually, we found our way across the highway bridge and into Umatilla. Unfortunately, the church where we are staying for the night is on Columbia street, and the GPS maps don't work very well in Umatilla. The map neglected to tell us that there were two Columbia streets, several miles away from each other, and both of them up a tough hill. So what was supposed to be a ride of just over 80 miles turned into a ride of 90 miles and lasting nearly 6 hours. The good news ... riding from the east end of Umatilla cuts off several miles on tomorrow's journey to Walla Walla, where we get to spend two nights! Looking forward to a day of rest and recovery. 

The Garmin says we covered 90.3 miles in 5:54:52 at an average speed of 15.27 mph, with a top speed of 35.26 mph. We burned approximately 5,389 calories today, and ascended a total of 2821.5 feet, partially negated by the 2460.6 feet of descending. And we are approximately 305 miles into our 3521 mile journey. We will sleep well in the air conditioned church hall at the Umatilla Baptist Church, have a good breakfast cooked on a real stove, then cycle through the vineyards and farmlands towards Walla Walla. It sounds so romantic, so French. But we know this ... it will be hot. Voila Voila! (Just teasing a few "Whitties" who follow my blog).

For those who just can't get enough from my blog posts, I urge you to also follow along on Bryce's video journal at http://biketripamerica.com.