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Day 02

Let's rewind this day...niiiiiice.

ROUTE: St Helens to Welches OR	DISTANCE: 73 miles	WINDS: Light out of the west...tail
WEATHER: 55 at departure and 77 at destination...mostly sunny	TERRAIN: Gently rolling until about 47 then hilly	TOTAL CLIMBING: 3200 feet

DAILY REPORT:

Is it day 2 already? I guess it is since we are in Welches tonight. Today's 74 mile day started out a bit on the cool side, but the afternoon was supposed to get to the mid 80s...didn't happen so we were pretty comfortable all day...light tailwinds, sunny skies, and beautiful scenery. And what was that bright shiney thing in the sky this morning (left)...life is good. It was almost a picture perfect day as beautiful views of Mt Hood (below right) greeted us as we neared our destination. Hopefully, we'll have another clear day tomorrow...it's always a treat when we can see Mt Hood while we are climbing to the desert.

Today's route left St Helens on Hwy 30 and crossed the St John's bridge in Portland. Everyone made it across without incident and made it to the first SAG in good time. From there the route went right by the Portland Airport and followed the Columbia River for quite some time varying between streets and a nice paved bike path that was right next to the river. We passed an area of "houseboats" (right) that really looked like floating houses. It looked just like a little neighborhood from Leave It To Beaver complete with flower beds, shudders, and hanging plants. Probably a good way to save on flood insurance...build your house on a floating bottom. Hmmm, I wonder what this neighborhood looks like when they all go out to sea? Just an empty dock I imagine.

One thing I like about this part of the country is they have bike paths or lanes almost everywhere. You can go just about anywhere downtown in the major cities and be on a published bike route. I wish my state, Alabama, would figure out how to do that...but it may be too hot to ride your bike there in the summer.

Anytime you try to navigate through a city with bike paths the route sheets get a bit confusing...today was no exception. Karen and I got in the van with Jeff to the first SAG ahead of the riders and from there we got on our bikes with cans of spray paint to guide everyone through the bike path maze of Portland. Everyone seemed to appreciate the easy navigation, but they better not get used to arrows everywhere. In spite of our efforts, we had a couple still miss a turn or two. Seems they turned left when the arrow said turn right. I forgot to tell them to follow the pointy end of the arrow...my bad! After a search and several cell phone calls, all was right again as all the sheep were were back on track and accounted for...until the back end got caught up in a traffic accident. Ray and Marie witnessed a truck that plunged off the highway into the river adjacent to the Portland Airport. It went flying across the bike path right in front of them...lucky no riders were in the way. They and a couple more riders were trapped behind the rescue effort and also delayed to make statements to the authorities. No report on the victim...our riders were only delayed.

After painting most of the Portland bikeway, Karen and I pressed on passing our time taking photos of the riders and some of the scenery. We arrived in Sandy OR shortly after noon so lunch was in order...the prime spot was Calamity Jane's...a burger joint that almost everyone stopped at. They even let us wheel our bikes through their restaurant to the back patio for storage while we ate...great place. It was really hard to get back on the bike after chowing down there...luckily, I only ordered a small veggie burger...that was filling enough. This place had a ton of different burgers...some of which didn't even sound appetizing like one that had whipped cream, ice cream, and fruit along with lettuce and onion...items on the burger, not on the side. If you can think of it, I'll bet they'd put it on a burger. Quite a place...just the topping on a great day.

Tonight's dinner is at Panda Panda, a Chinese restaurant where we also had route rap. Tomorrow we start going up...when I told them that, everyone was curious what we'd been doing for the last two days. I hope everyone is ready to do some real climbing tomorrow...they'd better be. The road to Kah Nee Ta is a beautiful ride and I'm definitely looking forward to it...of course, I'm in the van. I told the riders that the toughest climb on this first leg to Boise was the last 150 yards to our motel in Kah Nee Ta...it sits right on top of a BIG climb away from a river...hope they can make it. Maybe we should issue tents. See you tomorrow.

DID I REALLY SAY THAT?:

"Hello Mike? I'm lost...can you help me find my way back on route?"
"Do you know where you are?"
"No."
"Sorry, I can't help you then...maybe if you turn around and head back to the last place where you knew where you were."
"That would be in Virginia."
"Hmmm."

"It was a great day...ride two miles and take a photo...ride two more miles and take another photo. Then...oh, there's another great photo...ride...er, there's another one...it's going to be a long ride."

"Mike, how many times have you crossed the country?"
"About 30."
"Have you taken off your training wheels yet?"

DID I REALLY DO THAT?:

Not mentioning any names on this one...the main reason is I don't really know who did it, but Mike M reported that someone from our group called the front desk and asked how to operate the shower. I guess the directions worked, everyone seemed to be bathed this morning.

DID I REALLY SEE THAT?
Rich really knows how to needle Jeff...the good old Wisconsin/Minnesota rivalry.	But Jim...if it's at the motel, does it count as a flat? Jim had a good answer..."Did I take the wheel off the bike?" "Yes." "Did the tire have any air left in it?" "No." "Did I take the tire off the rim to repair it?" "Yes." "Did we have to pump it back up?" "Yes, I guess so." "Well then, what do you think?" "I see your point."
Good to have our old friend Big Mike on the trip. He's ridden with us several times before...he's finally found someone he can "look up to." If I have a chair to stand on.	Big Mike (all 6'12" of him) is too big for my view finder...I have to take two shots.
Give me a can of Krylon and I'll change the world!	Marianne spent the entire time at the second SAG practicing our "OK signal." She told Karen, "For some reason it hasn't been getting responses from the vehicles." But Marianne, did you ever try it with ABB vehicles?