DAY
1
Astoria to St Helens
June 16
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| Distance: 69 Miles | Climbing: 3259 feet | Winds: NW 10 | |||
| Weather: Overcast at beginning, sunny by ride's end. | Terrain: Two good climbs, otherwise rolling to flat. | ||||
Today's Report:
Sixty-nine
down and only 3544 to go. Well,
it seems to be another fine group of cyclists. After yesterday's orientation,
I wasn't sure if any of them wanted to ride...some of them said they thought they
signed up for the downhill ride! Fooled them didn't we? Or didn't they
read the brochure? During orientation, we talked about hills, rain, and
headwinds, dealing with traffic...you know the normal stuff that they will encounter on a ride like
this. But, all of them showed up for breakfast, and then they all loaded their
luggage, so I guess they are going to give it a go. Of course I'm kidding about
them thinking about not riding...I couldn't keep them off the road if I used an
army. They were nervous, anxious, and raring to go by the time we got to
the luggage truck. They were ready to meet the challenge head on so off we rode into the
unknown...to Portsmouth AND BEYOND!!!
We started out early but first we had to take the customary departure photo under the bridge behind the motel...a beautiful backdrop for our group photo. As usual, it was like herding cats, but everyone finally got in line and we snapped a few digitals to mark the occasion. From there it was an empty parking lot in about the wink of an eye.
After departure, we spent the morning doing the usual...driving up through the riders fixing flats and checking over bikes. There's always a few minor tweaks after putting bikes together as we did yesterday. There's always something loose or a derailleur that doesn't quite work as is should. Ray broke the ice and had the first flat on the road...3½ miles into the ride. Let's see, at that rate, he is projected to have about 1100 flats before arriving at Portsmouth...let's hope his luck gets better.
The
ride today took us along hwy 30 all the way to St Helens. It as a fairly busy
state road but usually it had a nice shoulder to ride on and plenty of beautiful
scenery to keep everyone entertained...even a glimpse of Mt St Helens at one
point. It is hard to imagine the devastation that must have been here when she
blew her top years ago. We never saw any signs of it today...maybe when we get
on the other side we might. That will have to wait until tomorrow. Most of our
route took us along the Columbia River and the several times we popped out for a
view, it was gorgeous. The thing I like about this area is that everyone up
here is used to seeing cyclists and seems to give them room...even the logging
trucks. I got several friendly waves from them throughout the day...at least
they seemed friendly.
The best news of the day was that we got everyone in safely on the first day...one down and only 49 more to go. I think most everyone was in before 2:00 so they had time to relax and get to know one another before going to dinner at the Village Restaurant next door to the motel. We had the usual small problems at the mechanics' van: squeaky drive trains, loose screws, and minor adjustments to derailleurs, but all in all it was a pretty easy day...a good warm up for what's to come in a day or two when we hit the high desert and some long days. See you tomorrow. "
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PHOTOS AND SUCH |
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CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? Yesterday when I was putting Lu's bike together I asked her where she was from...Indiana was the reply. Well, I'm from Indiana so naturally I asked her where in Indiana. She said she was from Batesville..."Cool," I said, "I used to teach school in Osgood at Jac Cen Del middle school. "When," she asked? "A long time ago," I replied. As the conversation went on, I found that I'd taught her sister in the seventh grade. She was a year behind when I left to join the Air Force. It was really neat to talk about some of the kids that were in that class...she was surprised that I remembered so many of their names. I told her that those kids made a positive impression on me and that I would never forget them. What a small world. |
Karen gave Jim and Ted expert supervision during their first tire changing exercise. "I just wanted to do the ride for 50 days and remain incognito," Jim said. Sadly Karen advised, "It's already too late." |
George was especially excited about getting on the road this morning when he learned DOT would allow him to subsidize the ride by trimming the shoulder grass. |
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With the precision of a union bricklayer, Mark has a special place for every bag...nothing will move when he loads the luggage. |
Tom misunderstood the RAP directions...we said, "You'll ride around the traffic circle...he heard, "You'll ride around the Arctic Circle." |
Everyone center on Larry for the group photo! |
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DID I REALLY SAY THAT? "It will be intuitively obvious to even the most disinterested casual observer when you get there." "I'm thinking I can handle the navigation today...turn left out of the motel, go 69 miles, turn right into the motel." "Tomorrow we have turns!!!?" |
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