Astoria, Oregon

Our trip will likely go down in history (at least in our minds).  First, it was Lewis and Clarks 2 year journey, but now it is Joe and Jeff’s 4 year journey to reach Astoria. Obviously, our journey was harder because it took longer.  L & C’s adventure started in St. Louis in 1804 and they returned in 1806.  We started in St. Louis in 2009 and went to Havre, Mt. and now in 2013 we have completed the journey.  While L &C’s journals document their triumphant exploration, all we have is this and our prior blog…but we are getting ahead of ourselves.

This morning we started from Cascade Locks by getting on a bike path that took us west along the interstate for about 5 miles.  From there, we had to get on the interstate for only 3 miles.  We were early enough that we only had to endure very little traffic noise and none of the headwinds that challenged us on the previous days.  From there we transitioned back to “Historic Route 30” that took us by the many water falls that are located along this part of the gorge.  Next we had a long climb up to Vista House that was above the clouds and offered a wonderful view.  As we continued west we cycled along the top of the ridge for several miles before we came to the long anticipated down hill.  As we were flying down at 20 to 30 mph, Joe called to Jeff that we needed to stop or miss the short cut that he found in the cycling guide books.  Indeed, this short cut eliminated a mile from staying on Route 30.  What Joe did not tell Jeff, was that to save a mile of great down hill cycling we would need to climb several 100 additional feet before getting an even longer down hill ride.  Needless to say, Jeff was not happy sacrificing his original down hill just to do a big climb with a longer down hill.

As we worked our way into Portland, we cycled mostly on bike paths along the Columbia River with Mount Hood looming behind us.  Once we got into the city we headed for the River City Bike shop where we left our bikes to be shipped home.  Next, Joe’s daughter-in-law picked us up and took us to her home.  After relaxing with her and her daughters we got into a car and headed to Astoria. 

We had to come to Astoria because this is where Lewis and Clark wintered before heading home.  Both of us recently read a cycling article that espoused the charms of Astoria and were looking forward to spending time here.  However, we were disappointed.  We expected a quaint little town with the charm of Cannon Beach, Oregon (just south of here).  Instead, we found is a city that did not meet any of our expectations. It seemed over developed and worn out.  Despite our disappointment, we look forward to our drive back to Portland and then flying to our homes in New York and Virginia.

Today’s photos

Today’s Map

Astoria, Oregon

Our trip will likely go down in history (at least in our minds).  First, it was Lewis and Clarks 2 year journey, but now it is Joe and Jeff’s 4 year journey to reach Astoria. Obviously, our journey was harder because it took longer.  L & C’s adventure started in St. Louis in 1804 and they returned in 1806.  We started in St. Louis in 2009 and went to Havre, Mt. and now in 2013 we have completed the journey.  While L &C’s journals document their triumphant exploration, all we have is this and our prior blog…but we are getting ahead of ourselves.

This morning we started from Cascade Locks by getting on a bike path that took us west along the interstate for about 5 miles.  From there, we had to get on the interstate for only 3 miles.  We were early enough that we only had to endure very little traffic noise and none of the headwinds that challenged us on the previous days.  From there we transitioned back to “Historic Route 30” that took us by the many water falls that are located along this part of the gorge.  Next we had a long climb up to Vista House that was above the clouds and offered a wonderful view.  As we continued west we cycled along the top of the ridge for several miles before we came to the long anticipated down hill.  As we were flying down at 20 to 30 mph, Joe called to Jeff that we needed to stop or miss the short cut that he found in the cycling guide books.  Indeed, this short cut eliminated a mile from staying on Route 30.  What Joe did not tell Jeff, was that to save a mile of great down hill cycling we would need to climb several 100 additional feet before getting an even longer down hill ride.  Needless to say, Jeff was not happy sacrificing his original down hill just to do a big climb with a longer down hill.

As we worked our way into Portland, we cycled mostly on bike paths along the Columbia River with Mount Hood looming behind us.  Once we got into the city we headed for the River City Bike shop where we left our bikes to be shipped home.  Next, Joe’s daughter-in-law picked us up and took us to her home.  After relaxing with her and her daughters we got into a car and headed to Astoria. 

We had to come to Astoria because this is where Lewis and Clark wintered before heading home.  Both of us recently read a cycling article that espoused the charms of Astoria and were looking forward to spending time here.  However, we were disappointed.  We expected a quaint little town with the charm of Cannon Beach, Oregon (just south of here).  Instead, we found is a city that did not meet any of our expectations. It seemed over developed and worn out.  Despite our disappointment, we look forward to our drive back to Portland and then flying to our homes in New York and Virginia.

Trouble uploading today’s photos – will try tomorrow L

Today’s Map

Cascade Locks

We started this morning with something new, a tail wind.  We had to cycle east for one mile to get on the trail that would take us west along the Columbia River.  After that we were back into headwinds.  While the trail was paved, it was more of a nature trail than a bike trail.  It meandered with lots of twist and turns meant to give the tail user a look at the flora and fauna that grows in the marsh along the river.  From there we got on what is called Historic Route 30, a rarely used road that goes into the mountains overlooking the river.  While we had some climbs we enjoyed the vistas and lack of traffic.  Route 30 then transitioned into a section of road that has been closed to auto traffic but available to walkers and cyclists.  This went on for about 30 miles and took us into the town of Hood River where we stopped for coffee and a morning snack.  Unfortunately, we next had to get back on the dreaded Interstate Highway.  Our travels on this highway were much faster than yesterdays but the level of traffic was still very annoying.   We cycled about 10 miles on the Interstate, expecting to go about 5 miles more before we could again take side roads.  At this point we saw an exit sign and remembered the Columbia River Gorge Bike map that a trail guide gave us earlier in the day.  Sure enough, we could get off of the interstate, 5 miles earlier than planned.  While this option involved a modest climb, it was worth getting out of the fast moving traffic.  Like most tough climbs, this one was followed by a great down hill ride into the town of Cascade Locks.  Usually when we come to fast down hills, Joe flies and Jeff follows at a more cautious speed.  However, today Jeff broke with tradition and stayed with Joe all the way to the bottom.  Joe was impressed that Jeff kept up, but Jeff just questioned his own sanity.  

Today’sPictures

Today’s Map

Trip to Date

The Dalles

Another day with strong head winds kept us on the road longer than we like.  We left our hotel early and found a breakfast place then headed west.  Actually, we were pointed west and pedaling in that direction but our forward progress was very slow.   The only road available to us was the Interstate Highway that runs next to the Columbia River.  It should have been nice but with the noise of the vehicles and the wind, it was just not fun.  Finally, we arrived in Arlington, Oregon by late afternoon and decided that their only motel was not the place we wanted to spend the night.  After a quick meal we went back to the Interstate on-ramp and put out our thumbs.  It took a while but Mike finally picked us up and drove us to The Dalles. Mike even complained about his truck being buffeted by the headwinds.  Mike was kind enough to drop us off at a nice motel and suggested some things that we should see and do.  Unfortunately, we are too tired to do any of them.

Today’sPhotos

Map of Today’s “ride”

Umatilla, Oregon

NOTE:  we prepared 2 blog entries yesterday for Dayton.  The first dealt with our arrival into town and the second with our time exploring the town.

Cycling out of Dayton this morning we stopped at Ray’s Diner, the only place in town open at our early hour.  Ray fixed us breakfast and served us coffee for the start of our long day.  Dayton is a large agriculture area where the primary crop appears to be wheat.  If we paid closer attention to Wally, during yesterday’s ride, we could have identified the other crops.  Farming continued to fill the landscape as we headed westward.  About half way to Walla Walla, Washington we saw a fenced pasture with lots of horses and one camel.  Of course we had to take a picture of the camel before moving on.  As we approached Walla Walla we noticed lots of wind turbines on the ridge south of town.  As we cycled west they continued for 25 miles.  There must have been thousands of those turbines.  Another interesting thing about Walla Walla is that Joe’s wife told us that they grow great onions here.  As we headed out of town we passed many onion farms and watched the workers harvest some of the fields.  The smell of fresh onions permeated the air.

While we did not have a direct head wind we were still challenged by the southerly winds that seemed the strongest when we felt the weakest.  Surprisingly, they were not so bad once we got to the Columbia River Gorge and entered Oregon.  We cycled down river and got to enjoy the Union Pacific trains as they raced by.  We also enjoyed the smell from the many onion trucks that passed by.  After each truck, Jeff had to mention his fantasy of having those fresh onions on a grilled hot dog with mustard.  Food fantasies were to be expected since there was no where to eat after leaving Walla Walla and we were getting tired of our bananas and trail bars.

If this blog sounds a little choppy and we have more misspellings than usual, it is because we cycled 85 miles today and were on the road from 5 a.m. to 4 p.m.  We are exhausted!

Today’sPhotos

Today’s Map

Dayton

After a shower and updating our blog, we decided to walk into town.  Dayton dates back to 1860 when Jesse and Elizabeth Day settled here.  Unlike many small towns, Dayton’s downtown has not only survived but appears to be thriving.  In addition to the new Best Western, we found several nice restaurants, a brew pub, several cafes, and the usual bar and pizza places.  It had several stores, art galleries, and antique shops. We walked to the County Courthouse and the restored train station.  This train station was built in 1881 by the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company and is the oldest surviving train station in Washington.   During our walk we decided to check out each of the restaurant’s dinner menus.  We stopped first at the Fire and Irons Brewpub and sampled their beers and ate some bar nuts.  Next we wondered into the Manila Bay Asian Café that required reservations and had some very interesting but expensive items listed; a place to take your spouse, not your cycling buddy.  We stopped at 2 others places, including the bakery where we wanted a slice of pie but had to settle for a chocolate chip cookie.  What kind of bakery runs out of pie?  We settled on Weinhard Café.  Later we went back for dinner.  We started with local beers; next Joe had cream of asparagus soup and Jeff had a mixed green salad.  With this they served their own flat bread with a chickpea and radish spread.  For our main course we each had fresh halibut over a bed of rice topped with green curry sauce and a side of asparagus spears.  For dessert Joe had pecan pie and Jeff had the black berry cobbler.  The menu changes daily and the breads and desserts are all “house made.” This was a fantastic meal.  We would call it the best of the tip but that would not mean much when we had mostly choices of hamburgers or fired chicken.

Photosof Dayton

Dayton, Washington

This morning started with breakfast at Tonya’s Café.  We soon found out that this early morning restaurant is also the watering hole for the local farmers and jokesters.  As the farmers rolled in, each shared a barb with Tonya and then with us.  Mostly, they kidded about her cooking and what it would do to us as we cycled.  We wondered how serious they were when we noticed that they were only drinking coffee and we were the only ones eating.  Despite their warning, the food was great and we enjoyed the company.   Tonya was not shy and traded each barb with one of her own. 

We have been leaving early to avoid the head winds that start as the day warms.  However, this morning we were met with 20 to 25 mph winds out of the south west.  It was ok for a while but we eventually turned southwest and would have been stopped in our tracks if it wasn’t for the slight down hill we had for 15 miles. The steady winds were not bad enough; the gusts were much stronger and occasionally blew us off the road. (We learned later that the gust were 30 to 40 mph.)  By the time we got to the bottom of this mornings climb we were only going 4 to 6 mph and working very hard.  This is where we decided that it is better to hitch a ride than go on.  Not long after we stuck out our thumbs, Wally stopped his flat bed farm truck and helped us load our bikes for a ride into Dayton, the next westward town.  Wally was a real character.  He did not stop talking during the one-half hour ride to Dayton.  We learned more about farming and farm equipment on this ride than we could absorb in years of study. When he talked, he looked to the side at us and the truck kept veering in that direction, making us nervous.  After we unloaded or bikes at a hotel, he kept us in the parking lot for another half-hour telling us about the town, its history, and Lewis and Clark trivia.

As we sat down to write this blog we received an email from our friend Hans-Peter.  As you will recall from an earlier blog he is heading east (and we are going west).  Hans-Peter complained that the headwinds were keeping him from moving on today.  We wondered how it could be that east bound cyclist and west bound cyclist both have head winds.  We guess that the old cyclist’s adage must be true, “no matter which way you are heading, you will have headwinds.”  Despite being a short cycling day we are in a brand-new Best Western and enjoying a great layover day.

Today’sPhotos

Today’s Map

Trip to Date Map