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