A re-cap of our transcontinental adventure
After finishing our trip across the continent last year, I swore that I would never do such a thing again. So why am I wishing that I were doing such a thing again? I really can’t do the trip again and certainly can’t be away for 75 days, but thought it would be nice to reminisce the trip. Of course, I have already missed a few days as we started cycling on the May 2. Because I was so tired the first few days and also didn’t have internet, I got the first parts of the trip a little bit out of order, but I will try to relive all the days of the trip. Looks like since today is the 6th, I need to at least get up to that date in pretty quick order.
Arrival Day/May 1 - no cycling
We arrived in Portland early in the day and a fellow WSL member had responded to my query about transportation options that went to Astoria before the late afternoon. Cindi, a most generous fellow cyclist volunteered to drive us out to Astoria, which is not just a few blocks from her home. We feel that this set the tone for the trip; the kindness of strangers added many high notes to our trip. We still keep in touch with Cindi and hope that someday we can offer her similar hospitality. We have always been impressed by the generosity, support and advice of fellow touring cyclists.
We enjoyed lunch together and as we left the restaurant some guy got fairly close into my personal space. I didn’t recognize my own brother who was waiting outside the Cannery Restaurant, which is neither near nor affiliated with the Cannery Pier Hotel. It was just a coincidence that he was there. We bid farewell to Cindi and her friend and hopped into my brother’s car for an extensive tour of the area. Forts, bunkers and columns. We did it all and then had dinner, which got us back to our very comfortable hotel, The Cannery Pier rather too late to enjoy it. This was a planning mistake on my part. I figured that we had most of the afternoon to see the sights and hang out with my brother. We really needed another day, even though we didn’t really plan on heading out of Astoria until later in the afternoon the next day. We really should have known better. Being on EST, we were rather tired when we arrived back at the hotel. The bikes still sat in their boxes, which we had shipped there via FedEx.
Day 1/May 2 to Cathlamet Island
We definitely had to dip our wheels in the Pacific on this cold and windy day. Being pressed for time, we put the bikes on a city bus and headed out to Warrenton. We found a convenient spot in the state park to access the Pacific, where we encountered another touring cyclist. Little did we know that he would be one of just a handful that we would meet along the next 3377 miles to the Atlantic.
We dipped the wheels without being washed out into the rough and cold sea and headed back to Astoria. Being only my second day using clipless, I forgot that I was clipped in and took a spill on one of the trails in the park. I ripped my tights making it simple for the blood to gush out from my knee. I really wasn’t planning on crashing and using the first aid kit within the first 5 miles of the trip. Not an auspicious start.
We returned to the hotel, realizing that we hadn’t really had time to enjoy it as we should have. We reluctantly checked out and headed to downtown.
We had an excellent lunch at Clemente’s (click here to hear a podcast with the owner)and then visiting the wonderful Columbia River Maritime Museum. Too bad that we didn’t plan another entire day here. Astoria is definitely a place that we would visit again since it offers so much considering its size.
The afternoon was quickly slipping by so we thought it wise to get on the road. We would never, ever ride this route again. Although this is part of Adventure Cycling’s Lewis and Clark route, it sure isn’t an ideal route for cycling. If you are comfortable with narrow roads with occasional shoulders, broken pavement on the road’s edge and large and fast logging trucks, you might not mind the ride. We don’t find any of the above conditions ideal, so felt endangered. In fact, a lumber truck nearly brushed my bicycle as I was going downhill on the wet pavement due to the rain that started shortly after we hit the road. I thought for sure that I had ridden my final mile, but somehow had the strength to keep the bike in a straight line and on the pavement.
I rested a few times along the way, often just to clean the debris and raindrops that spotted my glasses. This road was bad enough and seeing might be helpful. My stress level was high and the ride was not one bit enjoyable.
We finally approached the turnoff where we would take the ferry, noticing some stuggling cyclists climbing up toward Astoria as we coasted down. We waited just a short time for the ferry to Cathlamet Island where we easily found our WSL hosts for the night.
They were such pleasant people and offered such wonderful hospitality that I thought again that we should have spent another day in Astoria, so that we could have a more restful time here. But, duty called.
Day 2/May 3 - to Longview
One reason that we crossed over to the Washington side was that we heard that the road was more pleasant than Route 30. After the first day’s ride, we were anxious for a more pleasant road. For the most part, the road was pleasant, but the shoulders varied and were often narrow, but the traffic did not seem as harrowing as on the Oregon side. We took a break in a roadside park and hoped that a ship would pass by. I don’t even recall if we saw one, but we couldn’t stay there forever although we wished that we could have spent more time here. We knew that rain was in the forecast and wanted to arrive at our destination before the skies opened.
We continued into Longview in search of our next WSL host. Fortunately, we found the house just in time to miss a downpour. The rain seemed to like us.
Day 3/May 4 - no cycling
Since we were so close to Mount St. Helens and had never seen it, we had arranged a rental car to drive there the next day. Look at us taking a day off the bikes after only two days of riding.
Of course, we enjoyed our visit and did get a peek at the volcano. We also got into a snowstorm. We should have guessed that this wasn’t just a fluke, but didn’t think of it much then.
We returned to Longview and briefly visited with our host who had forgotten that she had an engagement out of town. We enjoyed her aunt, dad and kids for the rest of the evening. It would be a very long time before we stayed with another WSL member as there were few along our route. In fact, it would not be until Wisconsin that this would happen again.
Day 4 /May 5 to Portland
Our host’s dad drove us across the Longview Bridge, which I had read horror stories about. It was full of debris and had a steep incline and narrow shoulder. Not an ideal situation. Dad dropped us off at an old nuclear station back in Oregon, on Route 30. The shoulder had widened and the road was a bit more pleasant in this area, but that wouldn’t last long. We had to get into Portland today, but would be making a stop in St. Helen’s along the way to do some kayaking and see the town.
The road to St. Helen’s wasn’t too bad, but just before we reached the turnoff into town, we were pummeled by hail. This seemed a daily occurrence. We found one of the ubiquitous coffee kiosks, grabbed a cup and hid under an overhang until the rain and hail let up. Fortunately, the bad weather subsided while we kayaked with the Scappoose Bay Kayaking Company. What a lovely paddle we had and how nice to switch from pedaling to paddling. We got out of the kayaks and continued on our way to Portland. Shortly after getting on Route 30 again, the road became busy and treacherous all the way into Portland. I would never recommend this route for bicycling and think that Adventure Cycling did a disservice to touring cyclists by doing so. It would be far better to do a long detour to avoid this road.
Later in the trip, we heard about multiple fatalities on that stretch of road. So glad we hadn’t heard about those tragic events prior to our trip. We safely reached Portland and checked into the hip Ace Hotel, which we truly enjoyed. It’s definitely a funky alternative to the typical chain hotels and the location was excellent.
Day 5/ May 6 -no cycling
We quickly toured the town visiting the flea market, the aerial tram and one of the quirkiest museums, the Velveteria. It’s funny how quickly this day passed by. We could have easily spent another day in Portland.
Wanting to get an early start up the Columbia Gorge, we moved to Edgefield in Troutdale. We especially liked the concept of this place as we could picture ourselves taking on such a project.
Day 6/May 7
Getting up and over the Historic Columbia Highway was the first intimidating challenge for me. Considering that we hadn’t trained and I am not a strong hill climber, I was definitely not looking forward to the road ahead. Our early start was delayed when nobody could find the key to the room where we had stored our bicycles. We had confirmed before retiring the night before that we would have access to our bicycles at the crack of dawn. So much for planning.
Fortunately since it was so early in the season, there were few cars on the highway. I steadily climbed at a slow pace but without an excessive amount of strain. What a surprise it was to reach the Portland Women’s Forum and to have already climbed around 900 feet without really suffering. Despite many people on a touring bike forum suggesting that the gearing on the my Trek 520 wasn’t low enough for touring, I kept the gearing on the bike as it came and never experienced any problems with it being too high. Yes, there were a few times that it would have been nice to have a lower gear, but what I had was quite adequate, even for a poor hill climber like me. I think that the clipless pedals helped a lot.
From this point on, the road to Hood River was basically downhill. We got on to I-84 and made really good time to Hood River where we stayed at the gorgeous Columbia Gorge Hotel. This was the last time for awhile that we would be meeting up with people we knew. Today my sister and her family came to visit us from Bend. Yesterday, my friend from college who now lives in Portland stopped by. We wouldn’t have these encounters with familiarity anymore. We would really be heading into the great vastness.
We toured some local wineries, had dinner with the relatives and then got ready for the next day. The plan was to drive to Mt. Hood in the morning and then head to The Dalles. We don’t get to these parts often, so taking time to see the local attractions made sense to us.
Day 7/May 8 -The Dalles
We had the largest breakfast that we have ever seen at the Columbia Gorge Hotel. We surely wouldn’t need to eat for several days. We really hated to have to leave this very comfortable spot, but the Atlantic Ocean beckoned. We decided that we wanted to make good time to The Dalles, so we opted to take I-84 rather than continuing on the Historic Highway. This was a good choice, although getting used to Interstate riding took some concentration. It’s especially harrowing when the shoulder totally disappears on the bridges.
We arrived in the Dalles and found our lodging for the night, The Columbia Windrider Inn, a guest house that caters to windsurfers, who frequent the area. The owner is involved in the windsurfing community so understands the needs of active travelers. We enjoyed his hospitality and great breakfast.
Day 8/May 9
We got an early enough start again and now felt that we were truly cycling into the big wide open. Our only option was to take I-84, which we adjusted to rather quickly. It certainly differs from I-75 or I-87. Sometimes, there was so little traffic that we almost forgot that we were on a major highway.
We had modified our itinerary a bit to accommodate our sightseeing the past week, but the route stayed the same, only the stopping points changed. We got to Arlington early enough in the day. It seems that we usually reached our destinations shortly after noon, which gave us time to shop and tour the local area. Arlington didn’t have much but a grocery store and motel without internet. Not too handy for catching up on email or journals. The local library had very limited hours, or I should say, very limited days. It only opened for a few hours on a few days each week.
The scenery drastically changed once we left the gorge. Green was not in the color palette once we continued east. Trees disappeared as well. You don’t really appreciate trees until they disappear.
Well, today is May 9th again. It was a lot warmer May 9th of last year. It’s only 54 degrees right now, somewhat reminiscent of our first days of cycling in the rain, hail and cold.
So far this year, I have a whopping 57 miles of cycling in. Looks like I am lagging just a bit behind. By this time last year and thanks to our adventure, we had over 200 miles in the saddle. Really we aren’t too far behind, but unless we start riding continuously for the next few months, we will lag far behind.