Route details delivered
Our route isn’t exactly following the laid out routes of Adventure Cycling. I only know that from reading accounts of cyclists who did follow that route. Some ask why we just don’t follow the AC route since it is already mapped out. Well, following somebody else’s route is all well and good, but part of the excitement of this trip is the planning process.
It seems that our first deviation of the route is crossing into Washington via the ferry at Westport Oregon. One reason for this is that I want to attend the Lilac Festival in Woodland WA. Can’t do that by staying on the Oregon side. Since this trip is all about seeing things, we will do just that.
We have found a Warm Showers List(WSL) who will host us on Puget Island.
I got some recommendations from Becky from Blueberry rides about a possible route from Woodland down into Vancouver. She basically recommended using the Oregon side to avoid I-5. Becky has a nice website with lots of cue sheets and maps for the Vancouver/Portland area. I have gathered snippets of route information from the different rides that she has posted at: www.blueberryrides.com. Thanks Becky for this great resource.
Satellite maps, previously mentioned have also helped me avoid situations that look threatening.
That along with the comments from other cyclists contributes to the evolution of the route.
An intriguing option between Dayton and Pomeroy Washington appears on the Washington map.
Nobody seems to mention this route as an alternative to riding on Route 12. The road looks shorter and even though parts of it are gravel, it seems like a more pleasant ride than the highway. Not finding much info online, I shot off an email to two area chambers of commerce.
One never responded, but the Dayton chamber did. She informed me that the route was quite doable, although unsuitable for semis because of the sharp turns on the route. There are wind farms at the top of the hill, which I hope are providing the tailwind for us that day.
So, it now seems that the route between Walla Walla and Pomeroy will be mostly on the hilly back roads, free from the hustle and bustle of the highway. It may take longer to do, but the will be much more pleasant.
Now to figure out how to sample that local Dayton brew. We will be passing through too early in the day for the restaurant serving the brew to be open. Maybe we can find it in Pomeroy at the end of the day. So wine in Walla Walla and beer in Pomeroy. This just reminds me that Washington is the largest US producer of hops. I ran into somebody who told me to visit the number one hops growing town in Washington, but have no clue where that was. I imagine it is in the Yakima Valley, but will have to go to some research and see if I anything rings a bell.