Monday, June 21, 2010

Day 1 - Astoria to St. Helens, OR

Today: 69 miles, 3284 feet of climb
Cumulative: 98 miles and 4,066 feet of climb

Ready and anxious to cycle eastward

Day one is safely done.  Breakfast in the hotel meeting room opened at 6:30AM and there were 53 riders in the room when I got there at 6:31. I was talking to a couple of the guys at the end of breakfast around 7AM, looked up, and the place had cleared out already. Everyone was anxious to get going after all of the training, packing, and travel. A couple of pictures under the bridge, and we were off for New Hampshire.

The descent towards SAG2. Columbia River and bridge to Washington to our left

It was another overcast day in the 50's but no rain, as you can see in the pictures. The last time I saw the sun was 15 minutes before my plane landed on Saturday.  A far cry from the weather I hear we are having in Georgia. I'm having a great time so far, no complaints, but give me sun, 90+ degrees, and humidity rather than overcast 50's.  But I'll probably regret saying that, because we'll be in hot sunny weather fairly soon.

A Schroeder Road sighting on Day 1!

The route today was an easy one to follow. Even I couldn't get lost.  Make a left out of last night's hotel on to US30, cycle 69 miles and make a right into today's hotel.  There were two decent climbs, which I needed in order to shake the cobwebs out of my legs. (Actually, I worked a bit and was glad to see today's hotel.)  After being off the bike for a week, it takes a day or so to get your legs back. Several views of the Columbia River, and we passed a road named Schroeder!  Views of Mt. Hood should open up tomorrow as we get to and go through Portland. There is a lot of logging in the area and the logging trucks do not slow down when they go past you.  So one needs to be vigilant of traffic, though that is difficult to remember to do for several hours straight. After a while, you go brain dead when you get tired. Everyone is safely in for the day though. Tomorrow's ride to Welches will be on familiar streets for me.

3 comments:

  1. You should of taken down that Schroeder Rd. sign. That is cool. Watch out for falling trees or logging trucks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. John Schroeder from VegasJune 22, 2010 at 11:29 AM

    OK this is me now not Anonymous

    ReplyDelete
  3. What is the probability that there would be a road named "Schroeder" on your first day? You were meant to take this ride! Good luck. We all miss you.

    ReplyDelete