bikes

STP – On The Road

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Out of Seattle, into the open countryside.
Mount Rainier looms in the distance.
Not a bad place to have a farm.
A colorful sight indeed.
What lovely roads.
Riding was easy in all this beauty.
A perfect day.
Some of us could have used a break like this.
There were some great outfits.
Still more beauty.
See separate post for more on Piper The Dog.
Another irresistible bridge.
Shooting while riding is much easier while climbing.
Approaching the bridge between Longview, Wash., and Rainier, Ore.
Crossing Into Oregon!
Down the bend in our first pedal strokes in Oregon.
Welcome!
Just a few miles to go, heading over the Willamette River in Portland.
As seen by bus heading out of Portland.
As seen by bus en route back to Seattle.

Cascade Bicycle Club‘s annual STP – Seattle to Portland – ride was a 204-mile celebration of great roads and great people.

There were the highly fit though possibly insane types who did the ride in one day, the highly fit types who more reasonably stretched it out over two days, the reasonably fit types who did the ride in two days and took a lot of pictures along the way (that would be us), the getting fitter types for whom something like this was once an unimaginable accomplishment … and all sorts of others.

Seeing all the varieties of riders out on the road, and sharing the camaraderie, was one of the truly great things.  So was the scenery.

Chelan Century

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For our third century of June we headed to Lake Chelan and the Chelan Century — promoted by some of our Cascade friends as the most beautiful in the state and featuring a challenging climb up McNeil Canyon Road. It more than lived up to our expectations, with 103-plus miles, 8,600 feet of climbing and some drop-dead gorgeous views (not to mention that drop-dead climb).

The route is a cloverleaf design consisting of  three loops (one, two and three), each starting and ending at Don Morse Park — right across the street from our Airbnb place and, most importantly, the condo’s pool.

McNeil Canyon offers itself up in the second loop: a 7-mile chug, average 6.4 percent grade with some notable 12 percent stretches. And no shade, to speak of. Totally manageable, even for the climbing-challenged among us, but also totally exhausting.  And: totally worth it, especially when it comes to the descent back down again. Plus you can get a special KOM-like jersey commemorating the achievement, which Paula of course had to do.

The rest of the ride was as spectacular as promised — vista after vista of mountains and water, all manner of color and texture, wide open roads, happy-making descents.

And at the end, a terrific festival with local wine and beer and we made friends with a great group from the Mount Baker Bicycle Club of Bellingham — whose president, coincidentally, is the star of one of Paula’s photos from mid-ride.

Like Walla Walla, Chelan is a prime winery area so of course we made plenty of time for a few tastings on Sunday.  Recovery drinks, redux.

Ann Weatherill Cycling Classic, Walla Walla

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For our second century in June we drove four-plus hours to Walla Walla, and a climate and landscape dramatically different from that of Seattle. And all for a great cause:

The Wheatland Wheelers ride honors Ann Weatherill, a cyclist and middle school teacher in Walla Walla who was struck and killed by a motorist while on a Mother’s Day ride in 2004.

The Bicycle Alliance of Washington and the local cycling community worked together for the Ann  Weatherill Safe Passing Act, which  makes it illegal to pass another vehicle if there are bicyclists or pedestrians approaching from the opposite direction on the roadway.

For that reason alone, the ride was worth doing.

But there was a last-minute hitch before we could get going …

In Paula’s hasty packing the day before, she’d grabbed a pair of bike shoes without bothering to look at them. Turns out they were her mountain bike shoes. No way would those cleats work with the Look Keo pedals of her road bike.  The day seemed headed for disaster.

But! Amazingly and day-savingly, Allegro Cyclery in downtown Walla Walla opens at 8 a.m. on Saturdays!

So we planted ourselves in front of the store at 7:55 a.m, and promptly at 8 got some emergency Crank Brothers pedals  (cheaper and faster than buying yet another pair of shoes …) and while we were at it, a couple of jerseys.

After riding “home” to drop off the jerseys at our Airbnb cottage, we started the century some 90 minutes after most other 100-mile riders.  That put us just about last at every rest stop — which helped us get to know the fine folks of the Wheatland Wheelers really well. What a friendly and helpful group of people. And an added bonus: the daughter of one of the club members strummed her guitar at every break.

As for the route itself: a tremendous diversity of wheat and alfalfa fields, vineyards, apple,  pear and cherry orchards, a lot of windmills, and the striking Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington.

Oh, and the bees. Lots of bees, kept on hand to help the alfalfa thrive (and to produce honey while they’re at it).  An added element of interest!

For recovery the next day, we made our way to several wine tastings, plus the Walla Walla Multicultural Festival.  Sort of like a street fair in New York. Sort of.