This morning we moved to a much nicer motel just down the road. That makes us all much happier.

The view from the town park

It has been a relaxing day of recuperation. I walked around town, met up with Scott and Corey for lunch at the Full Sail brewery (salmon fish and chips with a bourbon barrel cherry rye beer!) and did a bit more shopping.

Full Sail Brewery

Lunch with a view

We also sought advice on the best route from here to Portland. The fit young men in several different bike shops described their favorite routes up and around Mt. Hood. While we believe them that those routes are far quieter and more scenic, these old men are not about to haul our fully loaded bikes up any more climbing than absolutely necessary.

A shop for Mike. More fuel for more cycling.

The choice for us is between busy 84 on the Oregon side of the river with good shoulders, or the quieter 14 on the WA side with less adequate shoulders. We believe we have worked out a compromise. We will start on 84 for about 20 miles to the Cascade Locks, and then cross over to 14 there. That will cut out a couple miles and avoid having to hitch a ride over the bridge at Hood River which is steel grated and does not allow bicycles or pedestrians. Then after about another 15 miles on 14, there is a nice backroad we can take the rest of the way into Washougal. It looks like the farther we go the more the winds die down. However, if the wind turns out to still be a problem, there are several lodging options along the way.

Mt Adams

It has been an interesting experience blogging on a bike trip. The problem is tunnel vision. All we see, all we think about most of the time is the road. Our pictures are either off to the side of the road, or looking ahead down the road. Our minds are preoccupied with planning the next part of the route. Only when we get to our goal for the day do we feel free to look around and explore a bit, but only after doing chores to get ready for riding the next day. That leaves the narrative I have to relate a bit thin. (T: and it has been a little strange to put the blog up without actually experiencing what Mike is writing about!)

A man, a river, and a mountain