The day started out innocently enough (how about that for foreshadowing?). We left our motel about 6:15 and headed across the bridge to the WA side of the Columbia. The first miles were on a peaceful backroad. We saw a herd of deer as well as a coyote. Crop dusters were making turns overhead. After a while we joined highway 14, but there was a good shoulder and traffic was light.
Foreshadows?
Farm country crop circles?
About the time we stopped to top off our water in Patterson, 30 miles from our destination at Roosevelt, we noticed the breeze picking up a bit. Soon it was a wind. The rest of the way to Roosevelt we were battling headwinds. We found ourselves taking it in five mile bites. Push for five miles, take a break, push another five miles. Thinking in terms of five miles rather than the full remaining distance made it seem much more manageable.
Time for a break
Oasis of greenery
While we had originally planned on getting to Roosevelt by 11, it ended up taking until 1:30. This of course meant we got farther into the heat of the day and were running out of water. We were SO glad when we finally spotted the the small cafe in Roosevelt. We immediately grabbed cups and poured large glasses of ice water at the soda fountain, then sat down and ordered lunch.
Mike’s not the only one who likes maps!
The plan had been to camp there and then continue on to Lyle the next day. However, when we checked the weather and saw that the winds were going to be even stronger the next two days, we realized we needed to make alternate plans. To top it off, we also learned that a section of the road ahead was closed due to brush fire.
We decided the best thing would be to see if we could find someone with a pickup to ferry us through to Hood River, which could still be reached by crossing over to I-84 on the Oregon side. We talked to the cafe owner and he hooked us up with a local customer who had an old van and a trailer. Perfect!
Traveling in luxury- no headwind!
Plenty of room
Two other cyclists, Emily and Mitchell, that we had first met back at the Lochsa Lodge came in a little after us, and decided to join us for the car ride to Hood River.
Emily and Mitchell
I should mention that pretty much every cyclist that comes through stops at the Roosevelt cafe, because it is the only food and drink stop within about 30+ miles in any direction. They even have a cyclist guestbook that we read through and added entries to.
Scott bought a six pack to share and we had a pleasant drive to Hood River, admiring all the parts of the river we were bypassing. In Hood River we headed to the pFriem brewery and had a glass while researching places to stay. It being the height of the sailboarding season here, lodging was not easy to come by.
We finally found a place that could sleep all three of us, and cheaply. They warned us, however, that there was no air conditioning. There were fans, and the temperature was expected to cool off come evening, so we took it. The place did end up being pretty much the definition of flea bag motel (FBM), a term seen regularly in touring cyclist blogs. Dinner was at the Safeway next door, after which we collapsed onto bed.
Well, there’s a fan
And there is a bed