After dinner I popped into the bar where all eyes were on the TV and I was informed that the police department had recommended that people remain indoors. What's going on? There's a chemical fire. Really? Where? About 2 miles away. Oh great. I had to go outside to get back to my room and the air smelled like a 7th grade science experiment gone seriously awry.
Fortunately, by morning the fire was doused and the air smelled like any typical mill town. The other fortunate thing is that the hotel restaurant did breakfast just as well as they did dinner. Really, if you ever go to Longview, WA stay and eat at the Monticello. I had the garden scramble - a three-egg omelette with peppers, onion and broccoli on top of hashed brown potatoes, topped with melted Swiss cheese. As you can tell, I'm not too concerned with what I eat on this trip, although there was no way I could finish that.
Onto the ride. The wind had faded to a whisper, while the skies remained leaden, occasionally releasing the moisture suspended within. In-Accuweather had called for clearing skies in the early morning. As I walked out of breakfast at 8 am it was raining steadily. I wonder why I even look at that site. The weather will be what it will be and it's foolish to plan a bike trip through the Pacific Northwest and not expect some rain.
I had originally planned to leave Longview by immediately crossing the Lewis & Clark Bridge into Oregon and riding down the west side of the Columbia River - just like the annual Seattle to Portland ride. In Olympia, however, the guys at Old Town Bikes described the bridge as "sketchy" so I did a bit of research. Here are some quotations I found on various bike blogs:
"I rode the Lewis & Clark Bridge....once. Once was enough."
"Is there any reason you absolutely have to cross this bridge in particular?"
"It was the creepiest ride I've ever done."
The Lewis & Clark Bridge was completed in 1930. It was designed by Joseph Baermann Strauss - the same guy who designed the Golden Gate Bridge. Apparently, he learned a few things in the intervening years. On the Lewis & Clark Bridge a white strip of paint is all that separates a cyclist from the steady stream of logging trucks. With this knowledge in hand, a ride down the east side of the Columbia River and a crossing into Oregon from Vancouver, WA seemed the more reasonable choice. So it went. As noted, the weather was not great but the roads and the scenery were. Very little traffic, farms, ranches, the Columbia River and the most serious climb to date - a category 3 climb that is leading me to ship a number of things home from Oregon to lighten the load as bigger climbs loom ahead.
Once across the river it was one state down and two to go. I will say that the riding in Washington was enjoyable. Drivers were courteous, always moving left to pass, not going by me on blind curves and waving when I pulled over to let them get by on narrow sections. Kudos to the Washington State DMV and the people of that great state.
Leaving Washington dropped me into Portland - a cycling Paradise. As soon as I got into town bikes, bike lanes and bike paths were everywhere. I have some good video of riding in Portland and will upload it later. What great riding for an urban environment. Portland, however, was not my final destination. I was headed to Tualatin - about 15 miles south - to stay with my friends from high school Lynn and Ralph. They have a great house in a rural area minutes away from the Willamette Valley. So naturally we went wine tasting. Two thumbs up on the Erath 2006 pinot noir. Oh yeah, today's a rest day. Here's the view out their back yard.
And here's the view from the Penner-Ash Winery, which makes a really good viognier.
Strava went down just as I was moving south of Portland but the leg was about 69 miles with 4,000' of climbing. Here's the map. Tomorrow it should be a fairly easy day down to Corvallis, followed by two tough days of 83 and 104 miles. We'll see how that goes.
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