Last night I went to dinner at Couleegan’s Bar & Grill. It wasn’t crowded and I sat down in a booth. When Ed & Kerry saw that I was eating alone, they invited me to sit with them, which I did. We had a great conversation on a range of topics. They were very nice and gave me some advice on things to see/do on my trip. They were even generous enough to buy me my dinner!!
I woke up before my alarm at 4:00, and started biking at 5:00. I got to see the sunrise over Banks Lake.
It was 65 degrees to start, and I warmed up quickly with a 1,000 foot climb to start my day. The climb put me on top of the Waterville Plateau. It took me 45 minutes to complete the climb. Here is a picture of Dry Falls from the climb.
At the top of the climb, some of the wheat fields had several large boulders in them that the farmers had planted around.
It was wheat fields or plowed fields as far as the eye could see. The road had some rolling hills, so it wasn’t flat. there was very little traffic, and a great shoulder to ride on.
I saw several hawks in the area. This one was squawking at me as I biked past, and let me take its picture.
After ten miles on top of the plateau, the road descended into a beautiful canyon.
It was beautiful, but meant I had another big climb to get back on top of the plateau. 800 feet and 45 minutes of climbing.
More of the same scenery at the top. The wind was picking up and in my face, which made for slow going. After 40 miles, I biked into the town of Waterville. There was some road construction as I was entering town and the road was down to one lane. I got to follow the pilot truck to get through.
In Waterville, I stopped at the gas station to get a second breakfast and fill up my water bottles. They had a grill and I was able to get an excellent, freshly made, breakfast sandwich.
A couple of miles out of Waterville, I came down off of the plateau. It was a fast six mile and 2,200 foot descent. I set a personal best time for 10K of biking with 26.6 mph. 😀
The bottom of the descent put me next to the Columbia River. The road went right next to the river for six miles. There were a lot of orchards in this area – between here and Cashmere. There was also a lot of traffic in this section, as my road merged with another highway. After those six miles, I had a nice paved bike trail to ride on for the next six miles to get to the bridge over the Columbia River.
It was 11:30, so I stopped for lunch. While at lunch, I booked a hotel in the town of Cashmere for the night. Cashmere was only eight miles from my lunch spot.
After lunch, I took my time biking over to Cashmere – taking a lot of back roads. I could see the Cascade Mountains in the distance.
I pulled into my hotel at 1:00, and it was 90 degrees. The hotel was strict about not being able to check in before 3:00. It’s a small local hotel. They didn’t have a lobby that I could hang out in. So I went two blocks down the street to the local library and hung out there until 3:00. It was quiet and they had great air conditioning.
For the day, I biked 73 miles and climbed 4,000 feet. Tomorrow I leave the hot, arid farmland and bike into the Cascades.
Three days until I see Elizabeth!! ❤️
Welcome to Cashmere, sorry wait until 3:00. Leaves me with mixed feelings. Glad they pointed you to the library. Almost done, stay safe with true love from the heart Dad.