FROM SEA TO SHINING SEA
A Ride across AmericaBy Alan L. WilliamsiUniverse, Inc.
Copyright © 2010 Alan L. Williams
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4502-4557-9 Contents
Preface.............................................................................ixChapter 1: Home (Blaine, Washington) to Astoria, Oregon.............................1Chapter 2: Astoria, Oregon to Boise, Idaho..........................................5Chapter 3: Boise, Idaho to Jackson, Wyoming.........................................19Chapter 4: Jackson, Wyoming to Rapid City, South Dakota.............................29Chapter 5: Rapid City to Sioux Falls, South Dakota..................................37Chapter 6: Sioux Falls, South Dakota to Manitowoc, Wisconsin........................47Chapter 7: Manitowoc, Wisconsin to Niagara Falls, New York..........................59Chapter 8: Niagara Falls, New York to Portsmouth, New Hampshire.....................71Chapter 9: Portsmouth, New Hampshire to Home........................................83Chapter 10: Observations............................................................85Chapter 11: Reflections.............................................................99Appendix: Personal Gear for Cross-Country Ride......................................103Acknowledgments.....................................................................105
Chapter One
Home (Blaine, Washington) to Astoria, Oregon
Day Minus One: Saturday, June 16: Blaine to Seattle, Washington
My wife and I left home in Blaine at 6:50 pm, heading to Seattle to overnight with daughter Allison. The enormity of the task ahead and the reality of being away from home for seven weeks has hit me. It's not like being deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, but it is still a significant time away from home. My wife and I have not been apart for this length of time in our entire thirty-seven years of marriage. I think I am ready?as ready as I can be?having put in much more preparation for this ride than the Astoria-to-Boise ride of one year ago. Still, one never knows whether the body can hold up over 3,700 miles. We arrived in Seattle at 9:00 pm.
Day Zero: Sunday, June 17 (Father's Day): Seattle, Washington to Astoria, Oregon
I awoke at 4:45 am, too many thoughts racing through my brain to sleep well. My anxiety level is quite high, despite my increased preparation. I have ridden 1,600 miles since the first of January, 4,700 miles since the start of the America by Bicycle (ABB) "Across America North" ride last year, plus three months of spinning classes. Given my part-time medical practice and the miserable winter and spring weather in the Northwest, I feel that I have done all that I can do to prepare myself for the ride.
With my bike and gear in the back of our SUV, we departed Seattle at 7:10 am under a marine cloud layer, with the temperature at fifty-four degrees. We stopped in Tacoma for a Starbucks fix and a copy of the Sunday New York Times. Then we again headed south on I-5 before peeling off to cross the Columbia River at Longview, Washington. The Lewis and Clark Bridge at Longview is quite high, to allow seagoing vessels to follow the Columbia River all the way to Portland, about a hundred miles upriver. On the Oregon side we picked up U.S. Route 30 on our way west to Astoria. Route 30 is quite busy with lots of trucks, and rolling terrain.
Just thinking about all the hills on this route (we will be heading east on the same highway tomorrow) ramps up my anxiety level. We arrived at the ride headquarters motel (Holiday Inn Express) in Astoria at 10:40 am. It took about three and a half hours to cover the 186 miles from Seattle to Astoria. Blaine to Seattle is 120 miles, so I am currently 306 miles from home. Upon arrival, I spy a friendly face from my 2006 ride, Jim from Vermont, who is going to be the tour mechanic. While waiting for my room to be readied, my wife went to pick up lunch at a nearby Subway. In the meantime, Jim gave my bike a thorough check to be sure it was in tip-top operating order. Once my room was ready, I changed into my biking gear, and kissed my wife goodbye. She was anxious to get started on the long haul back to Blaine by herself. I miss her already. It's similar to leaving your child at school on the first day of kindergarten, only I am the child!
Since there were no other riders ready to ride from the motel to the Pacific Ocean, I set out by myself on the nine-mile ride to Sunset Beach on Route 101 South. The weather was cloudy and foggy with occasional sprinkles. The highway bridge on the way to Sunset Beach was very narrow with a poor roadbed: many potholes?quite hairy! When I arrived at Sunset Beach, there was no one in the vicinity to take my picture, so I took several pictures of the beach and surf to document my presence on the western coast of America. The beach was at least a quarter-mile wide, and the surf was quite loud, although it was not particularly high. Far down the beach, both north and south, several people were surf-fishing.
I walked my bike across the sand and dipped the wheels carefully into the ocean. The return trip to the motel was uneventful, although busy Sunday afternoon traffic made cycling a challenge.
Astoria was the site of the first permanent settlement in what is now Oregon. The overland Lewis and Clark expedition arrived at the future site of Astoria at the mouth of the Columbia River in 1805.
In what would become the Oregon Territory (designated as such in 1848), fur trading was the primary economic activity as early as the eighteenth century. Russian, British, and American traders were all active in this region. Oregon, the Beaver State, joined the Union as the thirty-third state in 1859. It is known for its timber and its agriculture. Oregon is the foremost American state for logging, and also has active fishing, mining (nickel), and tourism industries. Numerous dams provide abundant, inexpensive electric power.
Our motel was located beneath the U.S. Route 101 Bridge that crosses the mouth of the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington. The main eastbound ship channel is very close to the Oregon shoreline behind our motel, and large container ships move up the channel within a few hundred yards of shore. In late afternoon we began a four-hour orientation session, with dinner thrown in, conducted by tour leader Mike, with a very strong emphasis on safety and cycling rules of the road. Each member of the group was asked to stand, introduce him- or herself, and give a short summary of his or her background, and why he or she wanted to ride across the country. Most riders had dreamed of a cross-country ride for years. The average age of the group is fifty-seven. There are seventy-five members of the group, including six staffers. Not all riders intend to cover the entire cross-country route this year. Sixty-two of the riders, myself included, are planning on riding the entire way. Tomorrow, the real ride starts.
Daily Stats: Miles ridden: 18; Average speed: 12.7 mph; Riding time: 1:26
Chapter Two
Astoria, Oregon to Boise, Idaho
Day One: Monday, June 18: Astoria to St. Helens, Oregon (elevation: ninety-eight feet)
Another poor night's sleep! I woke up at 4:30 am, after having been awake for a couple hours during the night. Too many thoughts competing for attention! The weather was cloudy and foggy with a few sprinkles, so the group picture, which is an ABB tradition at the start of a ride, has been deferred until later in the week. The temperature at the start was fifty-two degrees. I began riding with my roommate, Rich, a dentist from Seattle. He is a more experienced rider than I am. Rich arrived late last night after issues with his rental car and his trip out from Portland.
We departed at 7:30 am, but stopped about two miles from the motel to help an ABB tour family from Pennsylvania fix a flat tire. Mom, Dad, and eight-year-old daughter were riding a triple. After helping them, we resumed heading east on a very busy U.S. Route 30. The terrain was rolling, with steep climbs at miles twenty and forty. The highway had relatively dirty shoulders and lots of traffic, including huge logging trucks and other eighteen-wheelers, as well as recreational vehicles. The first SAG (support and gear) stop was at Bradley State Scenic Viewpoint above the Columbia River. The land for this park was donated by a Bradley family from Michigan and provides a magnificent view of the Columbia River and a large island in the middle of the river.
After the SAG stop, there was a rather steep descent down to river level with a relatively narrow bike lane. It was all I could do to keep the bike under 40 mph. I got very cold on the way down, and my legs began to cramp before I reached the bottom. The weather was cloudy virtually the entire way to St. Helens, with a modest tailwind of 5 to 10 mph from the northwest. We made a lunch stop at a Subway in Claskanie, Oregon?a turkey and cheese sub at 10:50 am! A tough four-mile climb followed, where it was difficult to maintain more than 6 or 7 mph at times. This led to a rapid descent to the level of the Lewis and Clark Bridge at Rainier, Oregon, the same bridge that my wife and I had crossed the day before en route to Astoria. My rear end started to get a little tender the last twenty miles into St. Helens?a bad sign.
We arrived at the Best Western Motor Inn in St. Helens at 2:00 pm, temperature sixty-three degrees.
St. Helens, Oregon, population 10,000, was founded as a river port by Captain H. M. Knightley, a New Englander, as the town of Plymouth in 1845. The town's name was changed in 1850 to reflect Mount St. Helens across the Columbia River in Washington. It was incorporated in 1889.
Daily Stats: Miles ridden: 69; Average speed: 13.7 mph; Riding time: 5:03; Elapsed time: 6:30; Total climbing: 2,650 feet.
Day Two: Tuesday, June 19: St. Helens to Welches, Oregon (elevation: 1,356 feet)
It was sunny and fifty-five degrees as we headed eastward on U.S. Route 30 toward Portland. After passing through the town of Scappoose, we joined the commuter traffic heading into Portland, crossing the large St. Johns Bridge over the Willamette River. The St. Johns Bridge is very high, and the bridge railing on the side of the pedestrian walkway where we rode is relatively low. A bit scary! It is a long way down to the river. We worked our way through Portland on city streets onto a nice bike path along the Columbia River, a very scenic route that passes several houseboat communities. Near the Portland International Airport, we came across the scene of an accident with several of our group's riders staring at the river.
"What's going on?" I asked one of the riders.
"Pickup truck and driver in the river," was the response.
It seems that a pickup truck had left the road above the bike path, and traveled down the slope, across the bike path, and into the river. I did not actually see the truck in the water, just lots of bubbles and foam. Several riders in our group witnessed the whole thing. It took the first emergency vehicles about fifteen minutes to get to the scene. Fire department divers showed up shortly after that, but by the time we continued on our way, the divers were still not in the water. According to local television news, the driver was pulled from the river and revived en route to the hospital, where he was in critical condition. He must have been underwater for close to thirty minutes. I never did learn if he survived.
After leaving the bike path, we began to climb, primarily on S.E. Bluff Road, which provided great views of Mount Hood and beautiful fields of flowers at several nurseries. Shortly after reaching U.S. Route 26 in Sandy, we stopped for lunch at Calamity Jane's restaurant. The place was overrun with bikers, the service was poor, and the restaurant was out of the first two things I ordered. Other than that, lunch was great! We arrived at The Resort at the Mountain in Welches at 3:30 pm. The day was great for cycling, sunny and clear with the temperature in the upper seventies.
The Resort at the Mountain in Welches, a lovely spot nestled in evergreens, dates back to 1893. It is noted for its Scottish theme and a twenty-seven-hole golf course, the first of its kind in Oregon. The 1,962-mile Oregon Trail first passed north of Mount Hood along the Columbia River. A trail to the south, blazed by Sam Barlow and Joel Palmer, called the Barlow Road, passed within a mile of The Resort at the Mountain's present location. The facility has had several names in the past, but was purchased and transformed into The Resort at the Mountain by Ed and Janice Hopper in 1989. The Resort is only an hour from Portland, and is accessible to hiking, skiing, and other outdoor activities. Dinner at a local Chinese restaurant was less than memorable.
Daily Stats: Miles ridden: 75; Average speed: 13.7 mph; Riding time: 5:34; Elapsed time: 8:40; Total climbing: 3,000 feet.
Day Three: Wednesday, June 20: Welches to Kah-Nee-Ta in the Warm Springs, Oregon Indian Reservation (elevation: 1,038 feet)
The morning was cool and clear at 6:55 am when we departed from the Whistle Stop Restaurant in Welches and headed east on U.S. Route 26. Riding with a couple from New York City, Ray and Marie, I started climbing almost immediately. A tough start to the day, especially on a full stomach! We climbed 2,700 feet over thirteen miles in two hours. U.S. Route 26 is very busy, as it is a main east-west route through the Cascades. You can hear the trucks coming up behind you for a mile or more, as they downshift up the grades. At times, I was traveling as slowly as 4 mph, just enough to stay upright. Hard work! We reached the four-thousand-foot summit at Government Camp and the Mount Hood Ski Bowls. Timberline Lodge at Mount Hood was six miles up the road to the north. As we were climbing up on U.S. Route 26 we came around a curve, and there was Mount Hood right in front of us?a great photo op!
After leaving the summit, we had three thrilling descents, with two climbs sandwiched in between. Fortunately, I had thought to change my shirt at the summit, for it was soaked with sweat from the climbing. Otherwise, it would have been very cold racing downhill at 30 to 40 mph. I tried to keep the bike at thirty-five or less. 35 mph on a bike seems very fast!
Once we left the Mount Hood National Forest, the topography changed dramatically, from evergreen forests to brown high-desert scrub. We turned off U.S. Route 26 toward the Kah-Nee-Ta Resort on the Indian reservation.
The terrain rolled up and down. The Kah-Nee-Ta Resort is situated in a box canyon. Reaching the resort required navigating a series of switchbacks, which helped to keep our speed down; otherwise, it would have been easy to fly off the road while descending to the floor of the canyon. The small Warm Springs River at the bottom of the canyon keeps the adjacent land green, an emerald jewel amid the beige high desert. The Indian reservation is quite barren with scrub bushes, relatively poor grazing and farmland, and scattered modest-sized houses. No wonder so many Native Americans living on reservations suffer from depression and alcoholism! I would go nuts living in a place like this! The terrain is very dry, with rolling ups and downs. The operative color here and throughout the high desert is beige. High temperature for the day was eighty-five degrees.
We arrived at the Kah-Nee-Ta Resort at 2:15 pm. Staffed almost exclusively by local Native Americans, this resort hotel is one of the nicest places we stayed on the entire trip. As expected, there is a casino adjacent to the hotel. Dinner in a hotel dining room was excellent. One downside to the isolation of the resort was a lack of cell phone service.
The Warm Springs Reservation was established under the Treaty of 1855. In 1937, the Wasco, Paiute and Warm Springs tribes organized as the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs and became a sovereign, self-governing nation. Kah-Nee-Ta Village was completed in 1964 and named for the Indian woman Xnitla, who had owned the property. She had been a scout and spiritual leader, using the natural hot springs and indigenous plants and roots for medicinal purposes and religious ceremonies. The lodge and convention center opened in 1972, followed by Indian Head Casino in 1995. In 2001, the tribal council approved unifying the Kah-Nee-Ta Resort and Indian Head Casino, forming what is now Kah-Nee-Ta High Desert Resort and Casino.
Daily Stats: Miles ridden: 66; Average speed: 11.7 mph; Riding time: 5:48; Elapsed time: 7:20; Total climbing: 5,400 feet.
Day Four: Thursday, June 21: Kah-Nee-Ta to Prineville, Oregon (elevation: 2,868 feet)
Riding with Dave from San Diego, I departed the resort at 7:20 am. It was sunny and clear with the temperature in the sixties. We had a seven-mile climb out of the resort, followed by a predominantly downhill, six-mile cruise into the town of Warm Springs, located on good old U.S. Route 26. The gurgling Deschutes River was on our right as we began a major climb to an agricultural plateau at the twenty-two-mile mark. We climbed a thousand feet over four miles at an average grade of 5 percent. Atop the plateau, the views of the Cascade range to the west were spectacular. We could see Mount Hood (11,239 feet, the highest point in Oregon), Mount Jefferson (10,497 feet), Mount Washington (7,794 feet), and the Three Sisters (the highest of which, South Sister, is 10,358 feet). Having left U.S. Route 26 for country roads, we were surrounded by irrigated fields of alfalfa, onions, and other crops. Grazing horses and Angus cattle were plentiful. A crop-dusting plane was buzzing over the fields.
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