Day 56 – Saturday 7/23/22

Umatilla, Oregon to Biggs Junction, Oregon – 85.9 Miles

The west wind started early and stayed all day today. It took 9 hours and 40 minutes to cover about 86 miles at an average speed of 8.8 mph. Riding at that pace is numbing, as everything happens slowly over a long distance. I made it, but I’ve definitely had better days.

I was the first one out of the campground this morning and was over the bridge into Washington within 5 minutes. The route began parallel to the Columbia River.

Within 10 miles I saw a bike tourist coming from the other direction. Riding with the wind, he was moving quickly and didn’t look like he wanted to stop. He didn’t. Our conversation went like this: “Where are you heading?” “Maine. You?” “Seaside, then Seattle.” “Good luck!” “You, too!”

The small group of buildings called Paterson was the first stop for services 17 miles into the ride. Naturally, everything there was closed, which was a minor problem. The ACA had warned that there were minimal services available for 85 miles, but Paterson was supposed to be one of the places where supplies could be found. With it out of the picture Roosevelt, 35 miles away, was the next and only stop left. Since the wind was steadily blowing from the direction I was going, that was going to take a while.

The scenery towards and away from the Columbia River was good.

There was plenty of truck and train traffic going past me today. The railroads haul in containers and the trucks load them and take them where they need to be. A few signs indicated that there was a river port nearby, which is probably serviced by the same method.

When I got to Roosevelt, I immediately began looking for a store. What I saw wasn’t encouraging.

Luckily, about a mile down the road was a real convenience store. I might have bought one of everything they had but kept it to drinks and a few snack items. The woman who ran the store had guestbooks going back several years, signed by cyclists who had stopped on their way to Maine, Oregon or Washington. I was happy to make my contribution.

At this point there were 35 miles to Biggs Junction, and it looked like tough sledding. A slow uphill climb was followed by a downhill with no speed increase against the wind.

I’d gotten into a pattern as I fought the wind of pedaling for 5 miles, then taking a couple of minutes off for water or a snack. At slightly over 76 miles into the day a 600-foot climb showed up, which I thought was completely unnecessary. I should have been descending towards the river, but the road went up for 2.5 miles. The view was good, but after the climb I wasn’t in the mood to appreciate it.

Shortly afterwards, a snow-covered mountain appeared in the distance. I found out later that it’s Mount Hood, a dormant volcano that last erupted in 1866. Straight line distance from me is about 50-60 miles.

Finally, I was within a few miles of Biggs Junction. But when a sign like this appears, you have to see what it’s about.

It’s about this.

The view over the river and towards Biggs Junction was worth the stop..

I got to the motel after 6 and was told that fast food is it in Biggs Junction. Wanting to look my best when I went to Taco Bell, I got cleaned up, went over and ordered enough to reward myself for all the work today.

Today was the end of week 8, and tomorrow is supposed to be a short day to Cascade Falls. We’ll see. I don’t expect the wind to let up. A rough check of distance says I’m a little over 200 miles from the Pacific at Seaside, Oregon. That’s about 3- or 4-days of riding, so the middle of next week could be a milestone. Thanks for reading!