Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Day Two Preview - Dread Not! - Five Double Aught Tour

Day two. Day two of eight. What does this day have in store? The destination this day is "beautiful" downtown Yakima. Its long day at 76 miles. But, its all down hill baby. This day I am looking forward to in the tour. The entire day is paralleling the Yakima River - down stream. The first half is from Lake Easton State Park to Ellensburg. I will pass through Cle Elum and will make a stop for breakfast here. Once I get to E-burg, I follow the river and head south down Hwy 821 and into the Yakima River canyon. This is a meandering ride, down a beautiful high desert, austere canyon. Geotechnically (is this a word?) the river cuts through Umtanum Ridge Water Gap. Here is what Wikipedia says:

Umtanum Ridge Water Gap is a geologic feature in central Washington state in the United States. It was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1980.[1]
The Umtanum Ridge Water is a water gap cut by the Yakima River through Manastash and Umtanum Ridge anticlines, which are part of the Yakima Fold Belt near the western edge of the Columbia River Plateau located in central Washington. This National Natural Landmark is characterized by a series of steep-sided ridges in the Columbia River basalt which are cut through axially by the Yakima River. It is also referred to as the Yakima River Canyon, and is located between the cities of Ellensburg and YakimaWashington State Route 821, originally the main route between Ellensburg and Yakima, parallels the river through the canyon.
Wow. I had no idea until I Googled it. But, I have been through the canyon last fall in a car, with the side kick and the wonder pup Luna and, well, to me, it is quite pretty. Of course, I'm a big fan of all things central Washington. I love the open landscape of the Columbia basin and the 'scrublands'. 
So the canyon peters out at the south end and dumps me into Selah. From there, its a short five mile ride to the hotel. Yes, this night I am popping for a hotel. Once in... I'll spruce up and head to the local brew pub, to which I have already mapped the walk from the hotel! 
Cheers! Enjoy the pics.
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Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Day One Preview - Dread Not! - Five Double Aught Tour

So day one of my tour will be like no other this year. It is truly a unique day in the saddle. Comparing the prior two tours as well... this day has no rivals. I am riding from Rattle Snake Lake to Lake Easton over Snoqualmie Pass on the old railroad bed of the Milwaukee Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul-Pacific Railroad! The railroad was converted to a 'Rails to Trail' trail. It is the John Wayne Trail of Iron Horse State Park.

Here is what the brochure says:

With more than 100 miles of trail extending from Cedar Falls in the Cascade Mountains to the Columbia River in central Washington, the John Wayne Pioneer Trail is perfect for long or short trips. The trail leads travelers past high trestles with spectacular views of the valley below, mountainous terrain, sagebrush desert, arid scrublands and charming countryside farmlands of the Columbia Basin. 

My ride on day one will take me about 45 miles total starting at Rattlesnake Lake. From Rattlesnake Lake, I'll climb steadily (only about 2000 feet for the day) through dense forests as I make my way from King County into Kittitas County to reach Hyak, about 20 miles east of the trail terminus. A highlight of this section is passage through the abandoned 2.3-mile Snoqualmie Pass Tunnel (tunnel #50), one of the longest rail-trail tunnels in the country. It passes 1500 feet under the pass! There are no lights in the tunnel - you bring your own. Kind of freaks me out!

At Hyak, the trail heads south with a slight elevation drop along the western shores of Keechelus Lake, the Yakima River, and Lake Easton. Between the two lakes is Whittier Tunnel (#49). Another tunnel (#48) is accessible near the small community of Easton. Once I get to Lake Easton, I'm done for the day. I'll pitch my tent and cook some dinner. 
So, as you can see, this indeed will be a fantastic day of riding. Now here are some pics to enjoy.
Cheers!
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Monday, May 4, 2015

Dread Not - Five Double Aught Overview

In about just less than two months I am heading out on the third solo supported tour of my lifetime. Oh wait, I did do an S24HO in 2012, but I am not going to call an overnight ride a tour. So, yes in 2012 I did my 2012 Cascade Traverse By-Pedal Expedition to Save Human Folly.  This was the ride that started the slogging-days of cycle touring for yours truly. In 2013 my solo tour was the Vines to Bitterroots. I took last year (2014) off and it's time to hit the bike once again!

Of course as all things some times go with us humans (pedalnistas included), yah gotta up the ante. We tend to challenge ourselves to go bigger, farther, faster. I'm no different. Some people call us Type A, or obsessive/compulsive or a glutton for punishment, or always searching for something, always trying to fill a hole in... Ahhhh, burro-shit I say.  It's about challenge and growth. It's about striving. It's about fun. Woh, where did that come from? Yes, this is fun to me. Yes, it can be tough, but the proudest things I have done in the last few years are my tours. 

So, how indeed did the ante go up this year? Five hundred miles that's how. This tour is 500 miles. The past tours were in the 350-400 miles range. This year... Manifest Destiny in the drops, staring steely eyed into the head winds, gnashing teeth, grinding it out for 500 miles

Ok, that's the distance. But Where? 

Here, then there and down. Over, up and down again. Due east, due south, due west. Mountains to high desert to beach. 

Start: Seattle
End: Lincoln Beach, Oregon.

As the crow flies, its a straight 211 miles. But as the burro clops along, and trying to see some interesting scenery, its a nice 500 miles.

Day 1: Over the Cascades, Snoqualmie Pass - by the Milwaukee Road
Day 2: Yakima River shadowing to Yakima
Day 3: Yakima Valley to Simcoe Mountains
Day 4: Descend to Columbia River by Dalles Road, head west to Hood River
Day 5: Hood River to Mt Hood (this by definition must be up!)
Day 6: Down from Mt Hood to Clackamas River
Day 7: Clackamas River to the Willamette River
Day 8: Willamette River over the coast mountains and down to Bella Beach, OR.

So what makes this tour so interesting to me is I spend a whole day on the old Milwaukee Road (Chicago-Milwaukee-St. Paul-Pacific Railroad) which is a hard gravel abandoned railroad and also rides through a few railroad tunnels (actually under Snoqualmie pass!). And later in the tour I return to the gravel when I ride Dalles Mountain Road down from Goldendale, WA (high above the north side of the Columbia River gorge) to the Columbia River! Then I skirt around the east and south side of Mt Hood and camp in Government Camp close to the top. What a cool name for a town... Government Camp.

So that is it in a nutshell. In the next few posts, I'll crack open the nut and provide more details on each day with included pictures. Giddy Up!