Day 9 – June 21, 2015

Day 9 – June 21, 2015
Hood River

Well this was a “O day” in the pretty little town of Hood River nestled on the banks of the Columbia River. Hood River is a mecca for wind surfing, kite surfing and everything wind related. It is also the gateway to white water rafting on the Salmon and Snake rivers and hiking in the Mt Hood national forest.

We tried to recover from that challenging day we had getting here. My knee was still swollen. I booked a late afternoon massage – good price about $115 for 1 1/2 hrs.
But before that relaxation I had to find a pharmacy – ie Rite Aid to buy a little screw driver because my glasses broke. We decided to get a cab since it was about 2 miles from hotel, remember we don’t get on bikes on these “o days”. Well the front dest called and it would be 2 hrs since the only cab in town had to take someone to Portland. We decided to slowly walk there. It was a long walk. We did it very very slowly. I was pooped. Made it there and back. Our O day was a walking day. We probably did about 4-5 miles of walking.

The rest of the day was mello. Gregg at the pool and I enjoyed my massage.

Gregg:

Monday morning 6-22

It seems we like to write at breakfast. Sitting on a deck of a nice hotel looking out over the Columbia helps the words flow.

Yesterday we spent in Hood River. We must have walked four or five miles from the Hotel to the Right Aid to downtown (twice) from our somewhat out of town hotel. Walking is good for me I say to myself. Walking around this small town, population 7,167, we visited all three the bike shops looking for a way to add a water bottle holder to Audrey’s bike. We need to carry more water as it looks to be hot in coming days with few places to refill our water bottles. We were lucky to find something but it didn’t work. Should have installed a third water bottle holder on Audrey’s bike weeks ago. I guess we will keep on looking. Maybe another bungee cord to tie down a big Smart Water will be good enough.

Right outside one of the bike shops we met a couple of guys who were also bound for Washington D.C. They were there to repair broken spokes on a rear wheel. The wheel was a skinny little thing from a road bike – not recommended for carrying your life in a couple of panniers. They had four flats the day before as well. For one of the guys, the guy with the wimpy wheel, it was his first tour. The other guy told us that he had built a bamboo touring bike – which I would have liked to see. He had been on a four day tour before. They had spent the day taking a taxi from the Dalles to Hood River to find an open bike shop for the wheel repair. They remind me of my old days using a state road map and not always taking the nicest route – they had taken the route on the Washington side of the river. They have about six weeks to make it to their destination. They admit, they may have to take a train or a car for some their journey if they are to make it to the end in time. Since they are ahead of us already and trying to do more miles a day, we will probably never see each other again. We said our good byes and good lucks and walked down the street.

The day before, on our way to Hood River, we encountered a hill too steep to ride. What is too steep to ride? On a cool day I might have stayed on the bike and not walked. The temperature was in the low 80s and maybe hotter on some of the road, the breeze blocked by trees. For me, walking is usually caused by a sudden rise in body temperature and not weak legs. As soon as I feel my body temp go up, I realize I am headed to a bad place. Walking the bike, though strenuous, gets me up the hill without heat stroke.

This trip is about a lot of things. One of which is practicing operating within your limits. I am a 62 year old man in reasonably good shape except for the excess 20 to 30 pounds (no that is not a baby). I am pretty sure I will lose those extra pounds by the time I get to Washington D.C. Over the course of the next 3500 miles my limitations will change but there will still be limitations I must respect. As a wise man once said, “Wherever you go, there you are.”