Astoria to Helen Day 1

On day 0 we met all the support crew and the riders. All 50 plus riders stood up successively, stating who they were, where they were from, and why they were here. Chuck and I suspected something like this would go down and figured they might also ask what we did for a living. So when we were driving over from Portland we tossed around a couple of bullshit careers we could claim to be. Now I am perfectly comfortable with who I am and what I am, but it is always fun to instantly reinvent yourself and live it out a la Catch Me If You Can. We narrowed it down to Morticians or Jazz Musicians. Now neither of us knows shit about either profession but we weren't concerned about any type of intense questioning. Just to boost  the authenticity of the jazz musician angle I took my homemade AC-DC ( Bevis and Butthead)  T-shirt and tried to change it to Charlie Parker, but I wound up ruining it. Some of the riders had causes they claimed to be supporting and were raising money. I was convinced they were all sincere. There was heart disease, hemophilia and cancer. One very nice guy was raising money for 501C ( or something like that) dealing equal assess to marriage.We later thought about telling him marriage might be a little overrated but figured he didn't want to hear that.

At the mouth of the Columbia River. What, me worry?

I'll eventually get to the ride but while on the subject of impostors my absolute favorite ruse goes down when I am cycling alone in Italy, usually while accompanying Charlotte on her painting trips. When I first get there I will seek out the local bike shop and without exception, they will sponsor a team and sell a team kit (jersey and cycling shorts). I always buy one. Most of the time they look better than the pro team kits which is hard to explain. When I bring them back home I am the only one in town that has the kit, which is cool. While I am there and riding on the back roads, not uncommonly a car with lost Americans will flag me down and ask for directions. Usually I have studied the maps well before riding and can answer the question. I speak to them in broken English with a thick Italian accent, constantly reminding them to speak more slowly. Once, when I later made it to the town I directed two of them, they bought me a coffee and took photographs of each other with me to show their fiends back in ? Atlanta they had met an authentic Italian bike rider. 


Back to the ride. Well a sane person would have labelled it an inauspicious start. I had a decent sleep, was up at 6:00 AM and knocked back three double cappuccinos before leaving the room to eat a typical motel breakfast. I have brought along the Nespresso machine with milk frother but still managed to stay within the stringent weight limits for luggage detail. No way I can ride more than I usually do and not tank up with the necessary caffeine delivered as a wonderful quality coffee. I love good coffee more than I love the green on a tree leaf, the purr of my cat and the smell a rose all put together. I once asked my niece Mary, a vegetarian, if she ate cheese and she replied  "Life without cheese is not worth living." Well it is right back at you in spades with me and coffee.


The forecast was 60% for rain. For us Georgia crackers that means a 60% chance it might rain on you for a millisecond over the 24 hour period.. In Oregon it means if you are outside all day, it will rain on you 60% of the time.We were wet 100% of time with rain coming down the full 60%, usually a drizzle, but it poured on the second longest descent. We rode with the mighty Columbia River to our left all day but it was hard to see it well. The pace was easy. At the hotel we were more soggy than tired.

Wild climbing hydrangea ( I think)

Click below and a link will appear, click it to see ride details


http://connect.garmin.com/activity/190 516688