Big Ride - Day 2 - Easton to Vantage

Felt great with 8 hours of sleep. Woke up 4:15am hungry, but decided to sleep another 45 min and wait for breakfast. Woke up again at 5am fresh and ready to ride. Packed up camp and then got some bagels w/ cream cheese for breakfast. 46 degrees out was might cold. Last minute clothing change from fleece and pants to riding gear and I was off. I was one of the last 3 out of camp and quickly caught up to people. By the time we hit some serious climbs I was with Noah, Simon, 3 girls from DC. Hit the down hill and passed Kevin, Steph, and Patty Harm. Got scared by logging truck parked on the side of the road as we went downhill into a turn. Road on and off with Noah, Cati, and simon for a while into rest stop along the hills/rest stop. I pulled off on a side road to see if there was an outlook by some hay stacks and a barn but no luck. Got to the rest stop and took some pictures with everyone. Took off again. Eventually the roads became mundane and took off with Noah. Rolled into rest stop by Red Dragon (?). Found out there was an electronics store near by and got a real camera... cell phone pics weren't doing it. That delay kept me from catching Noah, Simon, Ruben, and Steven. Found the 3 DC girls at a star bucks as I head back out but quickly lost them as we hit the long, low grade climb. Rode the rest of the way alone. The 10 mile downhill into camp was AWESOME. I pedalled hard to get my mph above 40, getting around 42-43 before turning into some nasty side winds that blew me a little too much on the road, so I kept it at about 30-35mph.

Got into camp and set up the tent. Got lunch at Blustery's with Bob, Ruben, Steven, and Noah. Came back and made some calls to friends and family. It was great hearing from them and how proud they were about what I'm doing. Sometimes I really forget how impressive this trip is... to me it's become just like a vacation to Hawaii, but longer... and more fun... and more peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. After the calls Ruben, Noah, Steven, Simon, and Nick (mechanic) headed down to the Columbia river where we dove off the pier and just shot the shit. Came back to shower and get dinner again at Blustery's... they are nice enough to make us free dinner AND breakfast. Dinner was great and we celebrated Steven's birthday... who will now be called "rocket man".

Side Story: Steven was riding today w/ no shirt and only a camelback on. He has tan lines like he's a superhero that flies around with a jetpack... hence the new nickname: Rocketman.

After dinner I headed back to camp to catch up on the blog and write down today's events. All around a great day, great weather, and great ride. Can't wait to see what's in store tomorrow.

Stats:

distance:

76.64

avg:

17.4

max:

42.5

time:

4:23'01