May 6, 2003 –The John Wayne Trail
Washington Rails to Trails
Day One:
Ray arrived on the train from Lompoc, California (a 24 hour ride). It was the start of what was to be 4 days of riding and camping at Klamath Falls.
The weather at Klamath Falls was bad so the weatherman would say. Ray was reading his magazine and found Rails to Trails in Washington just like Klamath Falls, Oregon.
We put our gear together and off we went to Ellensburg, Washington. On the way we stopped at Bonneville and saw the fish, salmon and sturgeon. Sturgeons are big fish.
Ellensburg is just another small college town. After you get through town you are on your own (no signs were posted in town). The first day, after we found the trailhead and booked a room to store our gear, we biked east about 10 miles. The trail itself was well marked but a little rough to ride (lots of fairly deep gravel in many places). We only did 26 miles that day.
Day two:
We went for another little ride to Cle Elum. There were trestles to ride over and tunnels to ride through. One of the tunnels had a turn in it and you were in total darkness for a little way. I walked into the wall two times but it was not a problem (no blood, no pain). The trestles are great to be on and easy to look over the edge. Some with hand rails and some with out. Some are wood and some are steel.
We ate lunch in town and back we went. Along the way we met up with a rancher moving his Cattle (8-10) along the road. He didn’t want us to pass because it would spook them and they would run into the woods and he would have to get his horse to get them out. He got to his fenced area and then he said to go ahead. They would not let us pass so we got to run with the cows. Ray didn’t get a picture of me running with the cows. I don’t know why not, something about holding on to his bike bars on the rough road. This end of the ride is rough (some thick, loose gravel but not much) but good. I did walk my bike over two trestles because it was too hard to ride. There were no other riders and only three or four walkers. We did 56 miles that day.
Retired life is hard on the old body.
Day Three:
We drove about 60 miles to Hyak. The trail went through a tunnel that was 2.3 miles long. It is the longest tunnel that you have to walk or ride a bike through in the USA. Ray went in and cleaned out a pipe that some one had thrown in the middle of the road and hurt himself in the process. Yes, he went down. It was a walking muscle tear not a biking muscle or something that would stop us from riding. I thought it was nice of him to clean up the road for me. I was sorry he got hurt. I thought he went in and was standing there with his light shining in my eyes. When I arrived where he was, he said he thought it was a light. Yes, it was a light, the other end of the tunnel 2.3 miles away. This made it hard to ride because your eyes would dilate to the light and you could not see where you where going. We had our little headlamps and a flashlight I bought at Fred Meyers. I kept shining it off to the sides. When we came back, it was easy; no bright light at the end and we could see quite well.
The ride on this end was great and the view was just something you have to be there to appreciate. We arrived at Rattlesnake Lake and The Cedar River Watershed Education Center. There was a drum set of about 20 drums with timed water drops on them. That is just so neat.
The lady Ranger there said it was 5 miles to North Bend. Yea right. It was 8.16 miles. (I am thinking I know I know). We had been going down all day and there was this other downhill. I talked Ray in to going to lunch. It was about 2:30 p.m. They have a Dari Freeze there with hamburgers that are just great! They have been there for 50 years.
We arrived at the car at 7:30 p.m. Two tired guys ready for a shower and a good nights sleep after 30 miles of up hill. It was a 60-mile gravel day, worth every minute of the ride. Ray saw a bear and an Elk. I didn’t see them.
Some people would say it is not fair us having so much fun in the sun and they have to work.
Day Four:
Went back to Rattlesnake Lake and road up 10 miles, and then went to lunch in North Bend. There were a lot of rock climbers and we went to the bottom of some of the fills to see the culverts and to see how they got the water though. If you spit standing on the trestle, it took six seconds to hit the ground. It took 5 years to make the tunnel and two to make the roadbed. That is fast for 1914. A Million and a half pounds of cargo the first month. It is 45 days from Chicago, around 2,135 miles from where we were.
Day Five:
This was a day to rest. Went to Noah’s fifth birthday party.
Day Six:
Went up the Gorge. It was raining here but as we went, the weather got better. We did a ride from The Bridge of the Gods to Bonneville Dam. It was cold and damp and Ray can tell you how slick the moss was there. The snails were out. They were about two inches across and some of the bigger slugs were on the trail.
We drove from The Bridge of the Gods to Hood River and rode our bikes to The Dalles for lunch. I just love that ride and the clouds went away so we were back in the sun. It is so pretty and the wind only blew us around a little. It was a 53-mile day.
Day Seven:
It went like this. We were up early, 6:00 a.m. and on the bikes at 7:00 a.m., into Portland 7:30 a.m., over to the Max train 8:00 a.m., over to Gateway 8:30 a.m., rode over the 205 bridge and into Washington 9:00 a.m., back to Milwaukie and home at 11:00 a.m. - 30 miles. Now when you talk to Ray, he will tell you he was going 73 mph on the bridge and he put 230 miles on the bike in two days. He thinks there might be something wrong with the Odometer on the bike I loaned him, but he likes it a lot. His cruising speed is 40 miles an hour. Get out of the way Lance Armstrong; Ray is a coming!
The sad part of the ride is Ray getting back on the train and going home. I will be happy again when we are riding together. He is a little faster than I am but I get there. It is great to have a good friend you can ride with. Do what you can today because tomorrow might not happen.
Washington Rails to Trails
Day One:
Ray arrived on the train from Lompoc, California (a 24 hour ride). It was the start of what was to be 4 days of riding and camping at Klamath Falls.
The weather at Klamath Falls was bad so the weatherman would say. Ray was reading his magazine and found Rails to Trails in Washington just like Klamath Falls, Oregon.
We put our gear together and off we went to Ellensburg, Washington. On the way we stopped at Bonneville and saw the fish, salmon and sturgeon. Sturgeons are big fish.
Ellensburg is just another small college town. After you get through town you are on your own (no signs were posted in town). The first day, after we found the trailhead and booked a room to store our gear, we biked east about 10 miles. The trail itself was well marked but a little rough to ride (lots of fairly deep gravel in many places). We only did 26 miles that day.
Day two:
We went for another little ride to Cle Elum. There were trestles to ride over and tunnels to ride through. One of the tunnels had a turn in it and you were in total darkness for a little way. I walked into the wall two times but it was not a problem (no blood, no pain). The trestles are great to be on and easy to look over the edge. Some with hand rails and some with out. Some are wood and some are steel.
We ate lunch in town and back we went. Along the way we met up with a rancher moving his Cattle (8-10) along the road. He didn’t want us to pass because it would spook them and they would run into the woods and he would have to get his horse to get them out. He got to his fenced area and then he said to go ahead. They would not let us pass so we got to run with the cows. Ray didn’t get a picture of me running with the cows. I don’t know why not, something about holding on to his bike bars on the rough road. This end of the ride is rough (some thick, loose gravel but not much) but good. I did walk my bike over two trestles because it was too hard to ride. There were no other riders and only three or four walkers. We did 56 miles that day.
Retired life is hard on the old body.
Day Three:
We drove about 60 miles to Hyak. The trail went through a tunnel that was 2.3 miles long. It is the longest tunnel that you have to walk or ride a bike through in the USA. Ray went in and cleaned out a pipe that some one had thrown in the middle of the road and hurt himself in the process. Yes, he went down. It was a walking muscle tear not a biking muscle or something that would stop us from riding. I thought it was nice of him to clean up the road for me. I was sorry he got hurt. I thought he went in and was standing there with his light shining in my eyes. When I arrived where he was, he said he thought it was a light. Yes, it was a light, the other end of the tunnel 2.3 miles away. This made it hard to ride because your eyes would dilate to the light and you could not see where you where going. We had our little headlamps and a flashlight I bought at Fred Meyers. I kept shining it off to the sides. When we came back, it was easy; no bright light at the end and we could see quite well.
The ride on this end was great and the view was just something you have to be there to appreciate. We arrived at Rattlesnake Lake and The Cedar River Watershed Education Center. There was a drum set of about 20 drums with timed water drops on them. That is just so neat.
The lady Ranger there said it was 5 miles to North Bend. Yea right. It was 8.16 miles. (I am thinking I know I know). We had been going down all day and there was this other downhill. I talked Ray in to going to lunch. It was about 2:30 p.m. They have a Dari Freeze there with hamburgers that are just great! They have been there for 50 years.
We arrived at the car at 7:30 p.m. Two tired guys ready for a shower and a good nights sleep after 30 miles of up hill. It was a 60-mile gravel day, worth every minute of the ride. Ray saw a bear and an Elk. I didn’t see them.
Some people would say it is not fair us having so much fun in the sun and they have to work.
Day Four:
Went back to Rattlesnake Lake and road up 10 miles, and then went to lunch in North Bend. There were a lot of rock climbers and we went to the bottom of some of the fills to see the culverts and to see how they got the water though. If you spit standing on the trestle, it took six seconds to hit the ground. It took 5 years to make the tunnel and two to make the roadbed. That is fast for 1914. A Million and a half pounds of cargo the first month. It is 45 days from Chicago, around 2,135 miles from where we were.
Day Five:
This was a day to rest. Went to Noah’s fifth birthday party.
Day Six:
Went up the Gorge. It was raining here but as we went, the weather got better. We did a ride from The Bridge of the Gods to Bonneville Dam. It was cold and damp and Ray can tell you how slick the moss was there. The snails were out. They were about two inches across and some of the bigger slugs were on the trail.
We drove from The Bridge of the Gods to Hood River and rode our bikes to The Dalles for lunch. I just love that ride and the clouds went away so we were back in the sun. It is so pretty and the wind only blew us around a little. It was a 53-mile day.
Day Seven:
It went like this. We were up early, 6:00 a.m. and on the bikes at 7:00 a.m., into Portland 7:30 a.m., over to the Max train 8:00 a.m., over to Gateway 8:30 a.m., rode over the 205 bridge and into Washington 9:00 a.m., back to Milwaukie and home at 11:00 a.m. - 30 miles. Now when you talk to Ray, he will tell you he was going 73 mph on the bridge and he put 230 miles on the bike in two days. He thinks there might be something wrong with the Odometer on the bike I loaned him, but he likes it a lot. His cruising speed is 40 miles an hour. Get out of the way Lance Armstrong; Ray is a coming!
The sad part of the ride is Ray getting back on the train and going home. I will be happy again when we are riding together. He is a little faster than I am but I get there. It is great to have a good friend you can ride with. Do what you can today because tomorrow might not happen.
posted by Byran on the side at 7:56 AM
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