Today's ride starts on I-84 again. The winds started off strong but died down after about only one mile. Finally off the highway and onto some nice side roads into Cascade Locks. Stopped at Char Burger for breakfast. This Char Burger is not your Portland area Char Burger, it is a full service resturant. Omelet, hashbrowns, sausage, toast and coffee. Stuffed and now time to get back on the road.
Leaving Cascade Locks the route takes us on the the Historic Columbia River Highway Trail. This is a nice paved bike/pedestrian pathway, much better than riding I-84. I had left my handlebar bag unsnapped so that it would be easier to get to my camera while on the trail. This was a mistake as I found out when I hit the first of the tree root bumps. Several items fell out including my camera which went straight under my wheels. Note to self: Save the equipment and not time by snapping the bag closed.
The HCRH Trail comes out at the Eagle Creek Fish Hatchery, then heads up a road marked with a Do Not Enter sign. There is a bikelane on each side of the road which soon turns back into the actual trail. A few hundred feet beyond where it becomes a true trail agin, there is a set of stairs that need to be negoiated. This was a little bit of a challege for me having both a bike and a trailer. I really enjoyed riding this portion of the route, but is was all too soon back on I-84.
After a short duration on I-84 it was back on to the HCRW (Crown Point Hwy). This was also a nice section to ride, with the exception that it was Memorial weekend and the traffic was rather high. At this point it was starting to warm up and I was going through my water rather quickly. Stopped at Horse-tail falls then Multnomah Falls, refilled water bottles here. The climb to Crown Point begins as I leave Multnomah Falls. The road is still good, nice scenery and shade, but still large volumns of traffic. It takes almost an hour to ride the approx. 8 miles to Vista House at Crown Point. My first time here, the views were great. A little rest, more water, a call to Nancy so she could meet me for lunch and I was on my way.
There was still more climbing, but not a lot, then down hill into Corbett, Springdale and finally Troutdale. Saw a few other riders stopped at a cafe for lunch, but I rode on as I was meeting Nancy at the Edgefield for lunch. Arrived at Edgefield and was getting ready to lockup my bike and wait for Nancy to arrive, but she texted me that she just arrived, what good timing. Found her, put my tailer and other gear in the trunk just as it started to sprinkle. Now off the the Powerstation Pub for food and beer.
Actual route and personal riding data
What a trip!!! Very enjoyable, sore legs, saddle sore, worn out and really tired, but I would definately do it again.
A collection of all my photos from the trip.
Thanks to Jim and all the others at VBC and PWTC for putting this together.
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