Posted on by Greg

Bike Across America – Day Two

Tuesday, June 20, 2017

Start: St. Helens, Oregon
End: Welches, Oregon

Mileage today/cumulative: 74.7/169.5
Elevation Ascended: 3,058
Weather: Partly cloudy, 59° at start; sunny, 73° at finish
3D Video (click for a brief flyover view of today’s ride)

Day Two was one of those days that Oregonians wait ten months each year for – sunshine and perfect temperatures for any outdoor activity. Riding conditions were ideal and we are grateful for this nice start to the trip. It was also a “flat free” day and we are equally grateful for those.

Today’s route took us out of the timberland, through the outskirts of Portland,  ending just outside the entrance to Mt. Hood National Forest. Today’s ride was backloaded with all of the climbing in the last 30 miles. Nothing difficult – just a couple of steady extended climbs and a lot of rollers that reminded us of so many roads in Tennessee. As we crossed the St. John’s Bridge, over the Williamette River, we could see downtown Portland in the distance. A bit further along, we rode many miles on a dedicated bike path with a portion of it running parallel to the Portland International Airport runways (you can see the airport on the 3D video). Planes landed and took off directly above us as we rolled along!

As we left the Portland sprawl, we finally got our first view of Mt. Hood in the distance at mile 56, where there was a nice overlook for photos. We continued through the town of Sandy, which bills itself as “The Gateway to Mt. Hood”. Once we got through Sandy, it was a nice steady climb on US 26 before a beautiful, straight descent on a wide, smooth shoulder. Mt. Hood kept making cameo appearances and she should be the main attraction tomorrow, as I believe we circle around to the back side and also get our first look at Mt. Jefferson and other peaks in the Cascade Mountain Range. Tomorrow will be our first challenging day with a steady 13 mile climb right out the gate before dropping down into the Oregon high desert.

The Williamette River from the St. John’s Bridge.
Us and our new friend Kim Brooks from Albuquerque NM. We hang out with Kim because he’s a cool guy and he has a selfie stick. He also wears a polo shirt with his name embroidered on it so that we always know who he is. (It’s also the name of his home building company)
Some of our fellow riders crossing the St. John’s Bridge. I’m on the side cheering them on.
This guy thought that my chamois butter was food. He was disappointed but it didn’t stop him from giving Bev some loving.
Bev stopped along the bike path to enjoy the beauty of the Columbia River.
Our first view of Mt. Hood was worthy of a Team Pea photo-op. Hood is in the far distance.
Looking yonder at Mt. Hood with about 10 miles remaining on today’s ride.

6 Replies to “Bike Across America – Day Two”

  1. My first trip to Portland took us for a drive up the Columbia and it was so beautiful! Am glad you had such a lovely day. Good luck on the climb 👏👏👏

  2. I love Portland and the Columbia River . . . so cool you were able to ride by the airport runways!

  5. Super fun following your journey! Dan and I have a few questions:
    Where is your luggage? With the people that set up the rest stops?
    How do you know what big sights are coming up? Assuming you are told about them before each ride by the tour guides? (You have tour guides that are in charge, right?)
    Is the plan ~65-70 miles a day?
    How many hours a day (average) are you riding each day? We were guessing around 5.
    Do you have a map posted somewhere of the route of the entire ride?
    This is really cool – love that we get to (kind of) go on this trip with you. Except that we are in our homes in a comfy chair, reading your blog with wine in hand. 🙂

Comments are closed.