A long day

Wenatchee to Coulee Dam

We climbed out of Wenatchee up this canyon road which was really steep and went on forever. There was untold number of turns and looking down at your odometer was just depressing as you had gone only 0.1 miles since you last looked and told yourself you weren't going to look there until you had done some serious pedalling. However the sun was out and the wind was not a factor. The summit was reached and then we headed up this road which had this chip seal surface and not the kind with little rocks but the big ones. I was sure glad to see the end of that road.
Picnic was in this beautiful little park in town called Mansfield. Lunch as usual consisted of lots of great food. There was lots of cold cuts cheese, fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as lots of nuts and dried fruit. I was surprised to see that I was the 11 person in to lunch on the in-check list. As lunch was at 58 miles I thought maybe I can get a top five out of this. So I ate quickly and left. Putting the hammer down though lots of big rollers with a heavy cross wind was tiring but I keep pushing. At about the 75 mile mark I caught the tandem and another rider who were stopped with a flat tire. At about 80 I caught two more riders who were stooped for a break. At about the ninety mile mark I caught another rider who was doing a gel so I knew he was done. Then as we turned the last turn I caught another rider, giving me a fourth for the day. Not bad on a 103.3 mile day with a field of 86 riders.
We are camped at a high school just a the base of the Grand Coulee dam. The roar of the water coming down the spill way is deafening. There is a cold mist over the entire area. I am told that the water is very high this year and that is why there is so much water coming down the spill way.
A long day with lots of fun riding.

Terry