Grand Coulee Dam to Spokane
June 22, 2022
Another century which started off with a huge climb. Breakfast was in a restaurant about a third
of the way out of the canyon. It was a
really good breakfast, ham, scrambled eggs, hash browns, plus lots of fresh
fruit. After breakfast we continued our
climb out of the canyon. About half way up the climb I stopped look back at the
reservoir. It was so blue and so
beautiful. The climb wasn’t as steep as
some of the other climbs but it was still 14 miles of 6-7%. I was certainly glad to have that one behind
me.
The rest of the day was spent riding across wide open
plains. The shoulder of the road was
wide enough but was quite rough chip seal. The road was busy enough that you
had to keep an eye behind you if you wanted to come out to the smooth driving
lanes. About 10:00 am the wind came up out
of the south west. We were generally headed South East so the wind was either a
quartering tail wind or a cross wind.
Picnic was at mile 53 and I rolled into picnic right at
noon. All things considered I thought I had done pretty well. I had left breakfast at about 6:45 so just
over 5 hours and completed the big climb of the day.
The signs we had been seeing on the road indicated that
Spokane was at least 10-12 miles closer than what the route sheet
indicated. So Aussie Bob asked me what I
thought. Pulling out my cell phone and
checking the distance indicated 38 miles rather than the 48 on the route
sheet. We decided to take the direct
route into town. It was getting close to 80 F and nobody needed extra
miles. Bob and I rolled down the road
and caught up with Tom and Patrick and they joined us. A third rider joined us. It was a great choice as we sailed down the highway
with a good tail wind and turned off onto this tiny winding road which had a
great downhill. We rolled in at 2:45.
Shaved 10.5 miles off and had a great route.
Seems like I am more tired today than yesterday.
Terry
4 comments:
Sounds like a great breakfast and a great day.
Good ride Terry. My neighbor, who also winters in Arizona, says that time spent in Arizona does not count against your age, so your effective age is 62; still a young man and that's the reason you're riding so well. Shortcuts also contribute, so your route-adjusted age is further reduced to 58.
Carry on and keep up the good work.
Calgary Ken C.
Unbelievable what you are doing Terry. I did Cochrane hill the other day as part of a 24 mile ride and it almost killed me. I can't imagine doing that big hill that you did and then riding another 80 miles or so.
You are truly an inspiration!
Chris
I like your math!
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