Riding around the (Mt) Hood

Today I was joined by 2 folks as I rode around Mt Hood. A third rider was a no show. He sure missed the boat today! It was an absolutely gorgeous day to do this challenging ride. We dealt with very warm temperatures and a stiff headwind but were rewarded with stunning views.

The plan was to start off from Sam Barlow High School in Gresham at 6:30AM.
As I made my way to the start location I noted the pre-sunrise silhouette of Mt Hood beckoning us to come for a bike ride around her graceful slopes.



We rode down to the Sandy River then began the climb up to Women's Forum park. Often the goal for my social biking group, today this was just the prelude. We'd drop down to Multnomah Falls then pretty much climb for the next 75 miles to Barlow Pass. While riding the shoulder of I-84 is necessary, and the shoulder is for the most part quite wide, we tried to stay off the freeway whenever we could.

One rather dicey freeway section is the Tooth Rock tunnel. We managed to avoid that today by taking an orphaned segment of the Historic Columbia River Highway. Unlike some of the other more popular segments that have been repaved and made quite user friendly, this section had a more rustic and historically correct look. The surface was rife with root ridges, but still a great improvement over having to traverse that tunnel on I-84. After getting past the tunnel we dropped back down to freeway level via a set of stairs. In pre-freeway years the road undoubtedly would have made a graceful descent on it's own but the dynamite and earth movers of freeway construction left sections of the old road dangling.



It was not hard to visualize Model T's making their way along this narrow ribbon of old asphalt.



I had a good breakfast this morning before riding but found myself "under nourished" most of the day. My 100 mile ride the previous day might have had something to do with that... but maybe not.l I had a Cliff bar from my on bike supplies as we rode through Cascade Locks. I was craving pancakes, or maybe just the carbs. No matter, that craving was satisfied when I reached Hood River. We refilled water bottles here too.



The mostly gentle climbing along the Columbia River (aided by a noticeable tailwind!) was coming to an end as we started climbing through the Hood River Valley. Hood River is famous for it's fruit orchards and we got a good look at many of them as we pedaled along the Dee Highway, the precursor to Hwy 35.




Mt Hood was gorgeous today, as were Mt Adams and Mt Rainer in Washington when we could see them. The late season heavy snow pack has meant high rivers as well as very white mountains for the end of July



The day was warming up and we reached Parkdale where the pitch of the road tipped upward even more. John Henry and I stopped at a market and refilled water bottles again, as well as grabbed some snacks. John Henry made healthier choices than I. Well, if you can count chips as healthy! I had a High Fructose Corn Syrup berry flavored desert, aka Hostess Berry Pie sounded like just the sugar jolt I might need.
I also downed a pink lemonade.

Our original plan was to get on Hwy 35 just above Parkdale, however a last minute change of plan put us on course to Cooper Spur ski resort, and bonus miles and bonus climbing. ;-)

As John Henry and I made our way up the hill (Robert had dropped us on the climb out of Hood River!) I ran across a former college roommate of mine, Terry, who lives in Parkdale. He turned around and rode with me as we visited a bit while making our way up the hill together.




It was very warm now, probably upper 80's to possibly low 90's. When we reached Cooper Spur we stopped and refilled water bottles again. I was sweating profusely so it was no mystery where all that water was going..... some of that salt laden liquid made it's way into my eyes too! :-O I also had a Power Bar from my on bike stash.



We took the fast descent from Cooper Spur toward Hwy 35, and I got to demonstrate the value of my 56-11 high gearing to Terry.....as he watched helplessly as I gradually pulled away from him. We regrouped at the intersection with Hwy 35.
There is some bridge/culvert construction on Hwy 35 and it made a challenging climb up this road even more so. The lanes were pinched down to one lane with a traffic signal making folks take turns getting through. I managed to ride behind the orange barrels and behind the temporary concrete barriers for most of the distance, but did have to get in the lane in one stretch. The motorists where patient for the most part. Each vista of Mt Hood verified that we were making progress on our quest to ride around it.



When we reached Mt Hood Meadows Terry bid adieu and went back down the hill toward his home, having some chores to attend to. I kept going up. I stopped twice in this upper section. Once to drink a can of V-8 that I was carrying. (excellent source of sodium, potassium and other vitamins and minerals so good on a hot day) Another time to have a bottle of Ensure Plus. (a good source of calories and potassium)

I made it over Barlow Pass and merged onto Hwy 26. This made a change of direction from southward, to westward. ...into the wind that had been increasing as the day wore on.

Robert was ahead of me, I was ahead of John Henry. Our little group had spread out a bit. This stretch of road is marked by short climbs of perhaps a mile or so, followed by matching descents as the road makes it's way along the flanks of Mt Hood. Here is what's at the bottom of one of those descents, the White River, as it flows from the glaciers and snowfields of Mt Hood.



I finally reached the high point of today's ride, Government Camp. I was about 80 miles into the ride. I pedaled slowly through the frontage road before getting back on Hwy 26, and the long 7 mile 6% descent.

Today that pesky headwind kept the speed down. I reached a maximum speed of 42 mph, about 8-10 mph slower than what would be expected.

There was construction along Hwy 26 as well. At the speed I was rolling I didn't want to get behind the orange barrels in this area. I rode just on the traffic lane side of the fog line, and when that wasn't safe I took the center of the lane. I was in my big gear again and keeping the pace up near 40 mph, plenty fast enough to take the lane when the traffic was at that speed, or just a shade above.

I got down to the community of Mt Hood and spotted a Dairy Queen. I knew that they'd have what I needed.

Cold and calories. A perfect combination on a bike ride on a hot day.



The road continued it's descent in a much more gentle form. I was pedaling about 25 mph, on a road that I should have been able to just roll that speed if it hadn't been for that wind. I'd get a little shelter from that wind from time to time as I'd take a few of the side roads we had mapped out. Those sections tended to be tree lined and not as exposed to the wind as Hwy 26.

Before long I pulled into the parking lot at Sam Barlow HS. My ride of 140 miles had come to an end. Robert's vehicle was already gone. I un-biked and rested in the shade of my pickup for about 45 minutes until John Henry arrived. We celebrated a successful ride with a trip to Buster's Bar-B-Que before each going our separate ways.


........road bike.......rollers.........mtb.....lifecycle.....total
Today.......140..............0.............0..........0.........140
Jan.........474..............0............21..........7.........502
Feb.........530..............0.............0..........0.........530
March.......502..............0.............0..........0.........502
April.......524..............0.............0..........0.........524
May........1003..............0.............0..........0........1003
June.......1016..............0............10..........0........1026
July.......1148..............0.............0..........0........1148
YTD........5201..............0............37..........7........5245