Lyle/Goldendale loop

It was going to be a warm day.  The east winds blowing through the Columbia Gorge would ensure that, as well as low humidity.  Nothing like winds blowing from the arid eastern side of the state to do that!

Ross and I planned to ride a 69 mile loop from Lyle, WA to Goldendale via Centerville, than back to Lyle via the Klickitat River Canyon.

I drove out Interstate 84 to The Dalles then crossed the Columbia River just below The Dalles Dam.

We started in Lyle, at the Klickitat Trailhead parking lot.  The Klickitat River looked pretty peaceful and inviting.

Looking in the opposite direction gave us a good view of Mt Hood.

We began pedaling just a few minutes before 10 AM.  Right out of the gate we began to climb, and would climb over 2000 vertical feet in the first 10 miles.  Climbing out of the Columbia Gorge is work no matter how you do it.

We got to the top and for the next 20 miles we'd be battling a 15-20 mph headwind.  At least there were a lot of wildflowers to look at!

 The riders going the other direction were some of the 200 participants of the Goldendale Gran Fondo.  I asked Ross if he knew what Gran Fondo translated to.  He gave a quizzical look.  I explained that it meant "pay a large fee to ride bikes on public roads".  In this case the folks paid $70 each to ride the same roads we were riding for free. (plus 25 miles of gravel road)

When we reached Hwy 97 we took a short out and back ride to the "scenic viewpoint".  I told Ross that we had probably already seen everything that we'd see from the viewpoint, but there might be some interesting facts displayed on the information board.  He was up for that.

There was another sign that had a lot more information and history, but it made for a poor photo.  We did however read it.  ;-)

We turned north and rode toward Goldendale on Hwy 97.  Many folks complain about having to ride "the busy road" but we found no issues. The shoulders were wide, debris free, and the traffic was all friendly.

We got to Goldendale shortly after noon.  We stopped at a grocery store and Ross stocked up on some snacks.  I was carrying enough to fulfill my needs, but did get a Snickers bar, because.......Snickers Satisfies. ;-)

From here on this ride was going to be fun.  A big elevation loss AND a brisk tailwind!  First we rode across the more or less flat plateau. We were holding a strong 20 mph plus with the tailwind pushing us.

Mt Adams

At mile 45, we dropped into the Klickitat River Canyon with a thousand foot elevation loss in 5 miles. Talk about fun!  Once we flattened out a bit there was time to take in the scenery.

We rode through the small town of Klickitat but had no need to stop.  The river, and us, were on our way to the Columbia!

We finished up back at the Klickitat Trailhead, with 69 miles, and just under 3600 ft of climbing.

  It was a great day on the bike! My home weather station showed a high today of 84 degrees, with a 19% humidity.  Eat your heart out my East Coast and Gulf Coast friends!

.........Road Bike.....Rollers.............MTB..........Lifecycle......Total
Today ........69................0...................0.......................0...........69
Jan...............0................0...............,...0.......................0............0
Feb..........124...............0...................0.......................0...........124
March......277................0..................0........................0..........277
April......387................0..................0........................0..........387
YTD...... 788...............0...................0.......................0...........788