Mazama-Pateros, WA: A headwind? I should have left earlier.

June 14, 2015

Pateros Motor Inn 509-923-2203 (not to be confused with the much fancier looking Pateros Lakeshore Inn) - single bed, large room, fridge/micro. Good wifi. $93.00 includes tax. Nice lady at the front desk. Gave me rags for the bikes.

We slept the sleep of the worn and weary. Our room had blackout curtains. None of that 4 AM wake up here! I got up around 8 AM, went outside to take a photo, and locked myself out. Rather than wake anyone, I just sat in the sun. It was nice. When I heard Oren rattling around, I knocked on the door. I had a frozen burrito and a quart of milk for breakfast. The breakfast of champions, right? Oren was very sad to find there was no sugar to go in his coffee. There was a hot apple cider packet to mix up. He alternated a swig of coffee and a swig of apple cider for sweetness. I'm not sure that really worked. Oren had a pastry to go with it, but said he was planning to stop in Winthrop for real coffee and real breakfast.

We piddled around, enjoying feeling good from our hard work yesterday and also our nice digs. We looked at the maps and discussed the two possible side paths for the day. Oren had no interest at all. He was going the direct route. Looking at the weather, we expected a quartering tailwind and nice temperatures.

Oren left before I got in the shower. I never saw him again. I decided I really should get going. It was a 55 mile day, what was I doing leaving at 11 AM? You would think it's a downhill day! It was, actually, but that headwind slowed things down big time. Plus I think there was some extra climbing with the two side trips.

I Finally made it outside. there was a couple getting their bikes ready for a ride. They had just purchased one of the cabins. The woman endorsed ACA's Eastside Road side trip at Winthrop. She told me to go straight at the bridge, do not go over the bridge.

We never did sit in these chairs. We arrived too late and left too early. Darn.

Oren with his coffee and apple cider. It was not a happy combination.

My legs were a little whiny to start. It was a long day yesterday. I was mentally promising myself a long downhill coast. I was wrong. First there was a headwind from the get go. It was supposed to be a quartering tailwind. But, no - headwind. Not terrible. But enough to take any advantage out of the downhill slope. Darn. OK, legs we have to work today. But I still wasn't too worried. It doesn't get dark until 10 PM - I have nothing to do all day but bicycle. Still, I was mentally thinking a tailwind/downhill day.

Scenery for the first part of the day. Much greener than the second half.

This used to be a barn? It is still upright. Today.

Aspen trees at 1,000 feet? I thought the elevation needed to be 7,000 or so for aspen to grow.

At Winthrop there was a bridge outside of town. Hmmm, no road next to it. I saw a guy in a big pick up truck, so I pulled alongside to ask if he knew where the Eastside Road was. Yes, it was before the bridge. Before the next, big bridge. Go straight. OK. I went over the little bridge and around the corner into town. Winthrop is a happening little place. Lots of tourist shops. It would be a good layover town. I kept moving along. Saw the big bridge, went straight.

Hmmm, there sure seemed to be lots of traffic on this road. I was expecting less traffic. Here came Jacinto - we agreed there was more traffic than we thought. Especially for a Sunday. We stopped and ate hard boiled eggs and BBQ chips. Is that going to be the theme for this trip? We'd rather have burritos, but there hasn't been any burrito places. After our stop I told Jacinto to keep, I was going to do my thing. He planned to stop in Twisp for a cold drink.

To take the next side road, it is necessary to back track 4-5 blocks and then take a left over the river. Now this road was more like it. The Carlton-Twisp Road had very little traffic and ran along the river much of the time. I noticed that the country now looked like the Gunnison area of Colorado. Sagebrush, dried grass. Some cedar trees, not too many. There had been a forest fire. Perhaps last year as the undergrowth hadn't grown in much.

Something I've noticed this trip that I am very puzzled by is that the people aren't very friendly. I have the habit of waving at everyone on the road. One, it gets their attention just in case they don't notice me. Two, I hope it makes me look friendly so they think twice about running me over. On a busy road, I don't wave at everyone, but on slow roads like this, I do. Even other cyclists didn't say hello. Motorcycle riders are ALWAYS friendly. I was stopped at a potty at a fishing area and tried chatting with the male rider while his companion was in the rest room. He did talk, but he sure wasn't friendly. Pick up truck drivers in our area are friendly, not around here. I just don't get it. There must not be as much of the recreational marijuana going around in Washington as in Colorado! That was an attempt at humor, folks. I'm not sure if it fell flat or not.

On the Twisp-Carlton Road (ACA side trip) I was just ready for a bush stop when I noticed people swimming at the beach below.

This looks like housing for migrant fruit workers. In my home area, they built a big apartment building.This might look bad to us, but I'll bet it's a step up for the workers. It's hard to tell from this photo, some units have air, some have dish TV. All have a couple of windows and a screen door in the front.

Just before town, right after the fields of fruit trees and the migrant cabins, there was a big cherry stand. They had cherry pie also. Yum. I wondered if Jacinto bought any cherries? Just then my phone rang. How about that. It was Jacinto checking to see where I was and yes he did buy cherries.

The nice lady let him into our room, I just needed to pay. That gave me a chance to talk to Maxwell the gray office cat. I was ready for a shower. I did the usual getting to town stuff. I started charging the electronics and washed my clothes. I was so late getting to town that it was almost time to eat. We walked across the street to Los Cantaritos restaurant. It was still hot out. Now we are on the eastern side of the state. Tomorrow I really should be going early. I LOVE this sleep in and tour stuff. I've had way too much of getting up early at work this year.

After eating Jacinto and Oren went to the gas station to see what they could find. It appeared we wouldn't have any services tomorrow, so we needed liquids. And food.

Oren says he's getting on the road at 7 AM tomorrow. We have a climb right out of town. Lucky us.

It was a pretty good day. I set myself up by expecting a downhill cruising day and it wasn't quite that nice. Tomorrow is 2,900 feet of climbing in 62 miles. Then we get a day off in Cashmere. Which I understand isn't much of a town. But we are ready for a day off anyway.

Thanks for reading along.

Today's ride: 56 miles (90 km)
Total: 243 miles (391 km)

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