Pateros-Cashmere, WA: Can I do this day again tomorrow?

June 15, 2015

Village Inn Motel 509-782-3522 one queen $87.80 includes tax. Kitchenette, good TV, poor wifi, clean. Smallish - hard to get two bikes in. Sofa.

I set the alarm this morning. I wanted to beat the heat a little and get out the door by 7 AM. We were out of the mountains and down in the valley.

I rode with Oren as far as the bakery, he was going in for breakfast, but I had eaten oatmeal in the room. That was the last I saw of Oren for the day.

I followed Hwy 97 left and up the big hill. Nothing like a wake up climb first thing in the morning.

ACA uses Alt 97, bicycle google follows 97. ACA did have a side route that follows 971 a bit further on Lake Chelan. Since our day was already 62 miles, I elected not to go the extra. But I did do the honking two mile climb. Oren said he saw the sign that said 'slow loads allowed to drive on shoulder next two miles' and turned right around. If the road was that bad, he wasn't interested.

At the very top of that climb was a little airport. A small plane took off just as I was cresting the hill and surprised me. Spoon, I thought of you. I know you would have gone into the airport and checked things out.

We were supposed to have 2,600 feet of climbing today. Mostly it was very small ups and downs along the river. I had a big climb before Chelan and another big climb out of Chelan. Chilean itself was very happening, obviously a tourist spot with the emphasis on water sports. I didn't stop, but kept moving. I knew it was going to get hot. I saw a few bike riders out for day rides. I still hadn't seen Oren or Jacinto. I didn't know Oren had turned around or that Jacinto had a flat tire at the motel.It was entertainment watching for them.

At the top of the second climb I saw a loaded guy. He had my favorite Jandd panniers in the rear. We both waved hello, but neither of us stopped.

The scenery all day was top notch. I noted the ponderosa pine trees. Lots of fruit orchards, mostly cherries. Plenty of fruit stands. I didn't have a tailwind yet, but it was supposed to happen. It's always a balancing act - wait for the wind to kick up and the heat starts also. What's a girl to do?

Keep moving - I was back down along the river. I looked across at regular 97 - could I see Oren. Certainly not - I could see the occasional semi moving along. I noted that 97 followed the terrain up and down, not necessarily at the same time alt 97 went up and down. I wonder which road did more climbing overall.

I stopped in Entiat at the first gas station. They had a little deli inside with lots of fried things. I started out with a quart of milk and a banana. I still had 25 miles to go. Hmmm, what fried thing looks good? I had a corn dog. Of course, AFTER I had the corn dog I looked up. They had a big menu of sandwiches, burgers, and salads. There were quite a few people coming in and getting things to go. Oh well, my stomach was full. Hopefully not too full.

While I was eating two of the workers started talking about the earthquake last night. A third worker said he did feel a tremor, but thought it was just his ex. What a jokester.

That was my first real break. When I went outside I could definitely feel the heat - and the wind. Yes! Here's the tailwind. Zippy, zip - off I went. The miles clicked by at a happy pace. I was soon in Wenatchee. Wait. Do I want to go to Spokane or Seattle? That's a big difference. I called Jacinto three times before he answered. He said to go west. As soon as I made the corner, I saw Ellensburg on the mile sign. OK, I knew I was good.

Wow - there was plenty of traffic here. There was also a huge shoulder. It was good. Just loud. Even though I had changed directions, I was still moving fast. Yay! As good as the day had been, I was ready to be done. I wanted more food than a corn dog. For sure I wanted ice.

I was still passing lots of cherry orchards and fruit stands. I was counting on Jacinto to buy some, he had yesterday. End of story is he thought I would buy them!

Soon I saw the sign for Cashmere. The mountain biking lady in Mazama had said that was a bad layover town - all there was in Cashmere was a gas station and a candy store. From the highway it looked pretty big.

Hmmm, left hand turn across an interstate to get to town. Now that's a new one. It was okay in the end since there was a light to regulate traffic. I turned into town - it looks pretty nice to me. Well cared for, lots of trees and flowers. Our motel was down about a mile. I was just checking in when here came Oren. He had been there long enough to be bored. There was a table and chairs outside in the shade. Oren had ice. That was enough for me. We sat and chatted about the day until Jacinto arrived.

OK - now we were moving. I proposed we have an early dinner as I was starving. Amazingly Jacinto agreed to this. I jumped up to shower. We were eating dinner at the Asian Bistro by 5 PM. It was really good. I debated ordering a second plate. Or licking the plate I had. But I did neither. I guess I can eat my apple later if I get hungry.

Now we are back to the room and I'm ready to go to sleep. But it's only 6:30 PM. I've had an excellent first week, but am ready for a day off. Today had great scenery, irrigated (green) land the whole way.

Big question - when is it the Columbia River and when is it a lake? I think this is Lake Pateros.

Is that a net over the vines to keep the birds out? Sounds expensive.

Today I had four bottles of water, a big Gatorade, and a V-8 on the bike when I left town. I'm following the advice. But let me share some advice - drink the V-8 first. It is much better cold than hot.

The view of Lake Chelan from the end of town. Chelan is a happening place. It would be a great layover.

Oren had been to town for hours and hours when I arrived. He had ice, so we sat outside and hashed the day over until Jacinto rolled in.

Jacinto had a flat tire before he left the room, but rode fast and did all of the ACA options.

Today's ride: 62 miles (100 km)
Total: 305 miles (491 km)

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George (Buddy) HallI stayed at the Village Inn in Cashmere on my 2021 Northern Tier journey. It was fine for my needs, cafe not far away.
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1 year ago

Kelly IniguezTo George (Buddy) HallNow you have me caught up reliving old memories. This was a good trip. I think you are researching this summer?
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1 year ago

George (Buddy) HallTo Kelly IniguezYep! I have some interest in the Sierra Cascades route, south to north! Starting sometime between Apr 1 and May 15 - not sure when an optimum start time would be. There seems to be some concern with traffic in CA also - maybe there's an optimal time to avoid it? I have some medical stuff ongoing that causes some unknowns - but I think I could probably do a spring tour.
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1 year ago

Kelly IniguezWe had to stop at Tahoe because I couldn't get reservations through Yosemite. I was too late. How far south would you start? Yosemite would probably have snow in the April/May time frame?

I"m rereading the journal as we speak. I'm a bit redundant, saying almost daily how good the route is.
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1 year ago

Kelly IniguezTo George (Buddy) HallI've been spending the evening rereading the journal. Along with talking about what a great route it is, I make many mentions of being concerned about getting lost. I'm not sure at what point I started using RWGPS for daily routes, but it must not have been for this trip. I believe you also follow RWGPS? That should be just fine. RWGPS has really freed me for touring.
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1 year ago