June 3, 2023
Transitions
Or Ch,Ch,Changes
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I made a short trip to Alaska
Cicely Alaska.
Train station bar-b-Q was great.
I came across gates like this 5-6 times on this side of Snoqualmie pass
I think I’m in the real West now
Great little bar. Allow me to use the hose and wash the dust off my bike. I had an IPA as a thank you.
Quote of the day: Strange fascination, fascinating me. Ah changes are taking the pace I'm going through.
David Bowie, Changes.
Let’s talk transitions, or ch, ch, ch, changes. First let’s start with this trail, the Palouse to Cascades. It connects to several other trails leading basically from the waterfront in Seattle all the way across the state of Washington to Idaho. The first part coming out of Seattle is concrete and asphalt and follows I 90. In fact, the trail follows I 90 for almost it’s entirety. The views in this first section are mostly of the city suburbs and the I 90 traffic. As those initial trails travel east to meet up with the Palouse Trail, the transition from suburb to Forest and mountains occurs. But for the most part I 90 is on the north side of the trail for quite some time. The second transition occurs after you cross the Snoqualmie pass Via the Snoqualmie tunnel. The mountains on the eastern side are not as high as those on the west, and remind me more of the Blue Ridge. The trees are not as tall. Vegetation perhaps not as green or varied. I believe this is probably because the mountains block some of the precipitation that the western side of the ridge receives.
The surface of the Palouse trail transitions from quarter and half inch gravel on the western slope to half inch, 1 inch, 1 1/2 inch gravel on the Eastern slope. Further transition is noted after one passes the town of Cle Elum. The trail here becomes a mix of sand and Fine to medium size gravel. In this section although the trail is still double track, the westbound track is packed and the eastbound track is much looser and can easily grab your tire causing a fall. No, I did not transition to the ground. The scenery also changes drastically once you travel past Cle Elum. Trees start to disappear. The landscape to me looks like the typical landscape one might see in a western cowboy movie. Trees and shade disappear completely by the time you reach Ellensburg and I transitioned from a ghastly white skinny old guy, to a sunburned foolish old idiot.
The other transition you’ll find heading east on the Palouse is the increasingly scarce services. Food and water become harder to find. If you’re traveling that way, be sure to take some extra water.
So my plan today was to stop at Cle Elum and have a barbecue sandwich at the restaurant now occupying the old train station. I got there around 10:30 or so, but the establishment did not open until 1130. I looked at my Google map to see how far the town of Roslyn was, and was surprised that it was only 4 1/2 miles away. This was a place I wanted to visit as the TV show Northern Exposure was one of my favorites and was filmed there. But originally I didn’t think I would have time. I figured 4 1/2 miles is nothing and I would have plenty of time. Well, Roslyn transition itself several hundred feet in elevation above Cle Elum since I first planned this route. It took me an hour to ride up a steep bike trail called the Coal Mine Trail. It goes past what appears to be an active strip mine. But it was worth it. I had my picture taken by the Brick Saloon. And I took a couple pictures of town. Seems the TV show Northern Exposure was quite beneficial for the small town. It now is a tourist attraction and seems to be transitioning to a real tourist trap. So after walking around town a bit, taking a few pictures, I transitioned myself back down to the elevation of Cle Elum via the busy main road instead of the trail I used heading up. Only took me 10 or 15 minutes to get back down. By then it was after noon so I set my sights on transitioning my empty stomach to a full one at the bar-b-Q joint in the train station. If you’re in the area, you definitely have to stop. It was the best smoked bar-b-Q I have ever had.
Though I’ve only been on the road for three days, two of which I relied on warm showers host for my lodging, when I got into the town of Ellensburg, I sought out a cheap motel. I definitely need to transition some of this weight I’m lugging around back to my home in Maryland. I’ve sorted through my gear and will probably ship about 5 to 10 pounds of stuff home tomorrow if I can find a nearby post office. I also transitioned my dirty filthy gravel-dusty bike to a clean Surly Ogre with the help of a garden hose. When I came into town, I searched Google for a car wash but soon passed a restaurant and bar that was once a 40s or 50s era gas station. I spied a garden hose on the side of the building, so I went into the bar and asked the bar keep if I could use the hose to clean off my bike before I went to a motel. He was very agreeable and allowed me to do so. However, one of the customers told me I better not take a shower there. Not understanding what he meant I said, why would I do that. He said you bikers do that all the time. No respect.
Speaking of respect one thing I’ve noticed traveling this trail is that most people riding bikes on the trail don’t have the common decency to return a greeting. This was especially true of the hot dog cyclists in there Lance Armstrong gear riding their fancy expensive carbon gravel bikes. I guess I shouldn’t expect anyone to say hello back, but just seems decent to me. Even when I wore my Lance Armstrong, fancy cycling clothes, riding my fancy, expensive carbon fiber, recumbent, I always waved to everybody. If we can’t show one another even the slightest respect what is to come of this nation?
OK enough rambling. Tomorrow I expect to transition myself from the west side of the Columbia River to the east side, where I expect to encounter nothing but desert which at one time transitioned itself from a huge glacial fed lake to what we see today. I will not be on the trail any longer as this section is extremely rough made up of rail road ballast. I have a route planned that will use roads and connect me to as many small towns as I could find so I can resupply with water.
So onto the pictures:
Oh, heck, I transitioned the damn pictures to the start of the thing. Too tired to fix it. Sometimes changes just have to be excepted. Just go with the flow.
PS: After sorting through my clothes and gear I am transitioning about 10 pounds or so to home where they belong.
Today's ride: 50 miles (80 km)
Total: 145 miles (233 km)
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