and each town looks the same to me/the movies and the factories/and every stranger’s face I see/reminds me that I long to be/homeward bound /I wish I was/homeward bound . . . Paul Simon
I admit it - we’re both getting short-timer attitudes, and ready to be done with the whole pitch. Maybe it’s the quadrant we’ve biking through for the last few days and its string of fairly featureless, somewhat rundown towns; or maybe we’re just overdue for a day off the bikes; or maybe it’s just because we’re nearing the end of the road and this all feels anticlimactic. It’s pretty common for us actually, this feeling of impatience at the end of a tour.
This too will pass, and soon enough we’ll be antsy to leave town again on our next odyssey. I can feel it already, and find myself waking up in the morning thinking of Spain.
First though, we have to get home. Just two more days, and a bit over a hundred miles. Today’s ride is very nice really, and probably well known to some of you because most of the way we’re following the course of the STP (the annual Seattle to Portland ride that draws thousands of bikers year after year). Our route doesn’t quite match the STP, but I would argue is a step up. Leaving Centralia, we angle southwest on Scheuber Road along the West Bank of the Chehalis River; while the STP stays on the east bank, hugging the freeway and passing through Chehalis. I assume it does this to pass through another town with lodging possibilities for the two-dayers; but if you don’t need to visit Chehalis, I’d definitely follow our route.
After ten miles the two routes converge in Napavine, and after that we follow STP the whole way to Kelso. It’s a fine ride, quiet, green and undemanding as it passes through a string of sleepy towns: Napavine, Winlock, Vader. There are modest rollers along the way, but nothing serious. With just my middle chainring available I was only challenged once, by a short steep hill that finally encouraged me to dismount about a hundred yards from the summit.
We had good, almost excellent conditions for the ride - sunny, a bit of a tailwind, and not oppressively warm - and the miles went by faster than we’d expected. Even with our fairly late start and a lengthy break in Vader for a sit down lunch, we arrived in Kelso by 3. The best we could hope for.
Home tomorrow!
Crossing the Chehalis River as we leave Centralia is a bit unsettling. The old bridge shakes and dips when cars drive across.
Climbing up Scheuber Road, southwest of Centralia. This is a beautiful way south from town (better than the STP route, which goes through Chehalis). It rises a few hundred feet above the river floor, giving lovely views across the valley.
From a distance I thought this was a grain tower, and was surprised that it’s a poultry and egg cooperative. So what’s going on in there? Eggs piled high by the millions? A fifty story hen condo?
Ride stats today: 48 miles, 1,600’; for the tour: 1,096 miles, 50,600’
Today's ride: 48 miles (77 km) Total: 1,096 miles (1,764 km)
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Patrick O'HaraHi Scott.
Have a great last day. I can't believe that you are off again to Spain in a few weeks. Looking forward to following along.......again. Patrick Reply to this comment 5 years ago
