Day 38: Touring Lake Chelan - Western Canada 2007 - CycleBlaze

August 6, 2007

Day 38: Touring Lake Chelan

I got up at 7:30 after the sunshine made it too hot in the tent. I had a leisurely breakfast, then packed up and rode around town looking for a motel. I found a room at one of the cheaper motels. The Midtowner motel, $89 plus tax for a double room. The room wasn't ready yet so I stored my panniers in their lobby and took off for a ride. I rode through town and continued along the south shore of the lake for 13 miles. My turnaround point was 2 miles past Lake Chelan State Park. I made several stops along the way to swim, eat, and enjoy the scenery.

Morning in Lake Chelan.
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Lake Chelan has a lot of new upscale housing development. Also several vineyards.
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Lake Chelan is a popular resort for people who live in Washington and B.C. It's much warmer and sunnier than Seattle and Vancouver. The glacial lake is about 1 mile wide and 60 miles long, snaking from desert hills to forested canyons in the North Cascades. Day-long boat tours are popular.

Speed Ross at lake Chelan.
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Charmaine RuppoltHow long had you owned your Speed Ross? Hopefully you got many years out of it...
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10 months ago
Wayne EstesTo Charmaine RuppoltI used the Speed Ross for 10 years, from 1998 to 2007. It was semi-custom built in Cornwall, England by a very elderly frame builder (Peter Ross) who was a WW2 veteran. He sold his bicycle business shortly after I bought the bike, so I didn't bother to make a claim. I'm satisfied with 10 years. The newer Bacchetta bike has a MUCH stronger connection between the chainstay and the monotube.
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10 months ago
Lake Chelan is a long narrow glacial lake, about 1 mile wide and 60 miles long.
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Lakeside riding at Lake Chelan.
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The opposite end of Lake Chelan is deep in the North Cascades.
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Back in town I got the motel room at 3:30PM. I showered and shaved and waited for my wife to arrive at 5:30PM after driving 510 miles. She was not in a good mood. In retrospect, I should have biked to Wenatchee and rented a car to drive home. We ate dinner at a nice restaurant and went to bed at 10PM. It was nice to have air conditioning.

My broken bike frame. No longer safe for high speed mountain descents.
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The tour ended in a disappointing way. This is the first time I've ended a tour prematurely. I was planning to bike another 5 days to near Portland. And I was really starting to enjoy myself now that the mosquitoes are no longer a problem.

On the drive home the following day we saw four touring cyclists on Highway 126 between Redmond and Springfield Oregon on the Transamerica bike route.

Distance: 48 km / 30 mi

Climbing: 180 m / 500 ft

Today's ride: 48 km (30 miles)
Total: 3,086 km (1,916 miles)

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