After a sun-starved start to our season, the prospect of golden sunshine made us determined to invade and conquer this territory on our bikes, and claim our share of its wealth.
We started out late Friday evening; Nhan made arrangements for us to stay with his sister-in-law Amanda's family overnight so that we could ride out early in the morning from the Tri-Cities Kiwanis Club, which was hosting the event. It was meant to be our first century (100 mile) ride ever.
Our host, Kim, offered us the use of her pre-teen daughters' room for the night. We were so thankful for the accommodations that Nhan didn't even mind awkwardly drifting off to sleep under a poster of Justin Bieber that night. But he drew the line when the cat came into the room and wanted to snuggle with him under the covers. Under a snoozy haze, I heard Nhan evict the disgruntled cat into the hallway in the middle of the night.
Undeterred by an eventful night's sleep, we woke up to a morning sky of cerulean blue, a deep shade of happy that promised excellent riding conditions.
The sunshine belied the crisp temperatures in the very early morning hours. Both of us forgot to pack our riding jackets. Nhan wore his free green ride T-shirt over his bib for extra warmth, and I wore a blanket of goose bumps until our legs warmed up after a few miles.
Captivating skylines all along the Columbia River Trail stretched out before us, where both clouds and water competed for our rapt attention. Never have I seen such a vast array of clouds with so much character!
And it's no wonder the clouds were acting up, because the strong headwinds seemed determined to shave a few miles off our speed and blow us off a straight line.
I could feel the wind pushing my bike sideways at times, and I often found myself struggling to correct course. The wind offered us more resistance than the natives did.We stopped for these photos in front of the bridge, and you can perceive the wind ripples ever so faintly on our shirts. I braided my hair into a plait to keep it from becoming a tangled bird's nest by ride's end.
Mile after mile on the flat river trail, we encountered cool-looking bridges standing in stark silhouette against a spectacular morning sky.
Normally, I don't ride and shoot-- but it would be more of a crime here not to capture this terrain. Some of the very best scenes fly by as you ride. To stop for each and every desirable photo op would be tantamount to walking. Often, we were the only riders in either direction on the wide-open trail. This territory was ours for the taking.
So I took a chance....and then some photos, while still in motion on my bike-- one hand carefully maintaining control of my handlebars, while the other haphazardly pointing and clicking my camera in every general direction. I'm sure if there were bike cops around I'd be ticketed for my blatant disregard of safe and responsible riding. But these scenic shots were totally worth flouting typical riding rules. Of course I would never attempt this during crowded group rides or on the actual road where there are cars.
See Exhibit A of the beautiful scenery previously described! We had miles of fairly flat, well-paved trail along the riverfront, several stunning bridges, and the ever-present clouds and water. Another thing that struck me was that Richland has so many pristine riverfront parks. We saw a multitude of playgrounds, green areas, playing fields, and picnic tables. There was never a shortage of clean bathrooms and trash cans; I saw virtually no litter along the way. This is a well-run Parks & Recreation Department!
Definitely one of our favorite spots during the entire ride. The bridge itself is an architectural and engineering marvel. Set against that striking blue backdrop, we were in awe of its form.
Nhan directed me to circle back for a ride shot in front of the bridge, and of course I fell over trying foolishly to test the limited turn radius on a very narrow part of the trail. Guess it just wouldn't be a ride without me falling over at least once while still clipped in. I have long ago stopped being embarrassed about falling over on my bike. My legs are more bruised than my ego, really.
My scarred knees are a tragedy in a summer dress, but that's the price I pay as a female road biker.
The other unintended consequence of biking is that my quads are developing more muscular definition. But there's a fine line between long and lean vs. lumberjack legs! But I digress....
But there is also something poetic in this candid shot-- perhaps the wispy clouds above, the mighty river beside, his loyal shadow riding alongside, or simply the image of a guy just really enjoying his bike ride, lost in his own reverie, totally unaware that his picture was being taken.
This photo of Nhan marked the moment the tide turned unfavorably in our campaign to conquer the Inland Empire.
While turning his bike around on the side of the trail, Nhan inadvertently ran over several thick thorns, the kind that are as woody as bark. We pulled a number of thorns out of both his tires, each one like a little ninja star. With each extraction, we heard the faintest hiss of air escaping. Some thorns were so embedded, we had to work to pinch them out. I'm adding a pair of tweezers to our tool bag because of this! Nhan mounted his bike and attempted to ride it.
Nhan basically had to take apart his bike to get the wheels off, using both our spare tubes for the repair. Here's hoping that neither of us would get another flat because we had no tubes left! Several riders stopped to ask if we were ok or to offer assistance. It wouldn't be our last encounter with the good Samaritans of Richland on this day.....uh oh, foreshadowing!
While Nhan was replacing his tubes, we saw what looked to be a 5K running race taking place on the very same trail as our bike route. Runners swarmed the trail, being cheered on by onlookers on each side. Even though we were sidelined for the moment, it made me wonder how many people and events they could cram onto one trail in the same day, and how we could possibly ride our bikes safely through all the foot traffic.
Once the tubes were replaced and pumped up, we mounted our trusty steeds once again and rode into the tide of humanity that had launched a counter-invasion against us on the trail.
It was dicey trying to navigate past all the bodies, but we finally passed the throng of runners. At this (decimal) point, we were only 10 miles into our planned 100-mile ride. The first organized food stop was at 14.8 miles.
We had the usual bananas and sugary sweet snacks, but Nhan longingly eyed the empty BBQ grills at the picnic shelter and wished for a hot dog or two. We masked our disappointment at not finding any savory food like the hard-boiled eggs and cream cheese bagels we enjoyed in The Dalles.
At the food stop, I noticed a biker wearing a Maui Cyclery jersey! There's only one bike store in the whole world that sells them, and I was just there the week before, pedaling in paradise. What an awesome coincidence!
Nhan and I lost considerable time dealing with the flat tires, and we were at a crossroads in the ride route. If we planned to finish the century ride, it would be a different route than the 25-mile ride, and there would be no turning back. Based on our STP experience, we calculated that it would take us about 8-10 hours to bike 100 miles, and it was already after noon. We still had a 3.5 hour drive home ahead of us. With heavy hearts, we acknowledged that we'd have to take the shorter 25-mile route in order to loop back to our parked car with the amount of time left in the day. We pedaled past this beautiful marina, with boats, yachts, hotels, and restaurants along the river trail. The flat-bottomed cumulus clouds with their fluffy meringue tops still strikingly beautiful against the blue sky.
Incredibly, we pedaled right into two more major organized events using the same trail today. The Ribbon River Walk (for breast cancer awareness) and the Tri-Cities Outrigger Canoe Club were both hosting events at the same time as our bike event! The event permit people need to get their act together.
Instead of being the conquering invaders, we were ourselves surrounded by hordes of locals, migrating along the river trail in a mass exodus.
We painfully, slowly navigated our bikes past countless strollers, darting children, walkers and runners who were 3 abreast across the trail. I kept one shoe clipped out the whole time so I could stop at a moment's notice. Adding to our anguish at the slow-paced pedestrians, Nhan's tire was slowly going flat again. He stopped to pump it up, since we had no more spare tubes.
We found that one of the thorns had remained embedded on the interior tire wall; so as soon as he changed tubes, that dastardly thorn just punctured the new one. We tried to find a local bike shop once we got back on the street. Stalled as we were, Nhan tried to use a tire patch kit instead.
Only after Nhan had already finished his patch, a good Samaritan stopped his car after seeing us on the side of the road. He kindly gave us a spare bike tube after digging around in his car. Grateful for the kindness of a stranger, we offered to pay him for it, but he insisted we just pay it forward to the next cyclist in need instead.With impeccable timing, the ride event SAG vehicle showed up only after Nhan already did his own repair and received spare parts from a total stranger. We sent him away without a job to do. My sarcasm notwithstanding, he was actually a nice guy.
Had we been the least bit smart about it, we would have written down the phone number for the SAG vehicle. Because within a few miles, Nhan's tire went flat again because the tire patch failed. Here we are at Chamna Natural Preserve changing another tube-- replaced by the very one that the kind stranger had offered us earlier.
After changing 3 tires in as many hours, Nhan had become a master level expert! He finished this last one in just under a minute and a half.
Third time's a charm, though. Back on the road, we had fallen so far behind the other 25-mile riders by now. We biked this long, lonesome trail together, enjoying the shared solitude. And I mean precisely that. You can be alone together and together alone while biking. It is one of the many beautiful paradoxes of riding. We were the only ones out there for several long stretches. Despite a lack of subjects, we ruled this realm!
I'll stop talking about these ethereal clouds eventually, but can you really blame me? Check them out, looking all heavenly as hell....! Their delicate beauty is too perfect for this world.
Quick dismount to stretch our legs and give our saddles a rest. This area along the river, lush with foliage and dotted with marshy little islands, reminded me a lot of both Greenlake and the Montlake Cut by Husky Stadium.
Nhan decided to put a little extra air in my tires. I guess his own tires were getting so much attention from the hand pump today that he didn't want mine to feel totally neglected.
He also became a master level expert in tire pumping-- extolling the virtues of using your knees instead of your elbows. If his energy output today was translatable to dairy farming, he would have churned a fair amount of butter already.
Nhan told me to grab my bike for this pic, but frankly, I was too tired to retrieve it from the other side of the trail where it was parked against a bench.
The result was that I stood there awkwardly not knowing what to do with my hands. Kinda felt naked without my bike. I'm not typically a peace sign-flashing or duck face-making poster child.
I joked about how we drove 200 miles only to bike 25 miles, a quarter of a century.
We made a conquest of the Inland Empire in our own way. Sure, it wasn't the 100-mile ride we had anticipated, but bike stuff happens. The beautiful thing is that we still had the time of our lives and saw some of the most stunning scenery this region has to offer. We became familiar with the territory and made alliances with the natives. We enjoyed the many riches of Richland, and left a lot wealthier than when we first arrived.Every ride is epic and historic in our minds, and this one was no exception. Emboldened by the accomplishment of another incredible destination ride, we declared ourselves the bike Czar and Czarina of the Inland Empire!
Well...I did, anyway. Nhan's title is just as an honorary figurehead. We know who really wears the bike shorts in this outfit, heh.
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