Day 3 Welches to Kah-nee-ta

Day 3 began cold and cloudy. We had breakfast at the Whistle Stop restaurant just down the road. I had eggs, oatmeal, and French toast. I am trying to not overeat, but also not run out of fuel. It may be a tough balance. We will see if I get hungrier as we go.

The ride began with a monster climb of over 2500 feet in eleven miles. This was the first sustained climb, and I was not sure how I would handle it after having not ridden much the last week of school. It was about 40 degrees and clammy. We could not see Mt Hood due to the clouds, but toward the top it started peeking through. We were climbing one of the ridges leading away from the mountain itself, and reached an altitude of just over 4000 ft. We had a quick SAG at the top, but nobody hung around due to the chill. I descended quickly , only to be faced by another 1000 foot climb. Again it was cold, but the sun was coming out. The next miles were some of the most delightful I have ever done. The sun was out, Mt Hood appeared in my rear view mirror, and the temp was absolutely delightful in the low 60’s.


I have finally begun to feel strong, and was able to really roll up the mountain grades today. My favorite thing is being able to push hard, and then recover. Thanks again to all my randonneuring practice rides. It gives me the absolute confidence that I will not run out of steam as long as I have eaten well and keep well hydrated.

A long descent brought me out onto the high desert, and onto the Warm Springs Indian Reservation. A final corkscrew dive into a box canyon brought me to the gambling resort of Kah-nee-ta. A steep little climb took us to the lodge overlooking the canyons. The resort was plush, but I had a little problem with our room. I am one of a few triple occupancy groups, and we should have gotten the largest rooms. I had been in one of the other riders’ rooms and had seen the size. When our room was finally ready, I noticed that it was about 4 feet smaller in each dimension, and clearly too small for the three of us , a cot, and our bikes. I asked the desk clerk if we could switch, and she said that the rooms were all the same size. I went back to the other guy’s room, and saw that there were clearly 4 feet more between the end of the bed and the wall than our room provided, so I headed back up to the desk, and again plead my case. She finally relented, and switched our room to one of the double occupancy groups that had not yet arrived. I never knew why it was such an issue, nor why they had not right away given us a larger room, but we spent a restful night in our larger room.

Our routine: Ilkka usually arrives to the motels first and checks in. I arrive next, bring my luggage to the room, and take a shower right away. It is really important not to hang around in riding clothes any longer that necessary so as not to get skin infections, etc. We try to wash out our riding clothes in the sink and hang them out to dry. It is nice if the room has a balcony with a railing, and Kah-nee-ta is so equipped, with desert-dry air for good measure.