2023-06-12 Ritzville and Hood River - Day -3

Louise and I got going at about 9:00.  We thought we were going to do the Tri-Cities River Front Bike Path, which is a 20 mile loop going along each side of the river.

Unfortunately, Ted went the wrong way.  We kept looking for a bridge to cross the river, but never found one.  We ended up at the entrance to a Military base, with all kinds of signs about DO NOT ENTER.  Louise convinced me to turn around, when she headed home at high speed.  I didn't catch up for a kilometer or so.  Our ride was very nice.  It went through a lot of parks and then through the University grounds.

On our way back, we stopped at a memorial for the USS Submarine Trident.  The conning/sail has been preserved.  It was powered by two nuclear reactors, and was the first submarine to circumnavigate the globe without surfacing.  I can't imagine how big the vessel was.  The conning tower was huge!

We asked directions of a very friendly fellow, Danny Henry, who is 70 and cycles every day around the Tri-Cities.  He gave me his number and invited me to call anytime we are coming through.  He said he is always looking for more people to ride with, and he knows some spectacular rides in the area!

Louise was panicking, because the clock on her bike computer was still on Alberta Time so she thought we would be late for our checkout (noon), and she couldn't understand why I was so relaxed.

Anyway, we got back to the hotel by 11:00 - that is when Louise realized that her clock was out, so she relaxed, and we had lots of time to shower and pack.  It was a hot ride, and we both commented how hard a ride it was, even if not very technically challenging.  We had done almost 30km and we were both very hot and dehydrated, so we called it quits.

We stopped at A&W for lunch (annoying that US A&W's don't have teen burgers), and then headed to Roosevelt.  The water was calm as glass, so we continued on to Hood River.

Our first order of business was to buy Louise a new Helmet, which we did at Windance.

We then stopped at Ross's and unloaded our bikes and luggage, before heading down to the Event sight.  Louise decided that she was done for the day, but encouraged me to go out.  I took my new 99L Macro board and a 5.5 wing, and had a pretty good, but short sail.  The wind was a bit gusty, but once you were going, it was usually pretty easy to keep going.  You just had to be careful to turn in the gusts, especially on the outside.

After my sail, we packed up, and then went to Safeway for some supplies before going back to Ross's.  

We took out E-Bikes down to 6th Street Bistro for supper.  Chris recognized me right away and was very chatty.  Apparently he sold all his windsurf gear (except for a couple of boards) at a local swap meet a few weeks ago.  He is now totally into motorcycle riding!

We had an excellent meal as usual - I don't think 6th Street has ever let us down.

Back to Ross's by 9:00.  Both very tired - another great day!

On a sad note, I heard today that Peter Stepa passed away in May at the age of 87.  He was a friend from Nitinaht and Cooking Lake - some of you will remember him.