I decided to go over to eastern Washington for the Desert Rivers 300K in hopes of riding in sunshine and maybe even warmth. A few days before the ride, the weather forecast was not encouraging. There was a 60% chance of rain and high, gusty winds predicted for the day of the ride. Nonetheless, after offering to drive a carpool with Steve Davis and Noel Howes, I was committed and had to go. It seemed my record of bad luck on out of town rides was not to be broken.
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| Vincent and Kole at the start |
Despite the dismal weather forecast, thirteen intrepid riders rolled out at 6:00 with the goal of being back by 2:00 in the morning on Sunday. The peloton followed the Columbia River Trail road out of Richland in a slight drizzle.
We soon passed into Kennewick and crossed the river to Pasco quickly making the first control at the edge of Burbank. Like the other riders, I knew we would be pushing a headwind after Waitsburg so my goal was to build up as large a time cushion as possible during the first 100K. After leaving the control, there were a couple of riders ahead of me, but the gap didn’t seem to be growing so I decided to try and bridge up to them, but found that I could not sustain the effort on uphill grades. Riding alone, I settled into a steady pace.
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| Riders at Burbank Control |
Highway 124 runs parallel to the Touchet River which was running high and a bit muddy due to the recent rain had stopped and the sky was clearing. I passed the riders I had been unable to catch earlier while one of the group was fixing a flat. As expected, the group passed me back as we entered the town of Prescott.
After a brief detour off of the main highway, we arrived at the Waitsburg Grocery control. I stocked up on some supplies for later in the ride and began to prepare mentally for a long stretch into a headwind. After the short break at the control, I teamed up with Noel and Steve in anticipation of the challenge ahead.
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| Main Street - Waitsburg |
Leaving the main highway, we began a long climb up Middle Waitsburg Road into a headwind. It was slow going and the need to draft while climbing was very strange. After the initial climb, there were a few more rollers but we continued to make steady progress. At the crest of one hill, there were some little kids excited to see cyclists passing their yard. Noel and I rang our bells and waved as we passed.
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| Pioneer Park |
We finally made it to Walla Walla where Paul and Susan met us at the park control with a selection of traditional rando food. The Pioneer Park is very pretty, but we couldn’t afford to linger. After taking a brief rest, it was time to keep rolling. We proceeded through town and south toward the Oregon border. This stretch was the most unpleasant part of the ride. There was a lot of traffic and the shoulder was riddled with assorted debris.
As we entered the town of Morton-Freewater, Noel voiced what I had been thinking—it would be great to stop for some real food. The first place we saw was the Wee Bit O’Heather cafe. We all had pie and coffee, which really hit the spot. Refreshed, we continued on toward Pendleton.
After Milton-Freewater, the road became better and the traffic was not as heavy. However, the headwinds became stronger. We struggled to hold a line, and it seemed that there was little difference between being first or last in our three person pace line. I lost contact with Noel and Steve on the last climb before Pendleton. I caught up with them at Hal’s Hamburgers, a drive-in style burger joint, on the edge of town. We used it as our control stop and enjoyed a meal of burgers and fries.
Leaving Pendleton into a gusting headwind (reportedly gusts up to 46mph); we entered the Umatilla River canyon. Had it not been for the headwinds, it would have been the highlight of the ride. We got a slight respite from the wind on some of the shielded corners only to be blasted by the wind as we rounded the bend. About halfway through the canyon, I felt I was starting to bonk so I requested a quick refueling stop. Unfortunately, I was unable to keep it down but I felt better afterward and we continued on riding into a beautiful sunset.
Steve needed to fill his bottles, so we stopped at a store at the I-84 intersection to rest and refuel before continuing on to Hermiston and then the Umatilla control.
Excited about the descent into Hermiston, I somehow managed to out run Noel and Steve on the downhill. After making it into town, I waited for them. When their lights were in sight, I started up again expecting them to catch up shortly. Unfortunately, the GPS route and the cue sheet were out of sync. Following my GPS, I missed the turn which Noel and Steve who were going strictly by the cue sheet made. Realizing my mistake, I turned back and found the route again. I made it to the Umatilla control only a few minutes after them.
We all had coffee and a little bit of food in Umatilla. I was beginning to be toasted and managed to spill some of my coffee while searching for some salty snacks. I tipped the clerk for the trouble of having to clean it up. We left Umatilla with 28 miles to go and four hours in which to do it. After carrying our bikes through the glass riddled tunnel under the interstate, we continued uphill on Plymouth Road. I focused on trying to keep my speed above the 7 mph needed to finish within the time limit. With two hours left on the clock, I happily noted we were keeping the pace with about 13 miles to go.
With about three miles left until the turn on to Clodfelter Road, Noel encouraged us to push for the top and took off expecting us to follow. Unfortunately, I was beginning to bonk. Steve encouraged me to stop and take some food. After the short break, we continued up the hill. I kept thinking that I’d soon be at the point where we would descend back to Richland. I was looking forward to cresting a climb and seeing the city lights below.
When I finally made the crest with the lights of the Tri Cities shimmering in the distance, I was relieved to know I’d make it within the time limit. I let the bike run on the downhill, scrubbing off speed only on sharp corners. After spending the day struggling on the climbs while fighting the wind, it was nice to get up some speed. I soon caught up with Steve (I’ve been told that good hubs and a large ass are assets on descents).
Despite the clear instructions on the cue sheet (this time ignoring my GPS), I missed the turn onto Leslie Road, but caught the mistake before we’d gone very far down the hill beyond it. After turning around and getting back on course, Steve and I rolled up to the finish at 1:14 completing the ride in 19:14. Noel had arrived about at 1:00 just 14 minutes before us. We quickly got our cards validated and rode back to the motel for hot showers and well earned sleep.
