June 20, 2018
Day 3 – Welches to Kah-Nee-Ta, OR – 66 miles, 4,900 feet vertical
Got a slow start this morning. After yesterday’s frenetic pace, I was a little burned out and didn’t get a lot of sleep. Have to listen to the body and remember to take this ride one day at a time and to pace myself. And so, … I was almost the last one out of the parking lot after breakfast.
Today started out on the Mt. Hood Scenic Byway with a long climb of over 12 miles to 4000 feet elevation. The only good news was that it never got really steep and most of it was a grind at 4-6%. I took it slow and was reminded that in this direction (up), gravity is not my friend. Had a welcome SAG stop at the summit. After a thrilling downhill, we climbed again to summit through Blue Box Pass.
The second half of the ride took us out of the cool pine-covered mountains and into the high desert with scrub pines and hot baking sun. It’s amazing how quickly the terrain and scenery can change. Even though the ride was relatively short, the heat turned the last twenty miles into a tough slog. We were rewarded with an exhilarating downhill into Kah-Nee-Ta and exotic rock formations.
The Kah-Nee-Ta resort was set high on a hill and gave us one last kick in teeth with a 10% grade for .6 miles. I was pretty beat and collapsed diagonally on the comfy king-size bed. I took a nap for an hour and then went down to the pool to do some laps. There’s a free shuttle to the casino here, … but, um, … no thanks. Going to bed early tonight!
Click on the first photo below for an annotated slide show and don’t forget to click on “Where’s Jeff” at jeffblye.com
Journey with Jeff 