I am the opposite of a homebody. As much as I love my digs (I still live in the house where I grew up right on the edge of wilderness - my backyard is a temperate rain forest filled with trails!), I tend to get restless easily. Case in point: less than a week after I got back from the European World Cups followed immediately by a week in Vegas, I was off to discover the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon with my best friend and LRR sista, Jeanine.
The drive down to Oregon went smoothly, courtesy of Jeanine's trusty Yaris named Ronnie and our bikes were safely installed on her brand new Yakima StickUp hitch-mount rack (nice rack, Jeanine)! We were bid farewell the previous evening by our Local Ride Bike Shop and race team colleagues at B.O.C., so it was bound to be a great trip.
On arrival in the town of Hood River, OR, we made ourselves a home in the virtually deserted Tucker County Park campground in the "Pine" campsite, right beside the rushing Hood River. Then we ventured into town for some coffee and exploration. Paul had given us the inside scoop, and we found "Ground" open and welcoming, offering a very acceptable Americano and free wifi.
We happened to be in town for some exciting festivities: The Hood River Hops Festival was well underway, and after being ID'd twice each, we were allowed to imbibe in the sweet, local nectar. Then it was off to a yummy pasta dinner cooked on the camp stove, followed by bedtime, during which we braved a very intense rain storm that left a puddle in the tent and wet sleeping bag on Jeanine's side. Hmm, very suspect.... The day dawned sunny, however, and those were to be the only raindrops of the entire trip.
That day, after the requisite coffee (Kicking Horse Three Sisters
roast brought from home - yum!) and stick-to-your-ribs porridge for breakfast, we decided to check out the Mt. Hood National Forest area, where Paul had promised lay some amazing, epic pieces of singletrack. The trailhead was about a 35-mile drive away, and as Ronnie ascended, we were stunned to find traces of snow on the roadside. As we neared 1000m in elevation, the snow got deeper and had collected quite nicely on the unplowed road. We finally decided to turn around after realizing there was still a ways to ascend to the trailhead and the snow was only getting deeper. Not only could Ronnie get into trouble, how were we going to ride in 1/2 a foot of snow?!
When we returned to home base, we made the decision to ride in the Post Canyon area near town - at a much lower
elevation. After lots of paved and gravel road climbing, which took us through apple orchards, and a wrong turn or 10, we finally hit the motherlode: a great network of trails near town built for mountain biking fun! There were quite a few moto and quad riders around as the user groups share the area, but we did get on a bunch of mountain bike only trails that were groomed, fast, and swoopy, with some built up berms, bridges, logs, teeter totters, and skinnies. Wheeee! Later in the day, when moto traffic was low, we tried out some of "their" trails, and found ourselves grinning, railing, and whooping as we careened downhill. Wow, my Xprezo felt better than ever - I love that bike!
The next day dawned clear, crisp, and sunny again. Instead of chancing it high up, since the snow really wouldn't have had much time to melt, we took up another of Paul's suggestions: we rode the 4.5-mile section of scenic historic highway (open only to pedestrian and bicycle traffic) that runs along the Columbia River. It was a beautiful golden autumn morning as we cruised to Mosier. From there, we headed up a very long gravel road, which we thought was Paul's off-road route back to Hood River, but after about half an hour of steady climbing, we met with a dead end. Oops! We then des
cended back into Mosier and asked the friendly barista at 10 Speed Cafe East if he knew the route. As he brewed us a couple of delicious Americanos (oh, the crema was beautiful!), he asked: "Do you have 'cross bikes?" Now when is the last time you were in a cafe and had the barista as you whether you had a 'cross bike - or even known what a 'cross bike was? That's the kind of place we were in. Anyway, he gave us directions, and after enjoying our drinks outside in the sunshine, we continued on our way up Husky Rd.
It was a long climb, and Paul had warned as much, so we were ready. Husky Rd. became gravel quite early on and had a very manageable grade for steady climbing. At one point, after close to an hour of ascending, we hit an intersection - Elders Rd. went to the right and Husky continued climbing to the left. Jeanine wanted to take Elders, but I swore the barista hadn't said anything about that road. He'd said to "follow Husky to the top." Did I mention I'd forgotten Paul's map with the route clearly marked? So we climbed for about another 30 minutes or more, and once I'd eaten half of my last fruit bar, I decided to pull the plug. Jeanine was trailing and looked on the way to being wrecked. We were both running out of water. Frustrated, (I HATE BACKTRACKING - pet peeve), we descended back to Mosier and took the historic highway back to our car. Later, when we checked the map, it was indeed Elders Rd. that would have looped us back to Hood River. Yes, Jeanine, you were right. There, you have it in writing, and published too!
The rest of the week brought more crystal clear days, delicious campsite meals (local mushroom risotto, elk burgers, local cheeses, grapes, wines and beer...), scenic and epic snowy rides in the Mt. Hood National Forest, post-ride milkshakes, and memorable dinners at the local Mexican joint - Hood River Taquira (try the tacos al pastor), and Nora's Fish House - the must-try place where you can savour local specialties like homemade gnocchi with brown butter and chantrelles and cappuccino creme brulee.
All of a sudden, it was Friday, and we were packing up, but not quite heading home. We headed northeast through central Washington and crossed back into Canada via Oroville, WA, and pulled up to my family's cottage in Naramata that night after an all-day drive. Jeanine and I spent the next few days hanging out with my parents and riding our bikes on some super duper trails in the Three Blind Mice network. The weather was beautiful, albeit a little chillier than where we'd been down south. But at least we didn't have to sleep in a tent! After a delicious Thanksgiving dinner, we hitched up our steeds once again and finally turned towards home.
It was a fabulous adventure and I'm looking forward to revisiting the Hood River area sans snow, so I can fully appreciate the plethora of sweet singletrack. The trip was truly a vacation - no races (except with Jeanine) and no set schedule. Now I'm back home and dreaming of my next adventure....
Sandra :)
(l-r) Chelsea Bilsbarrow (Local Ride Racing) 4th, Joele Guynup (Island Racing) 2nd, Jean Ann McKirdy (Local Ride Racing) 1st, Sandra Walter (Local Ride Racing) 3rd.
Sandra makes a special appearance as Super Clean Girl!
The Local Ride Racing crew gets ready for Pumpkin Cross 2009!
Jean Ann carves the Local Ride pumpkin!
Sandra's Kicking Horse Coffee pumpkin - thanks for the caffeinated support KHC!
Nothing tops pizza and pumpkin carving!
Sandra nearly tossed her Xprezo off a cliff on the Comfortably Numb Trail: "This trail is not comfortable at all!" Luckily she realized how much she really loves her bike before she let go....
Ryan and Sandra at the end of Comfortably Numb.
Wild Burke Mountain chanterelles... exquisite!
