Bicycling the Lewis & Clark Trail
Troutdale to St Helens, OR

Sunday, May 16, 2004
Distance Cycled: 46 miles
Vertically Climbed: 745 feet
Average Speed: 12 mph

George and Jane joined our group Saturday night and in the morning the six of us left the motel in Troutdale OR and headed for St Helens. We started down Marine Drive and turned onto a bicycle path that paralleled the road. After about ¼ mile we got off of the bicycle path because it was very rough and began riding the shoulder of the road. After several miles we got onto another bicycle path that paralleled another section of Marine Drive.

At the end of this bicycle path, Mary Kay spotted a toilet and we rushed to the door so that Mary Kay could relieve herself. We then continued to 13th street and began our trip through the city of Portland until we came to the St John's Bridge, along the way we passed a beautiful park full of roses.

We crossed the St. John's Bridge in the middle of the car lane because it is being repaired and there were no shoulders. We than continued to St. Helens and about 2 miles east of Scappoose we turned north and stopped at a for lunch at a marina restaurant. After eating a good lunch we returned to the bicycles only to discover that our bicycle had a flat tire, and it was raining again. When taking off the tire or replacing the tire I damaged the wire for my computer and therefore do not have any readout of the speed we are going. All I have is a stopwatch and a cadence display. Although Mary Kay's computer still shows our distance. We finally left the restaurant and headed for St Helens, where our son Mark and friends Gary and Judy joined our group for a Pizza supper.