Bicycling the Lewis & Clark Trail
Kelso to Washougal WA

Saturday, May 22, 2004
Distance Cycled: 60 miles
Vertically Climbed: 1,965 feet
Average Speed: 11.5 mph

The skies were cloudy again today and we enjoyed rain on and off most of the day. We stopped in Woodburn for lunch, after we left our route and rode on Highway I-5 for about 5 miles. It was raining hard and we did not feel like going up a large hill. We continued going up and down hills after Woodburn until we reached the high farm land north of Battleground. In Battleground we discovered that the sidewall of the rear tire had failed so we installed the spare rear tire and tossed the old tire into a garbage bin. Five miles later we hit something on the road and we had a front flat tire within a few feet. The bad thing was that Mary Kay panicked and put her feet down, which with the wet pavement made the bike turn towards the traffic. Fortunately there wasn't a car close behind us and we were able to avoid an accident. So again we stopped and changed the tire. It seemed like a long day, we left this morning at 9:30 and arrived in Washougal around 6:00 PM.

George and Jane had their bicycle repaired this morning, left Kelso around 1:00 and arrived at the motel around 7:00 PM. It feels good to have the whole group back together again. This evening Gary and Ann did our laundry, so now we have dry clothes and are ready to ride again.