We woke to the unmistakable sound of a high horsepower engine rumbling outside our room at the Best Western. Looking out the window we could see overnight a fleet of muscle cars and street rods had arrived. Who knew Walla Walla hosts a huge hot rod show on Main Street just a couple blocks from our motel. Some of the participants had stayed here overnight and already were leaving to secure a good spot at the show.
Some of the stunning machines were definitely magazine quality with perfect paint jobs and enormous engines loaded with chrome. By 7:30 AM they had all left and already were lined up on Main Street.
First order of business after hitting the road was to take a quick look at all the cars downtown. It would have been nice to spend a couple hours checking them all out but we had a 100 mile day ahead of us so a “quick look” down the street is all they got.
After only spending 15 minutes to look at 200 cars we headed west to get back on route. Up ahead we could see a huge fog bank had settled onto the roadway. The fog was so thick the cars vanished almost like magic as they entered it. We pulled off the road and turned on our lights before we entered the foggy area. That is when we noticed the smell of smoke. Looking again at the fog just ahead we resized that it was not fog but smoke from a distant wildfire. Lucky for us we only had to endure the choking smoke for a couple miles as our route turned upwind to the cloud.
It did not take too long for another sticker to find one of our tires and pop a hole in the tube. Tim called out on the radio the dreaded word “Flat”. We still have not procured any new tubes except the one we got from the two cyclists yesterday so the situation is still critical. Even if the towns we arrive in at night had a bike shop it would most likely be closed when we roll in at 6 or 7 PM. Hopefully that was our last flat.
During our travels today we spotted a new mower that Team Rider and landscaper Al Nebelung may find handy. He can get his lawns cut and a ride in at the same time. We got the guys phone number and he said he will ship it to ya.
This part of Washington is dotted with vineyards and wineries. The climate and soil here supports the growth of wine quality grapes. I have been told most of the wineries in this area only sell within the state of Washington. The wineries we saw are on perfectly manicured estates. With well maintained buildings. It appears they must do well producing wine.
The now ripe grapes fill the air with their aroma as you ride by. It was impossible to continue to pedal by row after row of bright purple grapes without stopping to sample the fruit. Tim leaned his bicycle against a utility pole and ran to one of the vines and took a small bunch off to sample. Oh were they sweet a simply delicious. We could have eaten a huge bowl full of them but we knew better than to tamper with the vines anymore. Just a taste for the traveling road crew.
Ken has been snagging apples off of trees since the trip started over 50 days ago. We have passed quite a few apple trees along the roadway with ripe fruit. He hardly misses any of them either. Hells Canyon road for example was loaded with wild fruit trees at the lower elevations there for the taking.
Washington is apple country. The apples trees we are looking at now are not on public land though. Apples were everywhere you looked. Billions of them. Bright red and begging to be tasted. Hey didn’t that get Adam and Eve in a jam?? Like the grapes grabbing an apple off one of these trees is stealing. But they are so close to the road and we only need 3 of them. Our mouths are dry from the heat and one of those tasty treats would hit the spot. Joe held Ken’s bike as he ran to pluck three of the forbidden fruit from one of the roadside trees. After quickly eating the evidence we were happy to see our bikes did not turn into pumpkins and no lightning bolts came out of the sky at us so maybe it was not all that bad of a thing to do. Anyway they sure tasted good.
As you can see from today’s profile the route was a little choppy with plenty of small hills. We did get as low as 300 feet above sea level today before climbing back up to only 800 feet. In the back of our minds we all know we have one more mountain range separating us from the Pacific Ocean and the end of our journey. That means we will have to climb to near 6000 feet in the next couple days.
If all goes according to plan the Wild West Tour riders will arrive in Seattle on Tuesday.
101 Miles
2459 Feet of Climbing
Temperature 65 - 95 degrees
Team Eliminator Roving Reporter Video report fot Saturday Sept 10.A short film on tire maintenance..
Congrats you all made it. I knew you could. What an experience.
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