Day 1: The “Pass” is Past

Getting out of the west coast requires going over the Cascades.  There’s no way around it - and that means some big climbs on our first day in the saddle.  Day 1 of our trip was 105 miles of riding and almost 6,000 feet of climbing, most of which was pretty steep.  Early on, the climbs were gentle (with a surprise 11% grade thrown in for fun).  The big challenge was getting over Steven’s Pass which had a steady 20 miles of climbing, starting at about 3-5% and the last 10 miles bing a sustained 5-7%.  This may not be much for a Tour de France rider but it was a lot for us, especially lugging bike packs that we are still getting used to.  It was a pretty incredible experience: a mountain pass, big snow banks still on the side of the road, lots of fallen rocks, temperatures in the 30s, occasion rain with periods of sun.  Once over the top, the ride down was a trip in its own right - those gradients go us to a sustained 30+ mph, 30 degrees, occasional rain showers.  It was downright cold.

It was a tough but fulfilling day, nice to have the first big climb behind us.  The scenery was beautiful, especially views of the forest on the way down.  Riding along the Wenatchee River was amazing - although in full disclosure, we were pretty tired so smiled at the views but then put our heads down to grind out the last 20 miles.  

We stopped for lunch which is worth a mention - at what can only be described as a bizarre roadside hot dog attraction.  The Sand Bar in Index WA promised a full array of subs and sandwiches but they were still getting things together for the upcoming season and had only hot dogs.  The proprietor, the decor, the place, the hot dogs, the whole thing was just plain weird.   

A good but honestly tough day.  

It would have been helpful if we had made a hotel reservation in advance, but no, that is too much planning for us. We simply counted on a room being available. But it turns out that Leavenworth is a Bavarian Village themed town and this is a big weekend for them. Luckily, Susan (Bill’s wife) was able to find a place for us.  If not, we would have had to continue on to Coulee City - our destination for tomorrow.