Cassandra: (Sat June 30) Lisa and I finished our bike/road trip yesterday with a beautiful 45 mile bike ride through Yakima Canyon in Ellensburg. It was one of, if not my very favorite, ride of the whole trip. The route was recommended to us by Karen, one of our hosts from the previous night, and it did not disappoint.

We started our ride at the parking lot of the Flying J truck stop on Canyon Road in Ellensburg. From there we biked south on Canyon Road towards Selah. Although the road was longer than we had time for, we did cover 20 miles of it each way. Or rather, I did. Lisa was a couple of miles behind me so I doubled back to meet her and save her some mileage.

I can't speak highly enough of the scenery on Canyon Road. After we passed the outskirts of Ellensburg and some farm land, we swooped down into the Yakima Canyon with a smooth downhill. From there, the road pretty much flattened out, although there were several rolling hills and a couple of good, steep climbs. The highway wound along like a snake, following the Yakima River. We could see people rafting and floating down the river and it looked so peaceful. We had gotten an early start to our ride; it was right about 10:00 am when we left the car, so it wasn't too hot yet. At first, I stopped about every 5 miles to reconnect with Lisa; she was behind me, again on the mountain bike. No more road bike for her. I could tell she was tired, so I went along at my own pace and would wait for her at regular intervals, encouraging her to drink water. It was really starting to heat up.

The road was so pretty I took a ton of pictures while riding. I admired the cliff-like canyon walls and the sparrows that were flying in and out of their little mud homes (at least, I think they were sparrows). I even stopped at a placard to read about the geology of the area. But mostly, I just got caught up in the sun and the river and the smooth, fun road and got lost in my own thoughts. It was perfect.

At 20.11 miles, I stopped and decided I should turn back and meet Lisa, that way she wouldn't have to go quite as far. I passed a rest area about 2 miles back towards Ellensburg and was careful to scan for her mountain bike outside of the bathrooms. I didn't see anything, so I continued on. A couple of more miles down the road, I still didn't see her. I flagged down a car of elderly people to ask if they had passed a cyclist in a white shirt. They said they hadn't passed any cyclist, but if they saw her they would let her know I was looking for her. I started to get concerned. I couldn't understand why this car full of people hadn't seen her. I started to worry about her being hurt. I flagged down another car, but the guy inside said he hadn't seen her, either. At that point, I was really worried. I didn't know what to do if I couldn't find her. My cell phone didn't have any service, so I couldn't call her. I was starting to kick myself for breaking our routine and turning back to meet her, instead of staying in one spot. I continued down the road towards Ellensburg, looking for Lisa. I heard a car behind me, and when I turned around I saw the car of elderly people. They said they had passed her coming out of the rest area, and that they told her I was headed back to Ellensburg looking for her. I was so, so grateful to know where Lisa was. I thanked the people profusely and headed back towards the rest area.

I met Lisa part way there. She said she had decided to go into the rest area because they had civilized bathrooms (I had been peeing on the side of the road). I told her I had looked for her bike, and she sheepishly said she had taken her bike in the bathroom with her. I let out a great big sigh, just happy that we had found each other. I don't know what we would have done without the elderly people. Lisa would have been biking towards Selah and I would have been biking in the opposite direction, both of us without cell phone service. It would have been great to have walkie-talkies!

We decided to eat lunch at the rest area Lisa had previously stopped at, partly because we thought it was our best shot at getting water to refill our waterbottles. It was getting really hot out and both of us were sweating. I had already gone through almost all of my 2 bottles of water. I biked up to a some campers and asked where the water spigot was, and they said there wasn't one. Apparently, you have to pack your own water into the canyon area. None of the recreational areas have water. I was starting to have visions of dehydration when the man offered to let us fill our waterbottles from his own water supply that he had brought. Yet again, we were saved by the kindness of strangers.

Our ride back was easier than we thought it would be. On the way into the canyon it had looked like the way back would be significantly more up-hill, but it didn't turn out to be that way. We were also helped on the way back by a tail-wind. I rendezvoused with Lisa once, about 5 miles in, but after that I cruised at my own pace, once again lost in my thoughts, and figured we could meet back at the car. That was easy enough; we both knew where it was and I certainly wasn't going to turn back and look for her and get us separated again.

The canyon ended before I expected it to; for some reason, the way back seemed a lot shorter than the way there. Almost before I knew it, I climbed the hill and disappeared around a cliff, where I found farm land and Ellensburg once again. This is definitely a ride I would repeat again, and one I hope to introduce mom to. The next time, though, I will be smarter about water and I will (hopefully) bike all the way to the end of the canyon.

Our ride in numbers:
Total miles: 43.32 miles
Average speed: 14.9 mph
Max speed: 29.5 mph
Total pedaling time: 2:54:11

Once Lisa and I met back at the car, we loaded everything up and drove north-west to Lake Easton. We had hoped to camp and bike there, but the weather forecast was calling for rain and the nice bike trail that I remembered turned out to be gravel. So, we walked around the state park and talked a bunch and then made the call to turn back towards home. No sense camping in the rain when we were so close to Seattle.

Closing Thoughts: It is kind of depressing to be back in Seattle now, with the rain and people who don't wave at you (or smile for that matter). Lisa and I had such a great time in Eastern Washington. I got to know my bike so much better and discovered that I love bike travel. It is a really great way to see the countryside and get to know its people. You are forced to slow down, to really absorb the landscape. You notice every hill, every vineyard. Through biking Lisa and I met some amazing people, from the Allegro bike shop folks to the people who hosted us overnight. We joke that we could truly dedicate our trip to the kindness of strangers. It seemed every time we needed something, the travel fairy blessed up with people who could help us along. It was a humbling experience.

I would encourage anyone and everyone to see Washington (and Idaho and Oregon) by bike as we did. It is extremely affordable. All said, the trip cost less than $300 total per person, and that included lodging, food, gas, and even a pair of semi-expensive bike gloves. If I hadn't bought the gloves and so much wine in Walla Walla, I could have done the trip for about $240. And that was for 10 days of fun.

The trick with vacation is getting as much of it as you can in your daily life. I can't wait for my next free weekend, to find some sun and bike somewhere cool. And the STP is in only two weeks; I suppose it will be a very intense version of what I just did for the last 10 days. I can't wait!