It is Louise's last full day here, so we celebrated by sleeping in!
Temira forecast some light East wind at Stevenson until 11:30, we decided on a final bike ride instead. Louise and I have booked a two-week biking trip to Italy next September, so we want to make sure we are up to three or four days in a row....
We didn't get out of the Townhouse until about 10:30. We had a very nice ride to Mosier. The ride up to the lookout is a little more exposed, so hotter. We made it up to the Lookout and chatted with a couple of fellows from Missouri, who were on a month-long tour of the Mid-West. Apparently, their wives had given them permission to go, and they were enjoying the scenery.
I had promised Louise an Ice Cream in Mosier, and we had even checked the window on the way up and confirmed that they would be opening at noon.
The ride down was very hot, even though we were coasting a lot of the way. My Bike computer got up to 38c.
When we got to Mosier, it looked like the entire elementary school was on a field trip to the Ice Cream Shoppe. Unbelievable! Kids everywhere and a lineup way out the door. Really????
We went next door to the market and got an ice cream sandwich - but it really wasn't the same.
The ride down to Hood River was even hotter. Fortunately, most of the climb is in the shade, but there is also a lot exposed. My bike computer maxed out at 42c. We were both pretty hot by the time we got to the Sandbar Cafe, where we had agreed we were going to have lunch. We sat in the shade, but we were both still quite hot. I had the bright idea that we could walk around to the beach and wade in the water to cool ourselves down. We were still waiting for our food to be cooked, so we took off our shoes and socks and headed to the beach. Well... the sand was hot.... and once you start across it, you don't really have a choice but to keep going.... ouch, ouch, ouch, ouch, sh*t, sh*t, f*ck, F*ck, F*CK!!! I think we both burned our feet. The water was cool, but any brownie points I was hoping to make with my wading idea, were long gone and I was in the hole again.....
Lunch was really nice, and whether it was the river water, or just the shade, we both seemed to recover from the heat a bit... although the ride back to the Townhouse after lunch, was like standing in front of Ross's "glass-blowing" furnace with the door open.
We cleaned up and were heading out to get Louise a Coffee when Bernd arrived. When we got back, Ross had just pulled up.
Ross, Bernd and I headed out to do a SUP ride on the river. It was still very hot, but there was a bit of a breeze coming up which made it very nice. We paddled from the Event site down past the hook, almost to the end of Wells Island (Just over 2km), and then returned.
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| Bernd and Ross |
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