Bristol to Portland

My dear Ben got up with me at 3:45 AM so that I could catch a 5:45 flight to Atlanta, and then Portland. It was HOT when I arrived, very hot, like RECORD hot! How about try 100. That was HOT. Jennifer, my friend from the Underground RR ride last year met me at the airport and she took me to pick up my bike at the shop where it had been shipped two weeks ago. It was in great shape, no bumps or bruises. We loaded up, had a nice lunch near the shop and checked into the hotel very close to the airport.

Backing up a bit. The flight was great and I had a delightful woman and her sleeping husband next to me. Karla and I talked the whole way. They were going to visit family in Portland. Thanks for making the 5 hour flight seem very short, Karla.

The scenery was spectacular from the plane. Since each seat had a movie screen, I was able to watch the location of the plane all the way out. We passed right over the Black Hills of South Dakota, where Ben and I spent some time on his sabbatical in 2005. Then there were the Tetons with snow on top as well as Yellowstone, several ski areas, and then finally the magnificent Columbia River Gorge. We flew straight down the gorge where I will be riding in four days. I definitely sat on the correct side of the plan. It was a little hazy but I could see a large mountain in the background. I do not know if it was Mt. St. Helen's, Mt. Hood, or?. Karla thought it might be Adams, or one of several other possibiltities. Anyway, the very fertile farmland was lovely from the air, with irrigation circles and fields in many wonderful patterns down below us. I was also amazed at the number of wind farms on the bluffs near the river. There were literally hundreds of wind towers.





After getting settled in the hotel, checking out and outfitting my bike with my equipment that I brought on the plane, we decided that it was too hot to go ride. So we sat in the room and talked all afternoon. It was a wonderful catch-up time and I enjoyed it so much. Jennifer was one of my ride partners on the UGRR and we just hit it off well. She will be riding the Northern Tier next summer with Woman Tours. Finally, hunger got the best of us and after a few false starts we had a very nice meal at a seafood place right on the river. After that, I can definitely say that I crashed and burned. After 21 hours up, I slept well, but of course, being on Eastern Time, I woke up at 3:30 AM!!