A great start.

We're on our first rest day in Spokane -- scattered clouds, lots of sun, cool & breezy.  Time to do laundry, shop for items forgotten or not, leisurely lunch at Anthony's looking at the falls, clean the bike, update my blog, etc.

So far we've ridden 323 miles in 4 days with no major mishaps.  Personally, I feel stronger as the days go by, although I'm dealing with some saddle sores -- not unusual.

Day 1 (6/20) was overcast & cool (60's).  Great weather for the climb to Snoqualmie Pass.  4,216 ft. that day.  Our campsite was Lake Easton State Park, east of the Summit.  Total riding distance was 84 mi.  We were treeated to dinner prepared by Big Ride alumni from the puget Sound area; burritos, beans, fruit, cookies, cake,etc.  It really hit the spot.

Tuesday was an early start day, 7 AM, to beat the heavier traffic on the 4 miles segment of  I-90 we rode before taking backroads of the Yakima valley through Thorp, Ele Elum, to Ellensburg for a "lunch" stop.  Our standard lunch  is PB&J sandwiches, plus some other snack items.  Time to water up, put on more sunscreen and stretch out a bit.

In the afternoon we rode over the Kittitas ridge, followed by a long descent intoVantage on the Columbia river.

This was the most beautiful ride so far, with temps in the 70s and gereat scenery.  Not much climbing -- only 1,500 ft over 72 miles. Noel & I arrived in camp at 2 PM.  Dinner was in the restaurant at the campground ordering from the menu.  Evening was very picturesque with excellent evening light for some photos.

Next post will cover the rest of the story up through yesterday.