Day 1 - Astoia to Portland

The long awaited start of RAA happened today in Astoria Oregon. We drove 100 miles from Lake Oswego to Astoria in overcast skies with scattered showers. We rode back to Portland in similar weather. Although we encountered heavy traffic, the road had a wide shoulder. It took me about fifty miles to start feeling comfortable with traffic. The route was somewhat flat compared to the next four days, but did contain a steep climb and descend 38 miles into the ride. One of the "scattered showers" for the day produced a wet roadway for our descent from this climb resulting a cautious descent. At the 53 mile mark we met up with Bud Morris, an avid biker, who lives near Portland with whom we share a mutual friend. Bud pointed out many of the areas land marks and took us on a scenic ride through Portland to complete the day's ride. We arrived in Portland with partly cloudy skies.

All in all, the first days ride was great. The Oregon country side is beautiful. The excitement of the first days ride kept our pace brisk along with Bud's efforts pulling us down the road. We were able to rotate the three of us through a small pace line, each leading for about two miles at a time. One thing was evident by the time we reached Oregon, Bud (although 65) was the strongest of the three riders. We stopped our ride for the day on the east side of the bridge so we could avoid the commuter traffic in the morning. Larry hauled both the bikes and the riders back to Matt's place. We cleaned our bikes and prepared a meal, but even before we could finish our meal it was evident that we had hit the wall. A good night's sleep was in order.

Since we arrived in Portland a day earlier than planned, we started the ride on Tuesday rather than Wednesday. This will allow us to stretch the distance for the first four days over five days. An over aggressive planner (me) failed to take into consideration the impact that the long climbs will have on the riders, especially in the early stages of RAA. This will cause a few logistical problems but well worth the resulting inconveniences.