Comin' Round the Mountain

I never realized before just how easily I can get talked into doing things, specifically when an adventure is involved.  I'm such a sucker.

My friend Katie invited me to ride in a 50-mile benefit tour of the Columbia gorge with her this weekend.  Now before saying "yes!", I really should have thought about what that sentence implies.  First of all, 50 miles.  Yikes.  I haven't ridden farther than 30 miles in a looooong time.  And secondly, the gorge.  It's always scorching hot and ridiculously windy in the gorge-- two things that aren't particularly pleasant to cyclists.  But, I said yes and off to Hood River we went.At rest stop #1 in Parkdale with Mt. Hood as our backdrop.

Katie climbing up out of the Hood River Valley with Mt. Hood in the distance.  Half way done!

It was great!  Absolutely great!  The ride was beautiful-- we took off south out of Hood River toward Mt. Hood and then turned around in Parkdale and then headed back through the valley toward Mt. Adams.  The rest stops were stocked with delicious treats and happy folks and the finish line food was delish as were the four sips of beer I managed to gulp down. 

 Katie and I pause for a photo break as we head downhill to the Columbia River and Mt. Adams.

Katie, Kendra, me, Kara.  Hard core for sure.

The finish!  50 miles.  

The ride was a benefit for the Northwest Sarcoma Foundation, organized by the family of Jackson, a little boy who lost his battle with sarcoma.  My friend Katie works at the hospital he was staying in and our other nurse friends, Kendra and Jodi, were his nurses.  It was really touching to personally meet the family-- Jackson's uncle even offered to bake the nurses cinnamon rolls the next day.  AND, since I'm not a nurse, he was going to drop some off at REI.  So, so sweet.