NW Loop 2024

Although technically "Day 1", it really is just a travel and introduction day.  I left Bend about 8 am with plans to drop my luggage at the hotel in Troutdale and then carry on to the NW side of Portland to find Mary's house where I was going to leave my car.  But - it appears that there is an option to just leave my car at the Troutdale hotel (for a fee, of course) for the duration of the trip.  That sounded just too easy, so that's what I've chosen to do.  I haven't spoken to the manager, though (she's not in until the morning), so hopefully there won't be any surprises.  People trickled in through until about 2, when our orientation started.  There are lots of familiar faces amongst the troops.  In addition, there were a few women (who I also knew from previous trips) who were here to see us off.  So - kind of like old home week.  And, I've met three women so far who have never been on a WT trip before.  All in all, it seems like a gr...

Well, this isn't going exactly as planned............  I was feeling kind of crappy all of last week before hopping in the car to head south.  I had put in a pretty busy 10 days with 4 big hikes and 3 substantial bike rides in some sweltering heat.  I figured it was just a bit of heat exhaustion.  But - things have deteriorated a bit and (at the risk of TMI) I'm hanging pretty close to the bathroom in a hotel room in East Glacier Park rather than exploring the nearby hiking trails.  The upside of that is, though, that I get to watch at least a few hours of Olympic coverage.   I drove south on July 26th and managed to get in a short bike ride on Going to the Sun Road before having to carry on in order to be to East Glacier for happy hour at five. I had committed to leading one of the hikes yesterday, so I popped an Imodium tablet out of my first aid kit and carried on.  Although it had expired in 2015, it was my bet bet.........  It seemed to ...

It seems I just got home from England/LEJOG and it's time to start planning for another outing.  This will be another WomanTours bike trip - The Northwest Loop.  I have ridden parts of this route before and have absolutely loved the terrain.  I think 2014 was the last time they ran this particular trip, so I felt compelled to sign up.  Maybe next year I'll try to break myself of the WT habit........... Here's what WT has to say about this one:  "We've chosen the most beautiful sections of the TransAmerica, Pacific Coast, and the Lewis & Clark bicycle routes and created a wonderful loop through the northwest.  This tour includes some of everything - the lush rain forest of the Columbia River Valley of Washington, the high desert of eastern Oregon, the Seven Devils Mountain Range of Idaho and the Pacific Coast of Oregon.   We start and finish in/near Portland OR, and travel in a clockwise direction.  The tour runs July 31st until August 30t...