At 6 am, I wheeled my bike to the motel lobby to sample their breakfast. I’d already eaten my granola and yoghurt. I topped that off with a half-pint of chocolate milk, an egg/sausage/cheese breakfast sandwich, and coffee. Pleasantly full, I rode a quarter mile to I-82 and headed north. The terrain changed quickly to tan grass and mildly green sagebrush on volcanic hills. Dry country. Lots of haze due to forest fires elsewhere. For 30 miles, I climbed and descended five hills with lots of truck traffic, into a headwind. Not all that enjoyable. On the last descent, I-82 ended and I rode west for a mile on I-90 to Canyon Road (the official route along the Yakima River, which I probably should have taken). I turned north on Canyon Road, which became Main Street, and bought food at a discount store. Then into downtown Ellensburg to a great used bookstore where I bought two Tony Hillerman novels. Then north out of town on US 97 into the wind. I forget to top off my water bottles at the food store. But I got water at a wedding venue in about five miles. I labored uphill toward a group of enormous windmills on ridges near the highway. On an unexpected descent to a junction with Hwy 970, I could see conifer forests in the distance (see photo). From the bottom, I climbed, now with a tailwind, toward the Mineral Springs US Forest Service campground five miles away. Would it be full on this holiday weekend? Oddly, the camp host was the only person there. I got a shady site for $9, set up my tent, got water, and read my new book. 58 not especially enjoyable miles today.
