Todd Miller / TransAmerica 2010 / Day 2
Day 2 Route: St Helens to Welches, Oregon
Day 2 mileage: 75 miles
Cumulative mileage: 143.9 miles
Net elevation gain: I think ~1300 feet, but it sure didn’t feel like it
Terrain: Flat to downhill to Portland, then modest inclines in the foothills of Mt Hood
Welches, Oregon: The newness and unfamiliarity of this cycling trip has dissipated. I thoroughly enjoyed today’s ride, from the moment I jumped in the saddle at 6:45am and could have easily kept going all afternoon. I am looking forward to tomorrow and continuing the journey in the environs of Mt Hood. This morning we cycled through Portland on back streets and a bike path that ran behind the airport. Cutting through Portland required considerable navigation, and despite the rush hour morning traffic it was a straightforward and pleasant ride.
Past Portland I had a deja vu experience in the town of Troutdale, a nondescript city to the East. Two years ago I biked through Troutdale on the first day of a cycling trip along the Columbia Gorge, and recall thinking then how I never expected to be back to this place. I sure got that wrong.
With the city behind us the landscape turned to farmland, and it was a very rewarding ride with vistas of Mt Hood, Oregon’s tallest, on the horizon. The weather was most agreeable. Cycling through rural America, with the smell of grass and the sound of birds, is a real treat. I will be a very happy cyclist if the rest of this journey is similar to today’s ride. This part of Oregon near Mt Hood is really beautiful as we enter the Cascades, the first of mountain ranges on this trip.
