Pendleton Training Weekend

It's May, so time for a road trip ride and run. Coach Denise had said we were going to go to Hood River, so I took the weekend off work, but the trip fell through. So Natalie and I decided to go do our own training weekend. I found a really good looking ride in Pendleton Oregon which is a four hour drive away. So we talked Kevin into joining us and after a 2100 meter group swim on Saturday morning we started out with the temperature expected to hit record levels. When we were passing Hood River Kevin called me and said he wanted to stop at Pro Motion a wetsuit company in Hood River and try on a suit since we were passing. I said "it's a road trip of course we can make stops". Anyway, while in the shop Natalie found a wetsuit and bought it and Kevin's on call work phone rang. An hour and a half of phone calls later, he had to turn around and go to work. So Natalie and I continued on stopping in Arlington Oregon for lunch. I asked the waitress if this was the town that had the mayor recalled for posing in her underwear on a fire truck. It was and a couple customers chimed in- "it wasn't about the pictures, she made some businessmen mad that's why". We got to Pendleton and the Jeep said it was in the mid 90's, so we checked into the motel and unloaded all but bike stuff and found a Shell station to park at on the edge of town to shorten the ride. The Jeep said 98 degrees by then. We started out along the Umitilla River on a quiet country road with gorgeous scenery. We got about 10 miles out and Natalie's breathing became ragged, so we stopped in the one shady spot we'd seen and rested and she downed a half a water bottle and some e-caps. Then we took off for 5 more miles or so and saw maybe one car per hour, so we were able to ride side by side the whole ride- very fun! We turned around at 16 miles out and she must have been feeling better because we were zooming along with me mooing at the cows (cattle country- loved it) and baahing at the sheep. Some of the cows had tags, so I would moo and then say "how's it going 568?, etc" Got back to the Shell station done in by the heat at 32 miles, but very happy with a great ride. Checked the phone book for restaurants, very weak selection, so we did what probably most people do- went to the nearby huge casino (Wild Horse) with 4 or 5 restaurants in it. We walked in and the smoke almost knocked us over, we covered our noses and ran to the non-smoking section by the restaurants. Had a great Salmon with morels and sauteed potatoes and asparagus with Oregon wine of course. Then we stopped in the casino bar for one drink, but smoking is allowed and someone walked in with a cig and that meant time to leave.

Then next morning we went to the Umitilla River Parkway which is an asphalt bike path through the town of Pendleton and goes in back of the Pendlton Round up rodeo grounds. It was a beautiful path that only had a couple of street crossings over it's 2.6 mile length. We did an out and back and decided to stop at 5.2 instead of doing 6 to 8 miles like we had planned. The Jeep said 86 degrees and that's hot running when 60 something is as high as it's been all year I think. Pictures are of Natalie at the start of the path.