Looking back at the river part way up the steep climb out of the river valley

After the strong storms yesterday and last night, I rode away from my motel at 7:15 AM, in light rain, onto US 70. It was an uneventful six mile ride into the city. Then I had to find the bike path along the river, ride about 10 miles out to and across the Big Dam Bridge, climb out of the river valley into the hills on the south side and find my way to Kanis road. With the help of instructions, photographed Google Map images, and my GPS I did all that

Starting on the River Route path

Cranking along the River Route - nice!

The River Route is really impressive and was being used for walking, running, and bicycling even in the on and off light rain. The climb up into the hills on the other side was steep - grades between 10 and 15% - so my clothing was sweat soaked by the time I got to the top. Then there was a lot more climbing - about 1000 feet total in 8 miles, making my way to Kanis Rd.

Part of the bridge over the Big Dam

The path over the bridge

I made it to Kanis Rd at about 10:30 AM and stopped to phone Dave who was riding up to meet me. We agreed to meet at Paron which was 20 miles, with 1000 feet of climbing, west on Kanis.

Kanis Road

In Paron, I spotted Dave resting in front of the store and rode over to join him. He was not doing well, having pushed too hard in the heat - it was hot and humid and sunny today - and had decided, wisely, to ask his brother to come pick us up. We visited, and he recovered for being overheated and dehydrated while waiting for his brother to arrive. About an hour after we go to Dave's house, and several hours before we would have gotten there on bikes, a big storm hit, dumping about two inches of rain. As with yesterday's storm, it was really nice to be looking out at the rain rather riding in it!