CAR RALLY

CAR RALLY in WINTHROP

DATE: Saturday, September 10, 2011  
HOME:  Pateros, Washington,
DISTANCE:  59 miles
WEATHER:  Hot, hot, hot (97degrees)
OUR HEALTH: Good, except for exhaustion from the heat
NARRATIVE:
Seven Months on the Road – that’s how long a young guy we talked to had been bicycling cross country.  He began in Florida, went north to Pennsylvania, then headed East.  He’s heading to the coast and then to San Francisco where he will end his journey.  Fun to talk to…and makes our two months look tame.  It was fun talking to him about his journey.
The other interesting event today happened in Winthrop – a restored “old west” town that was hosting a car rally.  My favorite was a purple Cadillac, but there were hundreds of old cars, trucks, even an old fire engine, lovingly restored.
Today’s ride should have been easy – mostly downhill with a few bumps in the road, but the HEAT really takes it out of you.  We were once again exhausted when we got in, even though we stopped everywhere there was shade just to cool down.  We found a nice, new hotel in Pateros with a patio that faces the lake.  Dinner was next door – the special was prime rib – we had the smallest at 8 oz - definitely got our protein!
Tomorrow is expected to be another day of record breaking heat -  99 degrees - so we’ll take a short, early ride to Chelan, have a layover day to recover, and hope the weather cools.