AAN Day 2 - St Helens to Welches , OR

Daily Statistics
Mileage: 76.1 Average Speed: 14.0 mph
Vertical: 3085 feet Depart: 5:53 AM, Arrive: 12:30 PM
Calories: 5262

Today was a fun day on the road. We left St Helens on Hwy 30E, and it was about 20 miles until we hit the north side of Portland. I stopped on the bridge and took this shot looking toward the downtown area.
We were eventually routed on some great bike paths which took us north of the Portland airport, directly between the airport and the Columbia River. We were probably on the river for about 10 miles, which made for nice if not real speedy riding. For those of you who want a riverfront lot, these folks have it figured out. They live right on the river. I believe these are actually on the Willamette, but I saw quite a number on the Columbia as well. The ones I saw on the Columbia had a garage door to let the boat in.

After the second SAG, we started a gradual climb in the general direction of Mt Hood. Much of it was on a nice rural road (Bluff Road). Initially, Mt Hood was largely hidden in the clouds, but as the day wore on, the clouds lifted and we got some spectacular views. I have included the most distant, but it is a good looking peak.

After passing through Sandy, OR, there was a place called Calamity Janes, which the staff had highly recommended. I stopped in, and was met by a great old guy. I was there about 5 minutes before they open, but he let me wheel my bike through the restaurant to the patio for safekeeping, and sat down for a lunch of a pastrami hamburger and banana shake. He told every customer the same jokes, but they were kind of cute. He claims they have been rated to have one of the top 10 hamburgers in the country. It was very good. So was the shake. I then had to mush in the last 15 miles to the hotel. I took the following picture of the Salmon River for my Arizona friends. You can have a stream with running water this time of year.
We are staying at probably the nicest accommodations I have been in on my 3 trips with America by Bicycle. It is called the Resort at the Mountains in Welches. Very nice.
I tried to ride slow and easy today, and expend as little energy as possible. Tomorrow is supposed to be a big day of climbing. We shall see!