Day 4 Ellensberg to Yakima

Today was a great day, sunny, and a short ride with only 2 hills which were long compared to home, but short compared to Tue and Wed. The day had a different start though, with a rain shower and wind around 2:30 AM. I got up around 3:30 and stayed up until 4:15 as the lawn sprinklers went off. Some tents got a good washing!

Fred M, Kyle M and I left at 8 and picked up George VdKuur along the way and had a good paceline going for a while. We followed along the Yakima River most of the day.

In Selah, we met up with Barb M, Peter VanOort, Louis B, Jake K, Cynthia A, and Andy D. We did about 7 miles on a beautiful bike path along the river. There was a curb to handle at the end of the path and Jake K hit it the wrong way and went flying, scraping a couple of holes right through his jersey as his shoulder hit the concrete. I was just behind him and was glad I could miss him. He made it into camp on his own. We're staying at Riverside Christian School, a nice facility.

We got here around 11:30. After setting up, Fred and I biked back to the Shell station down the road to replenish. Let's see, chocolate milk or a cold Heineken? What a dilema! So I had both, with a Nutribar inbetween. Fred skipped the choc milk and bar, wanting to leave room for supper.

Today there were 6 flats and 3 falls. I did 67 k (38 mi), 2:25 min in the saddle, avg 27.5 kph (16.5 mi) It was mid 90 degrees, but didn't seem hot until we stopped riding.

Tomorrow is another short day. The sweep team I'm on starts chores in the afternoon, so we will unload the gear truck (everyone's duffle bags), help with supper and clean up. The duties continue for the next 24 hours, but I'll tell you about that after it's all done.

Pictures are coming soon I hope. It's past 11 now, so time for some sleep. I did have a bit of a nap this afternoon though, not getting very far in my book. There are people on laptops all the time here. It's like an indoor/outdoor computer lab.