Riding the Columbia River

I and a riding buddy are planning a loop ride from Seattle to Portland
(rough version of STP Route). Then along the Columbia River to Walla
Walla. If we have tie we'd like to ride up the Coeur D'Alaine Trail.
Then back along the Centennial Trail through Spokane and pick up the
Iron Horse Trail as we ride back to Seattle.

A few questions:

1. Which direction does the wind through the cascades blow. I hear it
can be quite windy but get conflicting word on direction.

2. Do we need mountain bikes to ride the Iron Horse Trail? I have a
recumbent and my companion has a touring bike both with 1.5 inch tires.

Any other suggestions will be appreciated.

wrote in message
ups.com...

1. Which direction does the wind through the cascades blow. I hear it
can be quite windy but get conflicting word on direction.

What time of year? I have had it blow both ways during STP, which may be why
you've had conflicting words on direction.

2. Do we need mountain bikes to ride the Iron Horse Trail? I have a
recumbent and my companion has a touring bike both with 1.5 inch tires.

The Iron Horse from North Bend to Snoqualmie Pass does not require knobbies.
It's hard-packed dirt/gravel. After the tunnel, it gets much rougher, and
you might want to do that section on Hwy 10 instead.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

wrote:
I and a riding buddy are planning a loop ride from Seattle to Portland
(rough version of STP Route). Then along the Columbia River to Walla
Walla. If we have tie we'd like to ride up the Coeur D'Alaine Trail.
Then back along the Centennial Trail through Spokane and pick up the
Iron Horse Trail as we ride back to Seattle.

A few questions:

1. Which direction does the wind through the cascades blow. I hear it
can be quite windy but get conflicting word on direction.

I used to live on the west side of the Columbia Gorge, by the Portland
Airport. It seemed like it always came from the east.

2. Do we need mountain bikes to ride the Iron Horse Trail? I have a
recumbent and my companion has a touring bike both with 1.5 inch tires.

Any other suggestions will be appreciated.

We sould be near Portland by July 12th, this year.

Thanks for the information on the Iron Horse Trail.

wrote:

I and a riding buddy are planning a loop ride from Seattle to Portland
(rough version of STP Route). Then along the Columbia River to Walla
Walla. If we have tie we'd like to ride up the Coeur D'Alaine Trail.
Then back along the Centennial Trail through Spokane and pick up the
Iron Horse Trail as we ride back to Seattle.

A few questions:

1. Which direction does the wind through the cascades blow. I hear it
can be quite windy but get conflicting word on direction.

2. Do we need mountain bikes to ride the Iron Horse Trail? I have a
recumbent and my companion has a touring bike both with 1.5 inch tires.

Any other suggestions will be appreciated.


In the Columbia Gorge in summertime, it's from the west.

http://www.atmos.washington.edu/~jus...e_Preprint.pdf

(The wind roses are in Figure 2 on page 42) You want to look at the
summertime wind rose, and keep in mind the KPDX rose is at the western end
of the gorge so the winds are sort of funneling SE along the curve of the
gorge. If you went farther east the rose would point in a more easterly
direction.

You can also figure the wind will be from the west going back over the
Cascades as well. The southerly route back through the cascades is ok, but
since you're riding so far anyway, a detour north over Highway 2 or Highway
20 instead of I-90 would be a little more scenic (with 20 preferred over 2
from a scenery perspective).

--
Bill Asher

In article . com,
wrote:

1. Which direction does the wind through the cascades blow. I hear it
can be quite windy but get conflicting word on direction.

Planning for my own bike trip this year I found this site:

http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/climate/windrose.html

You can choose from hundreds of cities in the US and can see a
wind rose for each month. (That's a graphic that shows how often,
or how strong, the winds have been from each direction.)

Also useful: a text listing of similar data:
http://www5.ncdc.noaa.gov/documentli...f/wind1996.pdf

Today's winds:
http://www.rap.ucar.edu/weather/surface/
Winds and other weather predictions for 4-7 days into the futu
http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/5km_gri...gridsbody.html

dave

Wow, it is great to see data. Incredible response.

That is very useful planning tool, thanks.

I am unabahedly going to steal this and share with others. But I will
give you credit ... smile

wrote:
That is very useful planning tool, thanks.

I am unabahedly going to steal this and share with others. But I will
give you credit ... smile


What are you talking about? Are you referring to a previous message?

--
*****************************
Chuck Anderson • Boulder, CO
http://www.CycleTourist.com
*****************************

wrote in message
ps.com...
We should be near Portland by July 12th, this year.


FYI, the STP this year is July 15 - 16, so if you're riding north from
Portland up to Seattle that weekend, you'll see about, oh, 8000 people
riding the other way.

If you need a place to sleep in the greater Seattle area and you're here for
that weekend of July 15 - 16, you could house-sit for us during STP. You
know, collect the mail, feed the guinea pig, but then get free lodging, do
laundry, etc. Email me if you're interested.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
http://www.bicyclemeditations.org/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky