USNA 1973 Ride-2-Remember

Day 4, 7 August: Hood River to Moro, OR

Day 4 was by far the most challenging day so far, and perhaps for the whole ride, in terms of distance, climb, heat and mix of conditions. 

The day was forecast sunny and hot but started overcast and windy.  We started with a climb out of Hood River to wake us up. Tom’s brother Jim and friend Tim joined us for a bigger climb up to the Columbia River Trail, which was beautiful. We caught some pretty sporty sidewind gusts on top.  We missed several rain showers but caught lots of puddles and spray through The Dalles, where things started to clear up, dry out and heat up. 

At mile 35 there was a 7-mile stretch of unpaved gravel which everyone elected to skip and ride the SAG to a lunch stop on the other side.  However, Mark suggested that with my bike I could probably ride it.  With the only true gravel bike with gravel tires, I decided to give it a try.  I learned a lot in those 7 miles:  Take it slow, look for tire tracks to follow, avoid washboard and look out for big rocks (and cows). I think the whole stretch took me over an hour.

At the Deschutes River we had a great picnic lunch from Subway before taking on the last 20 miles. While there, Mark met up with a guy just coming in from fishing who was most interested in our ride. We didn’t get his name but he told us his son’s friend Charlie Evans is a plebe this year after a year at NAPS, recruited for the wrestling team, and another friend Sam Sheridan is a firstie.

We had over 15 miles of climb up onto some plateaus of wind farms with Mt. Adams visible in the distance, before an exciting descent into the desert of Cottonwood Canyon Stare Park at Moro. We had 2 cabins at the park and a campsite for Mark’s trailer. Mark brought beer and grilled burgers to perfection for dinner.  No wifi or cell coverage, and lots of stars.

We held our evening quarters and honored Reggie Campbell. Dave will ride again tomorrow for Jack Allen, who died in a car crash just before June Week our First Class year.

Tomorrow is mercifully short at only 46 mis to Fossil but still almost 4700 feet of climb. None of it looks too steep, but we’ll see.

Bill Montgomery