It was raining this morning, a perfect time to burning limbs, pine duff and other winter debris. While drying out I went down a YouTube rabbit hole and found: https://youtu.be/9kjhuYrLDpg about the Oregon Ramble Ride.
The route is on Bikepacking.com https://bikepacking.com/routes/central-oregon-backcountry-explorer/ and it starts in Prineville, the home of Les Schwab Tires. For those who went on the first McKenzie Pass ride I believe we went through Prineville on the day of the DEATH RIDE.
I have been giving some thought on how to couple e-bikes with multi-day bikepacking.
Find campsites for each night that have power. Logistically difficult but not impossible. Campsites could be motels.
Carry extra batteries. The super expensive option that also adds a ton of weight to each bike. You would still need power every other night or so.
Have a support vehicle with either a larger inverter or small generator. If you watch the YouTube video they have support vehicles at the camp sites.
Charging time is an issue. For my bike with a Bosch motor and using the standard 4 amp charger it takes almost 5 hours to get a full charge. 50% in 2 hours or so. One can’t rely on charging while eating lunch or having a beer. Hopefully you don’t suck the battery dry but there would need to be a way to charge everyone’s batteries efficiently.
Cascade Bike Club is planning on a gravel weekend in Winthrop June 23-25. As of 12/28/22 they have not posted anything other than the dates and cost. Along with gravel riding we could also to a road bike event based there.
Grays Harbor
Another Cascade weekend event, July 30 – August 1. Further information is not yet available.
Long Beach
Like the two above, Cascade has chosen the dates of August 3-5.
Snoqualamie Falls & Twin Peaks
A King County day ride. 83 miles and 5969 feet of elevation gain. https://ridewithgps.com/routes/14499929 The route could easily be shortened by starting at Rattlesnake Lake.
Tieton [west of Yakima]
A mid-June organized ride but Terri isn’t against borrowing routes. 50 Mile Route 2474 feet of elevation gain 25 Mile Route 1436 feet of elevation gain
Time to do a bit of recon on the Kittitas to Vantage area. P2C is open between Kittitas and Vantage as is the Beverly Bridge across the Columbia River just south of Vantage.
It was suggested to take a day and ride to Vantage and spend the night “wild camping” with the rattlesnakes and other creepy-crawlers. This doesn’t allow for recharging e-bike batteries but there are options.
Wild Camping Not Allowed
“Wild Camping” doesn’t seem to be an option. You can’t camp on this section of the trail and everywhere we drove there were “No Camping” signs. We found three campgrounds that could work and one other option if pain was your thing.
Wanapum State Park Campground is right on the Columbia River. The web site says each campsite has power, probably wind generated using the 50mph winds that are discussed. This campground is closest to the trail but still a hike from Vantage. It is the largest of the three offerings.
Wanapum Park
There is also the Vantage Riverstone which has both rooms and camping. This offering is right in the heart of Vantage.
If more miles and climbing are requested, take the newly opened Beverly Bridge across the Columbia and climb about 1500′ over 20 miles to where motels have been springing up to service the Gorge Amphitheatre.
Finally as you start heading west on the Vantage Highway there is Rocky Coulee. First come, first served tent camping at $10.00 per night. This is also a way out of Vantage but had toilets, not sure about water.
Rocky Coulee Site Map
The P2C trail goes from Kittitas to Vantage with a trestle over I-90 and the Beverly Tunnel. 28 miles and only 940 feet of climbing. Reversing the route back to Kittitas the climbing increases to 1960 feet but this is a rails to trails route so the grade is under 3%.
Trail looking North from the Vantage end.Trail looking South from the Vantage end
Taking the Vantage Highway back to Kittitas is a bit over 26 miles with 2200 feet of climbing. Going in this direction there should be a headwind the whole way. The pavement is fantastic, the shoulder non-existent.
From Renslow to the Columbia River: The trail runs through the Yakima Training Center, managed by the U.S Army. Trail users are required to self-register at one of the two trailheads at Renslow (west) or Doris (east).
Sign-in Form
There is one last option if a day trip was desired. East of Kittitas there is a trailhead and starting from there the out and back route is about 42 miles and around 2400 feet of elevation gain.
The trailhead on the Vantage end is quite a distance from Vantage or any services other than bathrooms. Water for the full ride would be needed but per the regulations you wouldn’t need to worry about the weight of firearms, they are illegal.
We all have been good, not a hangover in sight. When our daughter was young we would pack up the cross country skis and head for the hills. Fresh air and hopefully sunshine would start the year off right and put the holiday season in our rear view mirrors.
When cross country skiing it is always important to be equipped in case you run into a snow snake. Anti-venom must be carried!
Anti-venom #1: Hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps – yum!
Anti-venom #2: B&B – doesn’t take much
Post adventure celebratory anti-venom: Hot mulled wine or cider
There you have it, call if you need medical attention.
New Year’s Eve. It’s time to splurge so break out the caviar and let’s celebrate in anticipation of a better 2021.
Option #1 Champagne – what else! Not any Champagne, it must be French.
Option #2 Vodka shots – straight from the freezer. It doesn’t need to be Grey Goose but get something good, not Relska.
A bit of a complaint: My bank account would be much healthier if François-Paul hadn’t introduced my daughter to Champagne. Not swill, but the good stuff. Now she rapidly passes by the Cook’s display and heads to the French section.
A fact about François-Paul Briand: By now you are aware he wants to be a Barman. His real skill in this realm is with Champagne. He can open a bottle with his bare hands and pour a tray full of glasses so that they are all perfectly equal. When portioning out the remainder of the bottle, again every glass gets filled equally. Simply amazing!
Option #3 Pisco Sour– consumed in large quantities by the Briand’s, Pascale and the Herman’s in Quito, Ecuador on December 31, 2000.
Champagne or Vodka? Vodka
Champagne pairs well with? Pretty much everything.
Vodka pairs well with? See above.
What is FP’s favorite Vodka? Grey Goose- it’s French of course!
Does a Pisco Sour go with caviar? No Way!
Did I hear someone ask for an encore? This was supposed to end with today’s posting but it seems fitting to have a hangover edition tomorrow.
The last birthday of the month belongs to Jim Brose. Cocktail hour is a ritual at the Brose household. First he has to get all the offerings out and standing at attention. It must be all that training the Army gave him prior to deployment in Vietnam. Each bottle in its place, perfectly aligned and then one can proceed. What is Jim’s adult beverage of choice?
Bourbon – just add a glass
OK, I didn’t get them aligned to Jim’s standards and unlike at his house, these are all unopened.
Jim also likes gadgets. Maybe these would make a good birthday present?
This photo is imported from New Zealand
Do I like Bourbon? #1 on my list.
What does Bourbon pair well with? Ice!
Give me more! Brisket done on Jim’s smoker
Is all Bourbon whiskey? Yup
Is all whiskey Bourbon? Nope
For other birthdays there has been a second offering so in honor of the “Dead at 27” club-
Southern Comfort – You might think this a strange choice and I don’t know anyone who drinks it, but Janis Joplin sort of brings us back to the Vietnam era.
30 days to the start of the Seattle Boat Show! What used to be an ordeal is now fading into the back portions of my mind. However the boat show does bring back one memory from a company who had their booth next to ours for several years. Intellian provides those dome shaped antennas for vessels to get either satellite TV or communications. The company is based in Korea and every once in a while we were able to sample some of the food that came back from business trips. Sorry to say that Paul Comyns never provided adult beverages to go along with the food but we did get to hear about one of his favorites.
Soju a Korean beverage best described by reading a LA Times article.
Locally Uwajimaya carries it and it is inexpensive.
Have I ever tried Soju? No, but this bottle is waiting!
What does Soju pair well with? Korean food and beer.
What does Paul have to say about Soju? One tends to consume copious quantities when in Korea.
Why didn’t Paul ever bring some to his booth? The Rug Patrol was always on the lookout for food or booze not purchased at the show.
What about at the 2021 show? Since it will be virtual I am sure that there will be plenty of Soju in the Intellian booth.
We have gone all month without thanking those who have helped us through this pandemic. I am only aware of one in our midst who qualifies as a front line worker, Ryan Cummings. While he appears to be a fan of nice Italian Red Wines, it seemed appropriate to look back to 1918 to find out what he would have been drinking then.
According to History.com, Bootleg Whiskey was the ticket. Not only as an adult beverage, but also as a “respectable medicine”. On November 3, 1914 Washington State passed prohibition, five years before the country as a whole. By 1918 Ryan would have been pretty thirsty and most likely had an illegal still somewhere.
Option #1: Corpse Reviver – Cognac, Calvados and Sweet Vermouth stirred over ice and strained in to a chilled glass. Consumption recommended before 11 AM or “whenever steam or energy is needed”.
Option #2: “One brave soul from Nova Scotia recommended 14 straight gins in quick succession as a cure for the Spanish Flu”.
Option #3: Bovril Tea – meat paste in a jar made in to beef tea. Florence Nightingale said (?) in 1860 that “the tea had great nutrient power in sickness”.
But Bovril Tea doesn’t contain alcohol? Yup, but the story is too good.
Do any of these work? According to the advertising, 100% effective. Effective for what I don’t know.
Do I plan on trying any of these? Well I have consumed Cognac, Calvados, Sweet Vermouth and Gin at some point in my life but not Bovril. Doubtful it will be added to the list.
Ryan says you can’t go wrong with this one!
Let us all raise our glasses and thank those who are on the front lines during this pandemic. THANK YOU!
Louis Pasteur was born on this day in 1822. Why do we care? Quoting from Wikipedia, “He is best known to the general public for his invention of the technique of treating milk and wine to stop bacterial contamination, a process now called pasteurization”. Let’s raise a glass to Pasteur, thankful that we don’t have to deal with bacterial contamination.
Option #1: Wine – of course
Option #2: Brandy Milk Punch – just in case you are still looking for a morning libation.
Quoting from late night TV, but wait, there’s more! We need something to go with that wine, how about cheese? In the US that is what we get, pasteurized cheese but in France you can still get it unpasteurized which is said to enhance the flavor. I think a road trip is in order.
And seeing that today is Constitution Day in North Korea we could celebrate that. On second thought, what fun is a celebration with no food or beverages?
Boxing Day for all Canadians and those with British ancestors. This is the day when we recognize our servants should anyone have servants. Three choices today… but please no boxing,
Option #1: Warm Beer, British style. No Budweiser today please.
Option #2: Scotch straight from the bottle to the glass.
Option #3: Anything left over from yesterday.
Which option do I prefer? Option #1 but you have to be in the UK.
What pairs well with these options? Haggis?
What else can you do with Haggis? Absolutely nothing!
