Freitag, 3. Juni 2016

Fargo left us with a great night’s sleep and a great breakfast and we started our next journey. Leaving Fargo, the North Dakota landscape continued with flat farmlands and fewer and fewer towns.

Half-way throught the day we noticed billboards advertising lots of odd attractions, from the world’s largest sand crane to a collection of metal sculptures. Eventually the farms gave way to the windy plains, moving towards Roosevelt National Park and Painted Canyon. We stopped in picturesque Medora, ND and nearly missed our way. Who decided that only having an off but not a corresponding on ramp to a highway was a good idea? We pressed on into hills and, as the winds slowed down, entered the Montana mountain ranges.

Our hotel in Fargo was so good, that we decided to stay at another one of the chain in Bozeman, MT. Once again, we were not disappointed, and Bozeman proved to be an outdoorsy, college town. We ended the long day at the Montana Ale Works based on a recommendation and each enjoyed a Montana beer.

Samstag, 4. Juni 2016

Since Friday, we were getting nervous about making it to Astoria, OR by Saturday evening. The bikes on the back of the Prius change the drive more than anticipated and strong front winds and bumpy roads, left us driving below the speed limit more often than we would have liked. So, today we had to decide. Spend long hours in the car and start the bike trip on Sunday morning or account for an extra stop outside of Portland. We went with the later.

After another great night in Bozeman, we finished out trek across Montana, stopping only in Missoula for lunch. We ate outside and then stopped by the main office of the Adventure Cycling Association to get Renate and Georg their official Transamerican trail Jerseys. The staff in the office were very helpful and Renate and Georg may stop by again when they reach Missoula on their bikes.

We quickly passed through Idaho (less than 1 hour drive time) and entered Washington State. Although known as the Evergreen State, the forests quickly gave way to deserted fields. By advice of Georg, we changed our route slightly, entering Oregon after crossing the Columbia river and finishing the drive to Portland following the Columbia River Gorge. Tonight we’re staying outside of Portland and Renate and Georg just finished packing their bags. Tomorrow, we’ll drive the last 1.5 hours to Astoria where we’ll eat breakfast together before I make my way down the Oregon and California coast while Renate and Georg will start on the Transamerica Trail!


Sonntag, 5.Juni 2016

Wir sind am Ziel der Reise mit Friederike und am Beginn unserer Reise mit den Fahrrädern. Zu unserem Erstaunen ist das Wetter in Oregon, dank einer Hitzewelle super sonnig und fast zu heiß zum radeln. ca. 25 Grad C.

Es gibt einen Spruch, der besagt, dass die Leute in Oregon nicht braun werden sondern rosten. Heute können wir dies nicht nachvollziehen.

Nach 2 Stunden schwitzen, viel Gegenwind und einer Küstenstraße, die sehr bergig ist, sehen wir den Pazifik.

Unser Weg führt uns über den alten Highway 1 bis Mansanite, wo wir völlig erschöpft ankommen und froh sind ein Hotelzimmer zu bekommen.
Besonders faszinierend war der Nebel, der vom Meer her ab 16:00 Uhr aufstieg. Er gab der Landschaft etwas mystisches. (Renate)