Day Seven - Grass Valley to The Dalles

Day Seven started with my eyes almost closed from (I imagine) the hours of riding yesterday in the blowing dust and sleeping in the grass. I’m not a guy with allergies, but I was starting to understand what people deal with every day. Ugh.

I had some coffee and decided against breakfast. Honestly, I felt great when I set out. My legs no longer hurt or felt like jelly, but when I hit a hill, I realized that I didn’t have much in reserve at all.

That didn’t really seem to matter, though, as today’s ride was mainly downhill on pavement, so it was a fairly easy day. Definitely the easiest of the trip.

In fact, I found myself slowing down, taking my time, not wanting it to end. Everyone was far ahead of me. I wanted to savor this.

It was so beautiful; the mountains would rise and sink as I made my way across the rolling wheat fields. After a particularly enjoyable and fast descent into a canyon, I saw the mighty Colombia river. A left turn westward and after a few miles I met up with everyone at the Riverfront Park. We drove into The Dalles for an amazing and enjoyable celebration lunch at a brewpub before heading out to Portland.

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