The main push for today was to make it to Centralia at a reasonable time. They have an Amtrak station there so Sue can make her accommodations as to when she will be leaving Seattle for Poughkeepsie, NY. On the route, the views Mount St. Helens only got better. The roads were good and some with very low traffic volumes even though we are paralleling and crossing Interstate 5 along the way. The day also had the steepest climb we encountered so far. There was one stretch where the road was between 14 and 16 percent grade for an extended period of time. The road was straight up and a picture does not do justice to what it looked like in real time. It was a difficult climb. The downhill was good and on the way down we encountered a young woman from British Columbia that was riding to San Francisco. I like to stop and chat with other cyclists to find out where they are going and also to give them a break, especially if they are going uphill.
Once in Centralia, Sue was to make a reservation for her and her bike, which was going with her on a hook, not boxed, to Albany, NY. There was no way they could take both her and the bike to Poughkeepsie because of Amtrak issues. Meaning they had neither hooks for bikes nor baggage handlers to unload luggage for the portion between Albany NY and Poughkeepsie. Since Sue now has a departure date we can make reservations in the Seattle area and also since it is few days away there is no need to go much further. We find a DQ and then a place to stay.
Today’s mileage: 47.57 miles, average speed 12.1 mph, elevation gain 1706 feet, elevation loss 1670 feet, max speed 34.7 mph