Lake Chelan Tour Lite

About two months ago I registered for the Lake Chelan Tour Lite, a bicycle tour presented by the Cascade Bicycle Club (of which I’m a member). The event is three days of riding in the area of Lake Chelan with routes provided each day. The club provides support and a lunch stop.

Day 1

I got to my camping spot at Lake Chelan State Park on the Thursday evening before the event and set up my tent. Since I had time to kill, I decided to drive the day one route so I would know what to expect.

The climb up Boyd Rd. had me a bit worried and I hoped I would be able to make it up to the top. I already knew I would bypass the extensions with higher elevation gain.

After scouting the route, I headed back to camp, ate dinner (freeze-dried beef stroganoff), then too a short walk along one of the park’s trails.

I turned in to sleep around 9pm, but worrying about the route and restlessness caused me to not fall asleep until after midnight. I no sooner was into a good sleep when Samsung decided to update my cellphone software and did the T-Mobile jingle when it started back up. It took another hour to fall back asleep. It didn’t help that the park is next to a highway and road traffic made a lot of noise. I next woke around 4am to use the restroom. At 5:45am, I gave up and climbed back out of my tent.

Day 2

A quick breakfast of granola (by Peak Refuel) and a bottled Starbucks coffee frappuccino, then headed to the restroom to do my toiletries and get dressed into my bike kit.

The state park is about 8 miles from the route starting point and I got there about 30 minutes before my start time. It took 15 minutes just to get the dang parking meter to accept my debit card (I wasn’t the only one who struggled with it).

I didn’t know anyone else riding, so I rode by myself. After 1.5 miles, I turned up Boyd road and slogged up the steep elevation. I stopped at the top to get a couple of photos of the view. One house below had a heli-pad…must be nice!

The rest of the route didn’t have that many hills and nothing as brutal as Boyd Road. It weaved in and out of Manson and I loved the smell of all the many lavender bushes along the way. There were quail all over the place and I probably saw about three dozen of them that day.

The lunch spot was in a nice location and the ham and Swiss sandwich really hit the spot (I really need to refuel after the brutal hills).

Relive ‘Lake Chelan Tour Lite Day 1’

Relive ‘Lake Chelan Tour Lite Day 1’

On the drive back to the state park, I pulled over and checked to see if there were any hotel vacancies in Chelan. I didn’t want a repeat of the night before. I got lucky and found a room at the Lake Chelan Motel. So, I went to the state park, packed up my gear, and headed to the motel.

The motel was lovely (and not too expensive at $105/night). There was a carport to park my car, a swimming pool (not yet open for the season), and a playground. The room had a double bed and a pullout couch, cable TV, A/C, a microwave, an espresso/coffee machine, a full refrigerator, small stove/oven, a toaster, and dishes/pans/utensils. The bed was comfy and it was quiet at night. I would definitely stay here again!

Before going to sleep, I drove the day 2 route and hit up the Safeway for some fried chicken and a salad for dinner, along with some things for breakfast.

Day 3

After getting a good night’s sleep, I got up at 6am and made some hashbrowns and eggs, plus drank another Starbucks bottled drink.

The start of the route was only two miles from the motel, so I rode my bike (so I wouldn’t have to pay to park again).

Today’s route was along the highways, which made me a bit nervous. Thankfully, the shoulders were wide. We were also give a ticket for a piece of pie along the route.

I skipped the steep McNeil Canyon, so I got to the pie spot pretty early (I wasn’t the only one there at 8am). I only ate a few bites, but saved the rest for an afternoon snack.

At the lunch stop (Bebe Bridge Park), I ate a ham and Swiss sandwich again…they were so good since it was on a croissant! While I was eating, I talked to a volunteer about audiobooks (she was listening to one).

The route was downhill then fairly flat along the Columbia River, except for a bit of a hill after turning off Hwy 97A. It was warming up and I shed my jacket.

Relive ‘Lake Chelan tour lite day two’

Instead of ending the route at the finish point, I continued on to my motel. I relaxed for a couple of hours before meeting up with old friends for lunch at the Lakeview Dine-In, which is right along Lake Chelan. While waiting for them to show up, I briefly watched the hydroplane races, but they stopped after about 10 minutes due to the high winds that rolled into the area (they eventually canceled the event).

I hadn’t see Linna and her husband for about a decade and it was really nice to catch up. They also treated me lunch, which was so unexpected. The dine-in was extremely busy and we waited about an hour for our food, so we had plenty to time to chat. Russ had just gotten an ebike and Linna had one on order, so I see a return trip to Manson in the future so we can ride together.

After lunch, I hopped into my car and drove the day 3 route to scout it. I knew there was a tunnel on the route and was a bit nervous about riding through it until I saw there was a signal button to push to alerted motorist that cyclists were in the tunnel.

Back at the motel, I ordered a pizza for dinner but couldn’t eat more than two slices. Morning breakfast, I guess.

I was asleep by 10pm and slept very well.

Day 4

I woke at 6am, but wasn’t ready to get up. I must have fallen back to sleep, because my 7am alarm jarred me awake. I hopped out of bed and got dressed, then tried to eat a slice of pizza for breakfast. I couldn’t only manage one bite…I just had no appetite. I ate a handful of blueberries on principal, then loaded my stuff into my car so I wouldn’t have to do it later.

The majority of the route was brutally cold in the parts in shadow. My fingers were so cold that they were red and stinging. I also got an earache from the strong headwind. It was a lovely route, but I wish it wasn’t so cold so I could enjoy it more.

The lunch stop was at the state park. I asked for a ham sandwich and was disappointed to see if wasn’t the same as the first two days. It was on a hoagie roll, had tomatoes and lots of onions on it. Worse was the roll being soggy. I just couldn’t eat it. I managed with a satsuma orange and pressed on. Luckily, the rest of the route was sunny and warmer.

Relive ‘Lake Chelan Tour Lite Day 3’

When I made it back to my motel, I loaded my bike, dropped off the key and hit the road for home.

Between Chelan and Entiat I got my first sighting of wild bighorn sheep. Two ewes were waiting to cross the road, probably to get to the river for a drink. I didn’t stop to take a photo since another vehicle was close on my butt, so I couldn’t stop suddenly. But it was very cool to finally see them!

I finally stopped at The Rock on Hwy 97 for some coffee and to take a photo of the massive rock in the parking lot. You can climb the stairs inside, but I didn’t want to take the time, anxious to get back home.

Total miles ridden over the three days was 125!