Umatilla OR to Walla Walla WA

Day 6, April 30, Umatilla Oregon to Walla Walla Washington.
A long day, warm and sunny, strong crosswinds from the south.
(55.8 miles, 2085 ft elevation gain)

Maryhill WA to Umatilla OR

Day 4, April 28, Maryhill Washington to Umatilla Oregon.
Much warmer, sunny, and very windy from the west.
(82 miles, 3133 ft elevation gain)

Stevenson WA to Maryhill WA

Day 3, April 27, Stevenson Washington to Maryhill Washington.
Chilly, but much improved over the previous days.
(6 hours, 62.2 miles, 3103 ft elevation gain)

Portland OR to Stevenson WA

Day 2, April 26, Portland Oregon to Stevenson Washington.
Cold and wet and windy for most of the day
(7 hours, 67.5 miles, 3794 ft elevation gain)

Eastbound!

As promised, Fred's tires hit the pavement in Astoria at the crack of dawn yesterday (Monday). The "crack of dawn" seems to happen around 10 a.m. some days, though, and Oregon gave us a great send-off with what seemed like about an inch of rain on our first day, but we are off and running, so to speak. The map at the top of the page shows (and will continue to show) our progress throughout the cross-country bicycle tour. The green worm shows where Fred has bicycled, with the dots showing start/end of day. The start was, as advertised, in Astoria Oregon, with Monday night spent in Portland, and Tuesday's ride ending in Stevenson, Washington. And what a beautiful day Tuesday was - yes, some more rain, but in the Columbia River Gorge, you can forgive the rain.

Pictures and video clips coming soon. Those of you who've never been to "the Gorge" will understand when you see, why it is we put up with this kind of weather.

First Day Video

Day 1, April 25, Astoria Oregon to Portland Oregon.
Cold, wet and windy for 7 of the 8 ours of the day's travel.
(8 hours, 87 miles, 5800 ft elevation gain)

Project Kickoff on Monday, April 25!

The IFARA Health Challenge tour will kick off officially at the crack of dawn on Monday, with Fred beginning his cross-country tour in Astoria, Oregon.

This is going to be fun! We will be updating this blog on a (mostly) daily basis, chronicling the tour and highlighting all the interesting people we meet.

Stay tuned.