Day 4, Hood River to Boardman, OR

This was our view through most of the ride today from Hood River to Boardman. The road parallels the river. This picture is taken from a dedicated bicycle path above Interstate 84. The northern edge of the river borders the state of Washington and the southern edge borders Oregon.

By volume, the Columbia is the fourth-largest river in the United States; it has the greatest flow of any North American river draining into the Pacific. The river's heavy flow and its relatively steep gradient gives it tremendous potential for the generation of electricity. The 14 hydroelectric dams on the Columbia's main stem and many more on its tributaries produce more hydroelectric power than those of any other North American river.

Day view of Mt. Hood from Interstate 84 and dusk view of the mountain from River Lodge & Grill where I am staying the night of August 27th, 2014.  In addition to being Oregon's highest mountain, it is one of the loftiest mountains in the nation based on its prominence.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Hood

We had quite a few bicycle casualties today. Riding on the shoulder of an Interstate predisposes to having flat tires and punctured tubes. Here is R.K., an anesthesiologist from Milwaukee, Wisconsin fixing his second flat of the day. Within a few minutes as he would start riding, he went on to having a third flat. I had a punctured tube from the steel wire of a shredded tire along the shoulder at the 62.5 mile mark of my ride today. The temperatures soared above 100 degrees F. today and the going was tough. The sun was brutal on all of us. The X11 color list of web colors lists seventeen different shades of brown, but the complete list of browns is much longer. Each passing day, I am turning a darker shade of brown. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shades_of_brown

Also, yesterday we had N.M., a chartered flight attendant from Long Beach, CA take a spill on a steep descent. She got scraped up pretty bad and had to receive medical attention. She is riding the support van for a couple of days before she is deemed fit to rejoin the riders.

A few of my fellow riders are raising money for their pet charities. Here is my thought on the matter. For every time I am able to give you a "Wow!!!" moment, I want you to donate $1 to your favorite local charity. You certainly are welcome to donate more if you like. I know Lowville Food Pantry is trying to raise some money. So for today's blog I am suggesting that if I succeeded in making you go "Wow!!!", please donate your dollar to http://www.lowvillefoodpantry.org/

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