Wishram Part 3...Refueling

Any avid cyclist knows that you must refuel if you plan to continue riding, which occurs both on and off the bike.

Any ride over 40 miles requires me to bring two water bottles.  If it is going to be hot, I place Nuun tablets in both.  If it is going to be cool, I place a Nuun tablet in just one bottle.  If the ride is going to be over 40 miles, I try to creatively plan a route so I can fill my bottles at convenience stores.  There is nothing worse than being on a ride and not having water.

I always bring at least one e-gel on every ride, no matter how short.  Rarely do I need to use the e-gel on anything under 30 miles, but it is better safe than sorry.  On rides over 30 miles, I tend to bring a combination of gels, bars, and/or other food.  One trick I always use is to mix the flabors.  There is nothing worse than being on a long ride and discovering you just cannot stomach a specific flavor any longer.

While down in the Wishram area I always took two bottles of water (pretty remote), and enough food for a 70ish mile ride.  Why?  Well, there is spotty cell service.  That means if something were to happen, I cannot be guaranteed that Bella could "rescue" me.  Plus, what real manly man would want to call his amazing wife, admit the road defeated him, and take the sag wagon home?

Refueling does not end once you are off the bike, and that is where the real fun begins.  In order to maintain my body weight, I need to consume between 1800 and 2000 calories a day...Before I even pedal a single stroke.  Factor in that I ride between 600 and 800 miles a week, on average, I burn an additional 1000 - 2000 calories per ride.  If you do the math, I burn in the neighborhood of 2800 - 4000 calories a day.

Due to burning so many calories, I get to indulge in one of my favorite pleasures...food and beverage.  Lucky for me, the Columbia River Gorge has some great places for me to refuel.  In fact, I am positive most of the local restaurants, breweries, and wineries were opened for yours truly.

Me (right), Bella (left), D&R (back right and left, respectively)

Some of my favorite haunts are in The Dalles, White Salmon, Hood River, Lyle, and on, and on, and on.  Let's see if I can name them all...

1 - Double Mountain Brewery...Amazing beer, and just as amazing food.  I like the Hop Lava and pizza
2 - Everybody's Brewing...Delicious full bodied IPA, and a very tasty pub burger.
3 - Clock Tower...Carries an amazing selection of Gorge beers, and good food.
4 - Solara...Brand new brewery with a good hoppy IPA and an amazing wild rice burger.
5 - Cascade Cliffs winery...specializes in Piedmont wines.
6 - Domaine Pouillon...very tasty blends
7 - Jacob Williams Winery...Deep, flavorfull, and full bodied reds
8 - Waving Tree Winery...My very first experience at a winery, and they treat me like family.

Well, I know there are a lot more places that I like to visit, I just cannot remember all of them.  On this trip, I visited:

Double Mountain

Oops...I was hungry and thirsty, slow down!

Everybody's

From Brewmancenw.com

Solara

sitting behind the brewery

Domaine Pouillon

from Winetrailsnw.com

Cascade Cliffs.

early spring picture

I was also joined by Bella and my good friends D & R at each location.  All three of them thought I was a total nut job for riding so much while down there.  I would be up around 4:30, on my bike and out the door by 6:00.  It is a good thing that I rode so much, because I definitely consumed more than enough calories to refuel. 

I think the best day was Saturday, where we hit a couple of our favorite locations and Fred Meyer.  Why Fred Meyer?  I had to get supplies to make my world famous beer brats...Beer, Bratwurst, and Worcestershire Sauce. 

Before cooking up the brats, we decided to take a quick hike just 30 seconds from D&R's house.  There is a great cliff to hike up, and you get amazing views of the river and surrounding areas.  A good time was had by all, and we burned a few more calories which enabled us to indulge in some seriously good brats.

Bella (left) and R (right)

As always, we cannot wait for our next trip to Wishram, it is new adventure around every corner.