So much for picking a cooler northern route

Wow, hard to believe it is already time for the cross country leg of the trip. The past couple months have absolutely flown by.

After much deliberation - okay more like a couple hours searching the Internet - I decided to go with a northern route across the US for several reasons. 1. Oregon is probably one of the most bike-friendly states in the country so starting here seemed like a natural. 2. I've never been to the Dakotas, so thought that would be fun. 3. I might be able to catch up with the brother and his family and Minnesota. 4. Most importantly, I assumed it would be cooler crossing the Northern part of the country. HA! We all know what happens when you assume...you end up landing in 107 degree temperatures in Portland Oregon.

WOW, it's HOT here. After collecting my luggage, I proceeded to re-assemble my bike next to carousel 7 and headed out into the furnace they call Portland. The heat was stifling, but it's a pretty neat feeling to pedal out the front door of an airport and ride off to your destination. I eventually met up with my kind CS host, Richard, and had a great bicycle tour of uber-bike friendly Portland. Awesome to see so many bikes all over the place!

The first night of camping after leaving Boston many weeks ago, I got hit with huge amounts of rain. "An ominous start?", I wondered. Not sure, but it continued to rain on me for much of my time in the North East. So, not totally sure, what 105+ degree temps means for the rest of the trip, but I'd at least have to guess that it can't get much hotter. For the record, temps are supposed to hover around 100 degrees for a while.