Eastward Bound

Yesterday, I commenced my eastward trek with a 70 mile ride from Astoria to St Helens. Even with a late start, the lack of headwinds made a huge difference, making the two long climbs on this hilly day seem less daunting. The day was very overcast and gray, but when I crested a large hill at 3pm, I saw this unfamiliar, big yellow object in the sky. The sun finally made an appearance and I welcomed its company.

This interplay between the terrain and the weather has been fascinating. Cycling near Seaside one morning, I watched a thin layer of fog, pushed over the northern hills, hugging the tree lined slopes as the thin layer rolled down the southern face of the range. Oregon citizens are intimately familiar with the positive correlation between valley-to-coast temperature variances and the level of fog on the coast. In New York, one's knowledge of the weather does not go beyond what is printed in the Times, but the scenic northwest enjoys a more intimate relationship with the environment.