The Gorge is my Gym

I had a 5 sport day yesterday, and I’m feeling it this morning. Not enough sleep, and almost every muscle is sore. I probably should have done several hundred situps yesterday too… forgot about that…

Anyway, if you liked the wind direction yesterday (that would be “west”), you’re going to like it today too. It’s not going to be as windy as yesterday, but it’s still going to be plenty of wind to keep everyone happy (except maybe for spoiled me, because I like 30+ best).

The early Portland to the dalles gradient was .11, with another .10 out east. Combine that with 21/100ths north south, and you’re looking at a good day just about everywhere on the river. I think it’ll be 23-26 all day long from Hood River out to Arlington. Take your pick, ‘cause the direction should be good just about everywhere.

And you’d better get on the water today, because weak high pressure builds back over the Northwest tomorrow, bringing warmer temperatures and way less wind. Gradients will actually turn weakly offshore tomorrow, giving us light easterlies in Stevenson and at Rooster.

At this point, models show another round of west winds on Wednesday. Actually, models show us starting off with nothing and building into the nuclear range as a front approaches. Frontal approaches aren’t all that consistent about producing wind on the river (as opposed to wind in the upper atmosphere, where we can’t get at it), but I’m posting a wind warning for now.

In other news, if you’re a road biker, I have more bad news for you. ODOT has just chip-sealed the road to Cooper Spur, at least part of it (I believe it’s above Erin Creek Road… if I have the name right… it’s by a lot of rejected pears lying in an orchard) so that ride is pretty much out for now. Anyone drive up there lately and have a better idea of how many miles were sealed?

Also under chip seal warning is the BZ-Glenwood loop, where a good portion of the ride was chip-sealed within the last month.

Whatever you do today, have an awesome day!

Just so you know, you can no longer mail in your gas tax ballot. You’ll have to drop it off at 6th and State or it won’t be received in time. Please vote yes and spare our very nice, mountain biking, windsurfing mayor, who really is doing his best for you, a lot of heartache.

Today is the Dirty Fingers, Jimmy T and Me trail work party. Put on some pants, a long-sleeve shirt, and grab your biking gear for a 9am meet-up at Dirty Fingers. We’ll be working on trails along the 44 Road, and cycle-friendly New York City Subs is providing lunch. If it’s too late, you still might be able to catch the gang on the 44 road. Give Dirty Fingers a call for details.

On the wind front, a light start gives way to west winds later today. This is another one of those tough-to-predict scenarios with southerly upper flow messing with the Gorge’s juju. Even so, I think we’ll see plenty of wind to get on the water this afternoon. By 2 or so, we should have 17-21 in the corridor. From there, winds build into the 24-28 range from Hood River out to Arlington. There is a very slight chance that we’ll see even stronger, maybe even much stronger winds just before sunset, but it’s pretty unlikely.

The westerlies hold on Monday as cool air sits in Portland and a thermal trough hangs out in the desert. I’m thinking 22-25 is a reasonable call for much of the day tomorrow. Tuesday looks like a repeat of Monday, with some form of useable west winds on the books.

Don’t forget that today is the fly-in at the WAAM museum in Hood River. That’s not exactly sports-related, but if you ride your bike up there and take your kids with you, it could be.

Have a great day today!