events - The Gorge is my Gym

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Good morning,

It’s time for the summer sponsorships and the weekly (kinda weekly) giveaways on the email forecast. Your sponsor this week: Why choose Dirty Fingers Bike Repair and bar? Let’s start off with the convenient location on 13th and State with lots of FREE parking. That’s right: no meters. Talented bike mechanics. Great brands: Kona, Transition, Ellsworth, Moots, Cervelo.Bikes, schmikes. Dirty Fingers has beer. Yes, it’s the only combo beer-and-bike bar inthe world(?). Pints are $4, or $3 if you’re at Happy Hour from 5pm-6pm. Dirty Fingers.Years and years in the Gorge. Grand opening party Saturday night with food, music, beer and a watt bike competition. We’re giving away a free Full Monte bike tune. Support the report with a paypal donation of $10 or more if you’d like a chance to win!

Once again, it’s windy in the Gorge. We’ll have 23-26 near Hood River this morning with the wind picking up to 27-30 from Stevenson all the way to Maryhill this afternoon (and getting lighter and gusty near Hood River). There are some noteworthy details: there’s a low pressure trough sliding eastward today, and normally that makes things gusty and unreliable. However, in this case, there’s very strong high pressure off the coast, so the effects of the dynamic system should be mitigated.

Tomorrow looks like a 25-29 start from Hood River to The Dalles with 23-26 from Stevenson to Arlington in the afternoon. It’s not looking all that windy this weekend, so get out your bike or your gardening stuff and get some sun, because May showers return at the beginning of next week.

If you want to ride bikes tonight, there’s a slow-paced recovery ride leaving Discover Bikes at 5pm. A gal contacted me about this, and she looked like a racer gal, but even so, everyone is welcome.

For you mountain bikers, the latest report has Surveyor’s Ridge open top to bottom and Fall’s Creek open from the bottom up to the Horse Camp, where you’ll hit snow. The Gifford Pinchot website reports Lewis River is open with a few downed trees and some mud, and yes, Old Man Pass is open. That’s trail news. In social news, Saturday from 3-8 is the Dirty Fingers grand opening party at 13th and State in Hood River. Also on Saturday, the Cascade Locks Dimwits have an all-ages family ride and fire-pit weenie roast at the EasyClimb trail at 6pm. And I normally don’t promote bands, but my friends from Meadows, Smudgepot, are playing at Volcanic on Saturday night.

Coming up this weekend, windsurfers and kiters head to the Hatchery Saturday morning for a work party on the Gorge’s most popular wind sport beach. On Saturday evening, join the kiteboarders at the British Pub for 2nd Wind’s season opener Party. On Sunday morning, hung over, that same crowd heads to Windance for a multi-sport swap meet.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira

p.s. If you find this report useful, entertaining, or just want to recognize all the hard work that goes into it, please take the time to make a donation by clicking on the link below. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list for a year, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors during the summer season (and the winter if I get off my bum and get some!). If you don’t PayPal, you can send a donation to PO Box 841 in Hood River, 97031.

There’s nothing better than fresh salmon and steelhead.

Good morning,

Well, that’s curious. I just looked at iWindsurf, and it’s blowing 28 at the Hatchery and 6 in Hood River. It’s another windy one today: 24-27 this morning from Stevenson to Hood River picks up to 27-30 midday near Hood River, shifting east to Rowena through Arlington at 28-32 this afternoon. On another curious note, the models are favoring Doug’s/Rowena over the Corridor today. I’m not sure what’s up with that, but I’m still calling Hatch this morning and somewhere east this afternoon.

Thursday looks similar, but maybe a little less windy than today, with another round of upper twenties centered from Mosier to Maryhill. Friday morning will be windy, before fading away on Friday night. From this long-distance view, Saturday looks not-windy and Sunday looks windy.

Enough wind. It’s Wednesday, the busiest night of the week, with a group paddle on the White Salmon, meeting at Husum at 5ish, the Post and Pinot women’s mountain bike ride, meeting at Dirty Fingers at 5:30, Sailboat races at the Hood River Marina at 6:30, and most importantly, your local ranger Jimmy T’s presentation about local trail history at Dog River Coffee at 7pm.

On Thursday, there’s a recovery road biking ride leaving Discover Bikes at 5pm. This is an all-levels not-very-fast road bike ride. Then at 7pm, Hood River’s history museum holds a meeting about Gorge Recreation at the Hood River fire station. They’re setting up a new exhibit and want your input, so try to be there.

Coming up this weekend, it’s the Dirty Fingers grand opening party, with a watt bike competition, food, drinks, and music. The party runs at the shop, 13th and State in Hood River, from 3pm to 8pm on Saturday. Also Saturday, it’s the 2nd Wind season opener party, with kiteboard movies and more at the British Pub starting at 8pm Saturday.

Also on Saturday, the Grom Bomb gravity bike race at the HR Skate park for the 13-and-under crowd, a cleanup on the lower Hood River, and a work party at the Hatchery. Also, there’s a swap meet at Windance Sunday. And of course, we can’t forget the fabulous Ben Stenn’s birthday!

Have an awesome day today!

Temira