Day 2 From St Helens to Welches, at the base of Mt Hood

77 Miles and 1667 feet of climbing.

Our second day was very busy starting with a ride to Vancouver WA VA hospital. After spending 2:30 min at the VA hospital (for me this visit makes the whole adventure worthwhile) we head toward Portland, passing East of Portland, where we met Pat's son and two friends Emily and Liza who road with us for a good portion of our ride taking us on some great bike paths.

On our way to Vancouver WA we crossed several bridges, this one was St John Bridge over the Willamette River.

We were not allowed to take pictures at the VA, but our host took pictures and will send them to me. I will post them when I receive them. At the VA, we were introduced to a group of live-in vets. Tom presented to the group a talk about what we are doing. Jim also discussed his experience in Vietnam. Then we each individually personally introduced our selves to each vet who would related fascinating stories to us. There were also two vets (Hoppi and Ratman dressed in leathers) from Combat Veterans International, a motor cycle group who support the VA and wounded worriors. As we reached out to each vet, they would break out into a big smile, tell us how they appreciated what we were doing, then would related their own stories.

There we vets from WWII, through some of the latest conflicts. I met Ozzie, who is a Tuskege Airman. Some of you may be familiar with the all black fighter squadron, in WWII from the movie.

More stories and pictures to come about this visit.

Dale with grant, who recently had a stroke. He just turned 60 and is planning to run a marathon this year.

Group picture outside VA Hospital

After leaving VA, we met with Pat's son who lives in the Portland area. Liza brought some home made cookies, and we took a little break along the trail.

From left to right front, Liza, Emily, Paul. From left to right back Tom, Ed, Dale, Pat, Jim

Once we reached St Helens, friends of Dale,  Bob, Chief of Police in Battleground WA,  and his wife took us to dinner. Bob and his wife recently moved to this area from the Southern CA.