Brian and I hadn’t even reached Eastside Highway before he admitted that he wasn’t quite in biking shape. “I’m feeling this already,” he yelled over his shoulder as we pedaled up a steady climb on Fairgrounds Road, up Mockingbird Hill, on our way out of Hamilton. “I’m fine. I’m just saying.” We had already downed two beers each— Brian had the Bitter Root’s Porter and Dry Fly IPA at Higherground, me a special release Scotch ale at Bitter Root and Higherground’s Hurrah Scotch Ale—and were having a little trouble shifting gears (pardon the pun) into biking mode. Plus, while the gusty winds were
supposed to be at our backs the majority of the ride, they pushed us all over the road as we cut east to our route. By the time we reached the top of the hill and made a left-hand turn onto Eastside Highway, our thighs were burning. I started to think we should’ve filled a growler for this stretch of the trip. The views along Eastside, however, provided an immediate payoff. To our left stood the Bitterroot Range, jagged and snow-capped. Open space and farmland stretched out on either side of the road. Within a few hundred feet we were at the entrance to the prestigious Stock Farm community to the east and the historic Daly Mansion to the west. There was even a good-sized shoulder on the repaved road for us to ride on.
It felt like we reached the small town of Corvallis, about five miles away, in a matter of minutes. We passed tired-looking bicyclists traveling the other direction, against the wind, who signaled two things: we’d made the right decision to pedal with the wind at our backs, and biking the Eastside Highway wasn’t entirely treacherous because someone else had clearly made it. Even our legs had found their stride. “You know, you’re going to end up working a lot harder than I am,” said Brian as he glanced down at my Specialized mountain bike. Knowing that we were going to ride mostly on paved trails or roads, he opted to bring his Specialized road bike. Sure enough, between the wind, downward slope, his skinny tires and