"This is an adventure," Linda enthused looking over the menu of the Whoopemup Hollow Cafe Sunday evening in Waitsburg.

"Frog's Legs," she finally announced.

Bill McPherson had eaten frog's legs and insisted they were just white meat, tasted fine, but didn't have much meat on them.

"Oh, ours are quite large," the waiter offered.

Jim and Wanda have led a club ride near Jim's home in Dayton for three years or so. Last year only Doug and I joined them. We had a hot day and a good meal but more riders would have been more fun. We were a bit disappointed.

We did better this year. Having a tandem rally in conjunction with the ride might have helped. Once Mike and Nicki had signed on, we got Helen and Bill and not surprisingly John and Carla from Spokane. Donna, Gary, Jim, Wanda, Linda and I had to do all our own work on signletons.

Jim had promised us a light wind from Waitsburg to Walla Walla and a tailwind on the return. He had no idea how right he was going to be.

Between Pomeroy and Dayton on the drive over we were treated to a blustery wind that made me wonder if we'd be able to ride. I wasn't too sure about driving in this wind.

We figured we'd suck a lot of tandem wheel today but the first hill out of Waitsburg proved too much for the tandems and Gary and I arrived first at the top. We stopped for picture taking before heading down into a strong headwind.

The route winds over routes used by the Walla Walla invitation race. Mike figured that first hill had been the prologue. The next one was clearly marked as a feed zone. But not for us.

We'd get sandwhiches and drinks at Safeways in Walla Walla and spent a pleasant forty minutes in Pioneer Park.

The temps had been mild starting at 11. The wind was cool. But at 2 as we left Pioneer Park the sun was plenty warm and even the shade had lost its edge.

Tailwinds are coveted by cyclists but on a warm day, you may not feel a wind at your back. The route climbs gently at 4% for several miles before desceding into the drainage leading back to Waitsburg. Each bend looks to be the last leading through golden wheat fields into the sky. But each bend reveals another which also must be the last.

I finally achieved the top but did't want to stand in the sun. Turning around I discovered a cool wind in my face. I couldn't believe how strong that wind had been blowing. I rode back down to the end of our group. Gary didn't believe we had a tailwind.

The descent is fairly short and swooping and sweeps the rider out to the Prescott Highway where we should have taken a right back to Waitsburg. Mike and Nicki got off quickly on their tandem and disappeared. When I got to the road, Gary and Linda were following Bill and Helen toward Prescott. I called Mike to make sure they hadn't gone to Presscott too. Regrouped, we cruised back to the park in Waitsburg, cleaned up and presented ourselves at the Whoopemup at 4.

The Whoopemup puts on a bit of high-falutin air adding 18% to the bill and providing only one bill to groups of 8 or more. We had some fun figuring our tabs and watching Mike and Jim count the lucre. They let us leave so we must have gotten it right.

Oh, and Linda never got her frog's legs. They had run out. Tough catching them big hoppers, I guess.

For the ride of it Corrie