Hood River to about halfway along bethel ridge. In other words I’m camping about 50 miles in on leg two of the wabdr. 200 miles total. Considering this is a shakedown trip for the TAT, the question entering today was how many miles can I go in one day. To finish the tat in 3 weeks I need to average 250 miles a day. By every account, bdrs are more difficult and technical, so today would be a good sign. Late start around 10am and very relaxed pace. I could have easily done another 50 miles. 

Today was very reminiscent of the orbdr;  the same designers touch is clearly evident. A slightly overcast and chilly  route through the rainforest of the GP and then into Packwood where the route started to feel like Eastern Washington. Dry, basalty. 

The dr650 is proving to be the perfect companion. It felt almost fearfully heavy as I pushed it off the center stand this morning after packing it for the trip, but after a few minutes it was the same dr650- low center of gravity, stable, predictable. Why someone would choose a full adventure bike over the dr for this kind of a trip is beyond me. I should adjust the shock preload before the tat, though.