Cycling on the Columbia Plateau!

Big Frank hit a new cycling trail today. The Columbia Plateau Trail is a 130-mile trail that runs from Cheney, Washington to Pasco. It has been created along the abandoned right-of-way of the former Spoakne, Portland and Seattle Railway. Much of it is unpaved, which makes it OK if you are hiking, riding a horse, or riding a mountian bike. Bike Frank is a skinny wheels kind of guy, and so he was saddened to find that there is only 3.75 miles of paved trail. That section is beautiful with a really well-kept trail that Big Frank covered up and back. However, in order to get in a real ride he had to head out on the roads in the surrounding area. Luckily they are well-paved and have very light traffic.
The entire area is full of basalt cliffs and pockets of lakes. There is a lot of wildlife - Big Frank saw a number of bald eagles, and quite a few marmots, geese, and ducks. Much of the trail is within the Turnbull Wildlife Refuge where there are a lot of birds. It was a great ride and Big Frank will be back; however, he will have to return with a map because he didn't really know the roads very well and ended up going places, but didn't really know where he was - which isn't always that bad (kind of like life!).