August 6

August 6

I did a short 47 mile ride from Clarkston to Dayton, WA. There was a monster hill to start the day. The riding got tougher as the shoulder narrowed, and it seemed like I was riding on interstate 240 in Memphis…drivers were flying with little to no regard for cyclists. Dayton was a quaint little town with character, but something was not quite right. Many of the local shops were closed in the middle of the day. When we stopped at Woody’s (the local burger joint), we discovered the problem. The Green Giant canning plant had recently closed, shipping their equipment to Peru. This cost the city over 1,000 jobs. Asparagus was the vegetable grown locally and it now is grown in Peru. Dayton is now a community of wheat farming. The global economy has taken its toll on this small eastern Washington state community. Additionally, last year a second major employer shut their doors. Dayton was a ski resort but has suffered from little to no snow the past several seasons. This uncertainty made it difficult to manage and attract skiers from around the state.