Day 6: Loup Loup to Icecream

Colin:

We started out of twisp bright and early hitting the road around 7 am. After a short ride through the valley as a nice warm up we began up loup loup pass. Scraggley pines and the yellow methow flowers for which the valley was named populated the mountsides along the road. This pass was much lower than rainy and washington so we never encountered snow and reached the top at 9:30.

Following a fun, winding descent into okanogan we began to pass larger farms. We continued along this valley as the day grew hotter passing through a couple of small towns and the colville reservation. 

We ate lunch in a drainage ditch by the side of the road and continued on passing through another town. I had to replace a tube on carols bike and then we pushed on along the highway into tonasket. 

We had agreed to stop at the first likely spot for water as i had finished both bottles in the hot dusty conditions, and were fortunate that the spot was Shannon's. We bought some ice cream, signed the guest book (apparently as their first cross-country tourists of the year - they get over 5000 cyclists a year!) and settled down to decide whether to get a start on wauconda pass while we had daylight or to stay in town. Although we both felt good and it was not yet 3 pm, an invitation to pitch our tent in shannons yard sealed it and we settled in for the evening. We were eventually joined by a man heading from missoula to anacortis so we had some pleasant company for an evening sitting in the grass and trading both routing advice and tales from the road.

64 miles.

320 miles total.

Day 5: Meeting the Invisible Man of Twisp

Carol:

Today was our rest day, so we spent the morning mailing a few extra items home, buying groceries and repacking our clothes. We rode the 12 miles to the next town, Twisp.

 We took the time to tour the first smoke jumper base in the US. As if fighting forest fires was not difficult enough, smoke jumpers parachute into small wild fires to put them out before the fires grow too big. They go through 1.5 hours of physical training everyday to stay in shape. And I thought riding my bike everyday was hard!

Along the way, a short conversation with a man on a dirtbike turned into an invitation to stay at his tiny house (literally 204 SF that he designed and built himself) in Twisp. The man, Scot, is an avid bike tourer (over 25,000 miles logged), wild camper and small boat builder (he spent 3 months on the Salish Sea on a self-built boat). On wild camping, Scot says "I can make myself disappear anywhere!" Needless to say, we had many things to talk about that night. Not only did we gain a lesson in voluntary simplicity but also a good night's rest on a futon. 

11 miles

256 miles total.

Day 3: Concrete to Diablo

Carol:

We left our camp in Rasar State Park and aimed for Diablo, the town right before our first big climb of the trip (Rainy Pass and Washington Pass). We stopped for a scenic lunch right by the Skagit River (pictured below).

We had planned to pick up extra water for the climb in the Newhalem General Store. Unfortunately, the store was closed on the weekend due to winter hours. No concern- we continued to Diablo to make camp at Colonial Creek Campground.

I was very worried about the climbs planned for the next day, as I had never biked through mountain passes and generally avoid hills when possible. Luckily,  we met a couple (Martha and her husband) at the campsite who had done the climb several times and in fact, planned to do it the next day by bike and dirtbike respectively. Martha's tips included paying attention to the mile posts to help keep track of progress and to fill our front panniers to help with the steep descent on the otherside.

Colin built a fire for the night, while I got an early night's rest to prepare for the climbs.

55 miles.

180 miles total.

Day 4: Climbing the first passes

Colin:

Day four began well enough with our fastest time breaking camp and making/eating breakfast. The quality de-camp did not lead to getting onto the road much earlier because i had to dig everything out again to find my phone while carol got a head start.

After that we were off. The day began with a five mile climb, followed by a descent which cost us all of that hard-earned elevation. This loss was felt a bit more dearly once we got onto the 18 mile climb up to Rainy Pass. The climb was long and steep in places, but the views of the surrounding mountains made it easy to stay present in the moment.
From there, and after a mile long descent it was on to Washington Pass where we had lunch.

We started today in the typical lush forests of the pacific northwest before passing into snow and boulder fields in the higher parts of the mountain passes, both of which were punctuated by frequent waterfalls at all levels of the mountains.
The transition, which had gone almost unnoticed was more obvious as we sped down the opposite side of the pass between 20 and 30 mph. This isnt terifically fast on a bike, as any road cyclist could tell you, but is a much different and more stressful experience on a bike loaded with full front and rear panniers.

After getting out of the mountains a stront tailwind kept us moving along at an otherwise unsustainable clip all the way into town.

The landacape on the far side of the paas was very different from the previous day as temperate rainforest was replaced by high desert dotted with ranches. It reminded me of the landscape in new mexico. This effect was only enhanced

This effect was only enhanced after we arrived in the western themed town of winthrop. We checked into a hotel, went out for dinner and looked back thankful to be out of the mountains as some sort of storm seemed to be covering the whole part of the range we had been in for the last two days.

65 miles

245 miles total.

Day 2: Eastward Bound!

Carol:

We woke up at 7am to the breakfast of Champions: oatmeal cooked with coffee grounds. Talk about efficient cooking! We stopped by the beach on the way out for the ceremonial dipping of the rear wheel in the Pacific Ocean. If you listened carefully I'd swear the seagulls were singing us on our way. Goodbye Olympic Mountains!

After climbing many hills, we arrived at Deception Pass. We locked our bikes up and had lunch overlooking the bridge that connects Whidby Island to Fidalgo Island. When crossing the bridge, one can see the sound on either side. A sight I wont soon forget!
After a few more miles on US 20, we started the eastbound portion of our trip! Those of you who know my love of efficiency can only imagine how excited I was to be heading in the right direction! Crossing the bridge on the mainland, I saw the Cascades up ahead and Pandilla Bay to my right and left. I definitely felt spoiled by the views today.
Thankfully, the ACA maps kept us off the highway for most of the ride and we wete able to pass through the cute downtowns of Burlington and Sedro-Woolley. Along the way we saw golden eagles and llamas. Camping tonight at Rascar State Park with a fancy dinner pictured below. The adventure continues tomorrow!

65 miles.

125 miles total.

Day 1: Bald Eagles, Fighter Jets, oh my!

Colin:

We left Seattle on Thursday, May 5th after a hearty breakfast of leftover BBQ chicken pizza. Thanks again Constance for being a wonderful host.

We first meandered through seattle on our way to find the interurban trail. This kept us in the wooded outskirts of the northern suburbs. The path afforded great views of rugged, snow-capped mountains to either side as well as regularly spaced public art installations.

Shortly thereafter we found ourselves riding slong a state road through a sprawl of strip malls and car dealerships. This was less scenic but brought us directly to the mukilteo ferry terminal. A pleasant half hour ferry ride later we disembarked on whidbey island. State road 525 (which turned into 20 part way through the day) wound up into the hills and pine forests of the island. 

On the ferry google had assured us that it was 34 miles to one potential campsite at the northern tip of the island. We quickly realized this was totally false and that it was actually closer to 50 miles and resolved not to push all of the way. 

The most amusing development on the day came as we passed directly next to a naval airfield, which was conducting a training exercise that i am told is called a "touch and go". Basically a training on landing and takeoff technique by flying circuits and touching tires to the airstrip before pulling back up without stopping. All of that is to say the planes were flying right by us and while it was loud it was also cool. Throw in the bald eagles overhead and it all felt a bit over the top.

We ended the day pulling into fort ebey state park about halfway up the island and set up camp on cliffs facing the olympic mountains across the sound. The sight was a glorious reward for a good first day of our trip.

60 miles today.

Prologue, or How we started the great taxi civil war of 2016

Before we get to the warring taxicabs, we begin our heros' journey in DC on April 30th. After receiving smirks from a driver in a rugged Jeep Wrangler, and utterly failing to pack all of our gear we confirmed that the Jeep Compass was too small for both our bikes and our egos. A quick car rental return later and we were on our way out of DC in a minivan.
At 8pm, a freak accident occurs and our rear windshield shatters while we're driving 70 mph on the highway. We and the employees at the rental location suspect someone threw something at our window, but no worries - another detour to the car rental company and we're back on the road by 10pm.
We arrive in Duxbury, MA in the early morning and sleep in after our driving adventures. For the next two days, Colin's parents fed us and helped us with our last minute packing. Folks keep saying that we should add on a few extra pounds before we start riding and I am much too happy to oblige.
We flew into Seattle on May 2nd and needed to figure out how to get our 2 bike boxes and 4 panniers to my friend Constance's house. We decided on a cargo-van taxi. Three-quarters of the way through bustling highway I-5, our friendly cab driver suddenly pulls over to the shoulder. He gets out of the van and slaps the side. "I ran out of gas." Certainly not something you want to hear when you're in the middle of a zooming highway. He eventually has a friend come pick us up as a favor, but not before asking for partial payment for his leg of the trip. As we pull away, our new driver asks that we pay him the full fare amount from the airport to the city. When we told him that we had already paid his friend, he slaps his steering wheel and shouts a litany of cusswords in Arabic. A few phonecalls later, and it is clear that they are no longer friends and favors are off the table. 
Lesson learned: Never take the van.
We arrive at Constance's place and Colin begins building our bikes. We have dinner at the delicious din tai feng and after a very involved game of Settlers of Catan, we called it a night.
Today, Colin and I brought our bikes to REI for a once-over before heading out. We also got good tips for how to reach Anacortes, WA as well as a correction to thr local pronunciation (a-na-kor-tiss rather than a-na kor-tez apparently). We spent the day at the EMP museum, Pike Street Market and the Pike Brewery. We just finished packing and look forward to starting the bike portion of our trip tomorrow. Destination: Deception Pass!