Rochester to Rainier

Yet another day of waking up in the rain...

Either we offended the powers that be, or we're just paying our dues. We spent the first few hours of the day in our tent, waiting out the rain and listening in vain to the drops of precipitation falling on our ceiling. Fortunately, we were extended a tremendous amount of hospitality by a local church in Rochester, WA and had a place where we could comfortably wait out the storm.

We gave it until noon, and with the weather as light as it had been all day we set out to make a dent in our riding. We're getting pretty good at riding in the rain, and knocking out a few miles in less than ideal weather didn't bother us.

After about 20 miles in the drizzle, things started to clear up. Our spirits lifted, blue skies shone overhead, and optimism started to prevail. It's funny how simple of a pleasure dry weather can be - and how overlooked it is from the comforts of home. This trip is sure to teach me a lot about myself and about the way I view life, and from this point on I'll be sure to never take pleasant weather for granted.

It turned out to be a great day for riding with some great scenery in the Pacific Northwest. The precipitation held off for the rest of the day, which was extremely pleasant.

We rode all through the day toward the Oregon border, with the feeling of progress that comes with completing a state's worth of riding as our motivation. Biking through Washington is a pretty big achievement, and we were excited to taste that accomplishment at the border.

Fortunately, our solid pace throughout the day brought us to the Lewis and Clark Bridge (crossing the Columbia River into Oregon) Longview, WA with about 15 minutes of pure daylight to spare. Unfortunately, I'm an idiot and thought I had "smarter" directions over a different bridge that was "up the road" and would take us "right into a great place to make camp for the night". As Wikipedia would so eloquently point out later:

The Lewis and Clark Bridge is the only bridge crossing the Columbia River from Washington to Oregon anywhere between Rainier, OR and Astoria, OR.

Oh, how that information could have served us well. Instead, we followed my magical secret directions on a 22 mile sightseeing trip around Longview (well, it would have been sightseeing if it wasn't dark out). We rode through the dark for over an hour, with me insisting all the while that we were on the right track. My directions did work - they took us right back to the same bridge we stood in front of some 75 minutes earlier (in the daylight). With no lights and a sense of recklessness, we tackled the bridge at night (sorry Mom). It worked (although we were less than thrilled to ride on the shoulder of a main highway cluttered with debris in the dark), and we made it to Oregon safe and sound. Lesson learned: use the tools at your disposal. Going into this trip, I was dead set on leaving the day-to-day directions to physical map-checking and word-of-mouth directions. I learned today that it's not worth risking our safety rolling the dice like that, especially when we have turn-by-turn directions at our fingertips via the blessing/curse of cell phones. I'll be struggling to find balance with the technology input to our route-making, but I'll be content to not put us in a precarious situation again.

Thrilled about setting our tent up in dry weather, we went to sleep happy and comfortable. My favorite night's sleep of the trip so far.

More Photos... and then some.

Photos from Olympia and Rochester

Sorry for the delay - internet has been elusive! We're safe and sound in Portland now, and I'm blogging from the dry living room of our new friends Kathy, Savannah, Alisha, and Jordan. More to come!

Olympia onward!

Today started with a pleasant breakfast and espresso on Matt and Zach's porch, and a whole lotta sunshine. We said goodbye to our new friends, plotted our day's route, and headed southwest toward Bay Center, WA.

Today started with a pleasant breakfast and espresso on Matt and Zach's porch, and a whole lotta sunshine. We said goodbye to our new friends, plotted our day's route, and headed southwest toward Bay Center, WA.

On our route today was a stop at the Mima Mounds, which was recommended by our friends as a must-see. We pedaled our way toward the Mounds, but took a wrong turn (again) which added a good 16 miles (again) to our day's route. We're really, really good at getting lost on bikes.

We eventually found the Mounds, and they were a pretty weird sight. Apparently caused by glacial erosion, the mounds are a sea of undulating rises and drops that stretch as far as the eye can see. It's pretty alien-looking.

Unfortunately, a few minutes after the Mounds we hit our second rainstorm of the trip. The rain kept falling for the next 30 miles or so, and we decided to stop into a gas station in Oakville, WA to warm up and dry off.

We consulted the clerk about our route to make sure we were still on the right path, only to find out that the next turn we had planned out was onto a gravel logging road. Ouch. Not something we wanted to tackle on bikes. We were presented with a tough choice - backtrack about 15 miles and take a detour toward our original destination, or to head south on a new route toward Portland. Adding miles in the pouring rain didn't seem all that appealing, so some improvisation was in order.

We stopped in Rochester for the night and enjoyed a great dinner of ham and eggs courtesy of Dylan's skills over a griddle. We went to sleep feeling full, happy, and (relatively) dry.

Our new route will be taking us closer to the Centralia-Chehalis Trail, and is much more of a direct route to Portland than our original. We decided to set up camp for the night outside of Rochester, WA and try and attack the remaining 108 miles to Portland when the weather clears. Given that it's STILL RAINING (going on 25 hours now), I feel like we made a good decision. Hopefully the rain stops soon and we can hit the road - we're anxious to get back to pedaling.

Update: We made it to Chehalis, WA, and I'm blogging from "At Home On Main Street" - the most hospitable place on earth. Thanks SO much to Jene, Kasi, Vicky, and Sue!

Seattle to Olympia!

We woke up in in Seattle with full stomachs and a great night's sleep (thanks Kelley!) and set out for the Bremerton Ferry. Unfortunately we took our time getting out of home base this morning and despite flying down the waterfront trail as fast as we could, we missed the ferry by about 30 seconds. With an hour and 10 minutes to kill, we decided to pal around downtown Seattle and make the best of the free time with some sightseeing. We rode by Safeco Field (home of the Mariners), Qwest Field (home of the Seahawks), the Space Needle, the Seattle Art Museum, and Pike Place Market. It was a great hour of urban riding and sightseeing, and (this time) we caught our boat on time.

The ride on the Bremerton Ferry has been one of my favorite things in the world since I was a kid. The views from the boat, the cool wind on the bow, and the feeling of transportation are all a lot of fun. Knowing that we had a good 65 miles of backroads riding ahead of us along the Olympic Peninsula made it all the better.

We started our ride day with a quick stop for a coffee in Bremerton and double-checked our directions; then we were off. The riding along route 3 on the Olympic Peninsula was gorgeous, and we got some great views of the water along the way. We even rode past a chainsaw carving artist's shop that had all sorts of great work out on display.

Our riding took us to Shelton, WA, where we stopped in for a drink of water at the Olympic Deli. There, we were fortunate enough to meet Alice and Lyon, who are on their own tour from Seattle to San Francisco. They're riding for their own cause, raising money for Posada Esperanza - an immigrant women and children's support home in Austin, TX. They're great people, and they're riding for a great cause. You can follow them on their blog coastingnow.blogspot.com.

We left Alice and Lyon in Shelton and pressed on toward Olympia along some more great roads in great weather, arriving in Washington's capitol city around 5 o'clock. The ride took us right by the capitol building, which is perched above a lake and is quite the sight.

We met up with the Capital Cycling Club for a social ride, which was a lot of fun. Blaine and the rest of the riders were very supportive of what we're doing, and that means a lot to us. Of course, the ride was about 30 miles long, and that pushed our total to 100 miles for the second day in a row. We're earning it - that's for sure!

We left ride and went to refuel and warm up, stopping into a Borders bookstore for some warm coffee. There we met Elizabeth, who made us some great espresso drinks and was super supportive of what we're doing. If you're ever in Olympia, stop by and say hello - she's a rad chick.

Hopping back on our bikes, we rode up the street to find our new friend, Matt, who offered us a place to stay for the night. To our surprise, we arrived to a house full of bike enthusiasts, many of whom play on Han Polo and the Tusken Raiders, an Olympia-based bike polo team. They're good people, and we had a lot of fun spending the night talking bikes and playing music. I even went out for a bike ride (yes, another one) with them around midnight, which was a blast. They're playing in a bike polo tournament in Vancouver this weekend - best of luck to them.

What a great day.

Photos to come soon!

Day 2 and I'm back in Seattle...

In hindsight, Day 1 of the tour put a lot into perspective. We started in a leaky tent that we threw up in the dark, rode in the rain for 5 hours, and ate bagels. Today, we woke up in a perfectly pitched tent in new friend's cow pasture, rode in PERFECT weather for 7 hours, and ate freshly made muffaletta sandwiches. Weird, huh?

Life is full of surprises, especially when you meander about the US on a bike. Our new friends in the Hawken/Norris family sent us off this morning after a great night's sleep in their cow pasture with about 47 lbs in sandwiches, watermelon, and wine. I love that family.

We rolled our way into the Swinomish Indian Reservation, which was a highlight entirely because of an epic high five Eric and I both received from a real Indian on a real Indian reservation (it's not called a "Native American Reservation" on the signs, so I'm not going to be politically correct, either).

After a few great miles in the sunshine in farm country, we met up with Amy (our lovely support team director) and wolfed down some muffaletta sandwiches. After 50 some miles, they tasted like buttered lovin'.

I stopped after that to grab an espresso at Caffe D'Arte in Marysville, WA, and was very thankful to have Sarah (or Sara?) take care of the expense. That was sweet of her, and I appreciate it. Canada to Mexico or not, it's still very flattering to be bought a cup of coffee. I felt like an attractive girl for a second, or at least what I think attractive girls feel like, being bought stuff all the time.

We also got "lost" today (translation: we're bike geeks and like to add miles to our rides) and our total mileage went from a planned 78 to a grand total of 105. That makes 12 centuries for me this year. Count em'. Kobe.

After snaking our way all the way to the north Seattle area, we hopped on the Burke-Gilman Trail and chatted with Heather Wireman, a lovely girl that works for Precor. She's a full-time bike commuter, and unfortunately couldn't join us for our awareness ride today due to a marathon training schedule. As a triathlete who is dumb enough to have signed up for an Ironman next year, I understand wholeheartedly. Train hard, Heather! In addition to meeting Heather, it was great to see so many people outside getting their fit on today. Good work, Seattle.

Last but not least, I want to give some shoutouts to our friends at Bear Naked and the Montlake Bicycle Shop. They've been super supportive of what we're doing, and none of this would be quite as pleasant without their support. Thanks guys - we love you.

And special props to the Love Sack girls - go get that bike and start riding! You look great in those wristbands.

Right now I'm eating some fresh baked "cookies". Check out that photo. You can taste a whole lotta bad for you. Thanks Kelley!

On to Olympia via the Bremerton Ferry tomorrow.

First Day of the Border2Border Tour!

Well I'm lying under the stars (actually it's the roof of our RIDICULOUS palace of a tent, which is under the stars) as I write this, and I don't have a cell phone or the internet. What I do have is a renewed sense of community with my world, a full belly, 80 miles and 2 countries under my legs, and my closest friends around me. Although, at the start, today had less than optimal conditions, things couldn't have gone any better.

We woke up in our rain-saturated tent pitched haphazardly in a gravel lot in the Surrey Athletic Complex in Surrey, BC, Canada with less than a good night's sleep. Something about the uncertainty of ninja camping (camping with no permission, reason to be in that particular spot, or any sign that you were coming or were there when you're gone - practiced by vagabonds, gypsies, adventure travelers, and indie rock musicians the world over) in a foreign country, in the rain, on gravel doesn't add up to quality rest. Rainstorm and ominous beginnings aside, this was our start.

We hurriedly packed our tent up in the rain and wolfed down some breakfast before first light (again, not the best night's sleep, so we were up early), and we were off for the US-Canadian Border. A few gratuitous "We're in Canada!" shots in front of signs with "km/h" and French writing on them slowed us down, but we were at the border pretty early in our day. The border stop was fun (more gratuitous photos - this time in front of the "Welcome to the USA" sign, and getting our passports stamped), and I celebrated with a cup of coffee stateside in Blaine, WA.

I was very much looking forward to the day's riding because I have ridden it all before, and I was eager to show Eric these roads. The persistent rain beat on us for the entire morning, but we made progress all the way through Ferndale, Bellingham, and Fairhaven before lunch, and enjoyed some breathtaking sights of the bay along the way.

We started up the Chuckanut climb (one of the big obstacles in our way today in terms of challenging terrain), but we agreed that attempting it soaked through with no feeling in our toes wasn't a good idea (again, today didn't start with the most ideal of weather) . That being the case, we stopped at the firehouse at the base of the climb to try and warm up for a bit before tackling our big climb. That specific firehouse was being manned by Ty and Sabrina, who couldn't have been more gracious hosts. We were treated to Seahawks football on TV, a dryer for our clothes, good company, and a place to rest our feet for a bit. If you're ever in the Bellingham/Chuckanut area, stop at the Whatcom Country Fire Dept Chuckanut Station and say hello. And please give Ty and Sabrina my best.

Enthused by our new friends (and by the fact that the rain had faded to a drizzly mist) we hammered out up to the top of Chuckanut to enjoy the view. Every time I get there, I'm blown away by that view.

Descending into the Skagit Valley, we cruised along comfortably until we passed an alpaca farm. Yes, an alpaca farm. I can't even begin to explain what runs though your mind when after hours of cycling in the rain you get to exclaim, "Hey - look! Alpaca!". For those of you who don't know what alpaca are (we didn't), they're a relative of the llama. Kinda weird animals to spot while on a cycling trip in Washington. Of course, we stopped in to learn more about them, and were treated to some great conversation with Walter and Lois, the owners of the ranch, and to a tour of the gift shop. If you ever want an alpaca sweatervest, I only know of one place to get them.

Pressing on, our next stop was Deception Pass. It's a state park on the mainland of Washington and Whidbey Island, joined by a visually striking bridge. The area is one of my favorite places in the US (I haven't traveled enough yet to say "the world") to watch a sunset.

The sun having bid us goodbye for the day, we shifted our priorities toward finding a place to build our home for the night. We asked about staying in the state park - no go. We asked a shop clerk for suggestions - no go. So I set out in search of a good spot on my own two wheels, and stumbled across a sign that said "Parking Here". That sign was the gateway to a grass lot, and that was enough for me. I biked back to the rest of our team and had them follow me back to our haven for the night, optimistic that I had solved our problem. We all agreed that we were in legitimate enough place, but were worried about the fact that it was obviously private property, Our worries were rationalized about 2 minutes later, when a young lady wandered up with a "Who are you?" look on her face. Fortunately for us, she happened to be one of the nicest people I've ever met. Her name was Alicia, and she is one of the many wonderful members of the Hawken/Norris family. They not only offered us a place to stay for the night in the form of our predetermined campsite, but they invited us into their home like family. Much of their family was in town for a huge celebration, and the afterparty was still in full force. We had a great time meeting everyone, and on our way out we were graciously offered more food than we'll be able to eat in the next week. One of the nicest families I've ever met.

Update: On second thought ( knowing Eric and I), the food will be gone on Tuesday. I'll keep you posted.

It turned out to be a fantastic day, and one that I couldn't have scripted any better. I'm incredibly fortunate.

When you want something with all of your heart, all of the universe conspires to help you make it so - Paulo Coelho

Here We Go

Family is in Seattle (Eric and Amy got in yesterday), and the countdown is on to the Border2Border ride. We shove off in less than 2 days.

I'm excited beyond words to ride the 3,000+ miles, and I'm looking forward to making a difference in the bike community. If you believe in what we're doing and would like to support the TakeYourBike project, and love your help. You can help by:

- checking out our site and giving me some feedback on what you like/don't like

- telling your friends and family about the TYB project (especially your bike-geek friends and family!)

- ride your bike for at least one commute this weekend (it'll be worth it, I promise)

- pick up a shirt or wristband from our store at takeyourbike.org. All of the proceeds from sales go to rider support on the tour, and with 3,000+ miles ahead of us, every little bit counts.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!