Rain

Well we know why the Pacific Northwest is so green and vibrant- it gets a lot of rain and we have had first hand experience. Its rained everyday but today since we started. We had a giant pass to ride today (biggest of all 5 passes in this area) and we waited out yesterday for a better forecast - it was cloudy, overcast and definitely not too hot (lots of snow up top to keep us cool), but no rain. We've also learned that it is unseasonabily colder than usual - that does not make me happy, but we love riding and are making the best of it; my silk liner for my sleeping bag is getting nightly usage! As always seeing snd experiencing the environment is one of the many wonders of bicycle travel that we really enjoy. We have another opportunity to see the sights at a slow pace as we climb up loup loup pass tommorow but we only climb 2500 feet before we get to zoom downhill. Today we had about 25 miles of downhill zooming!

Get your (human) motors running...

...head out on the highway, Searching for adventure, In whatever comes your way... What a great day! Anacortes (named for an early settler, Anna Curtis) is a little sea-side town with a history of timber, fishing, but now the state ferry and oil refining are a bigger part of the economy. Reminds us of Seward. We wobbled out of the hotel parking lot, a bit overloaded but well-provisioned; we plan to eat our way to a reasonable load! Soon we were on a bike trail along a misty bay. Costumed riders headed toward a festival in town as we made our way toward the East. A sign warned of bicycle tire hazard from broken shells on the trail. From the looks of the shells and the crab parts I think gulls drop mollusks on the trail and eat the soft parts. After some navigating on back roads we turned onto the highway (Route 20 which we will follow or parallel for the next week or so. BTW, I grew up one block from Rt 20 in Massachusetts; we called it "Westfield Street") and the gentle mist turned to a downpour. We got a bit confused about how to navigate a BIG bridge but we able to consult with some local bikers (on carbon fiber road bikes). So where are you headed? one asked. "Maine". On those?!? We are riding our "Bike Fridays", which have 20-inch wheels and can fold up into a suitcase. They look odd but are good touring bikes. The rain continued on and off, the route left the highway to follow a gravel trail through a wildlife refuge. The Northwest is so green and the flowers, especially the rhododendrums, are so vibrant! We did about 30 miles today and it was pouring as we sloshed into Sedro-Wooley so we grabbed another hotel. Roughing it? Perhaps not. Having a blast? ABSOLUTELY!

The Start

Its day one of the bike adventure! After a week in Seattle getting ready, visiting with family we are at the start of our odyssey. My brother drove us to Antecortis WA today and dropped us off at a motel where we are spending the night. We thought it would be easier to spend a dry evening - it's quiet rainy at the moment! We decided to ride the start this afternoon and continue from out motel tomorrow. It feels good to be starting, but it was sad to say goodbye to family and a little unnerving when my brother drove away with the car. Rain is in the forecast hopefully misty versus downpours!!!

On The Road Again, off again, on again...

Okay, right now we are snug again in the Honda, at a state park just outside of Bend, OR. Rainy and cold today...some parts of town got a bit of snow! Good day to lay low, read, some would say, "shop" (some would say, "stop"), take the Deschutes brewery tour (with adendant tasting), and chech out nearby Sunriver. Central Oregon is beautiful, and though many have told us, man you should have been there in the '80's, we are still impressed. Especially with the geography and recreational opportunities; the weather and, perhaps, the culture suffer by comparison to Fort Collins and Bozeman. To recap a bit, we had a great time in Portland. Eric lined us out for an adventurous, self-guided bike tour to downtown (to REI)then up along the Columbia River to the airport to a bike tire dealer (where we got new tires as well as paniers for the up-coming tour)then back to their place. While visiting my sister, Kim, we took the bus with Vivian to school then another bus up the hill to Oregon Health Sciences (Kim's school) then the TRAM!!! down near the river then a streetcar and finally another bus back to Kim's place. We really like Portland, but you know, nice place to visit.... Tomorrow we will go to Sisters, OR, then back to Seattle. We have some prep work to do but we have the maps, we have the tires, so in about a week we will make our way to Anacortes, WA, and start peddling to the East Coast.

Fortunate Fun

Its my turn to write and I have been tardy! We have been having so much fun visiting for the past 2 weeks it has been hard to find the motivation to sit down write. Last week we spent in Bozeman MT. We drove through a snow storm to get there and left in a spring snow storm but in between the weather had been getting better and better, low 80's the day before we left. We thought we would spend 3 days but ended up staying 5 because of all the recreational opportunities. We went biking or hiking each day with either my brother or sister inlaw and even fitted in a Yoga class! We also celebrated my 60th upcoming birthday early, a couple of times as well! Needless to say we really enjoyed getting to experience Bozeman. Currently we are in Portland, enjoying the benefits and offering of a vibrant, happening city, staying with friends we know from Anchorage. We will stay in Portland till the end of the week with Chris's sister and her family. We feel so fortunate to have the time to do things with our families and friends.

On the Road Again

Sunny FC

We liked Fort Collins! It was sunny, hot and extremely bike friendly! We got a map of the city and a bicycle map the first day in town and did a major ride the following day riding all over town using our map for bike trails and bike lanes. It is a very bike friendly community something that really appeals to us. Many people have commented on on how crowded FC is, but we didn't seem to mind. Another highlight of the trip was touring the New Belgium brewery. It was quite the tour - 90 minutes and numerous generous beer tasting stops, we were glad we wear riding our bikes back to our campspot!!! New belgium brewery is very focused in using renewable energy sources and their ingenuity was explained during the tour. We also had the great opportunity to visit with our neice and nephew who are attending CSU, they were awesome snd just a real treat to visit with them. Hooray for family visits! FC is definitely in the running for second home options! We headed to Bozeman,MT for our next Adventure.........