GIDDYUP!!
[Laurel sent this from a public library that wouldn't let her access Blogger. -Barb]
GIDDYUP!! Well, it's Day 4 and Internet access has been quite spotty. Where available, it is often closed by the time we roll into town. However; today we got to OKANOGAN WA early enough for me to both have my brakes adjusted AND get to the public library! Everything is going great for us so far---I had a golden few days in Seattle with my friend Dave, and all our gear and our bikes arrived safe and sound for the journey East. My friends Layne and Ross drove up from Salem with their new car which they outfitted to carry bikes (with the help of a cycling friend (Jaylene) that Kami and I met in Washington last year). On Sunday, Layne, Ross, Kami and I drove up to La Conner to rest before departing on Monday morning. We stayed at the Heron Inn, which is such a sweet little spot with a charming and helpful innkeeper, Vanessa. I got a couple of messages from my brother David---we were expecting to see him in the mountains, hopefully on Tuesday night before a big pass on Wednesday. However; he told me on Sunday night that he wasn't able to leave Texas on Friday as scheduled, because he was "Too Busy". He was just LEAVING!!! (deep breaths). My heart sank, but before further damage was done I could hear him cackling, and he said he was in Washington, a ferry away---and would be there for the "wheel dip" in the Pacific the next morning. And he was.
Vanessa sent us off with hearty snacks, and we rode to Bayview state park---a ride we did with Bicycle Adventures and Mark on our very first bike trip. The whole gang took pictures of our wheels in the ocean, and collecting some water then waved us off---and we left for the road. The weather was soft---perfect for pedaling, and we covered about 50 miles to Concrete, where we stayed at the scariest place I hope to ever encounter. My brother asked Kami how she could stay there, if she was frightened of animals... The next day, fortified with "plate sized pancake" (not pancakes, as I had inferred) we took off in the pouring rain for Colonial Campgrounds. The breaking point in the pre-trip buying binge, for me, was shoe covers which I refused to buy. SO, I wore bread bags on my shoes, and they worked great. But you know what works better? SUBWAY bags are PERFECT!! If only I had known, I would have hundreds saved by now.
The ride that day was also nice, along a river for most of it, with good roads and nice people. We ran into two very loud dogs who chased us uphill aways, but nothing came of it for us or for them. Which was good for them, because Kami had her pepper spray out and aimed at them!! We camped the night, and were next to a river. My brother and his wife Carmyn are so incredible to us---they cook, they pack, they load---they show up on cold rainy mountain passes with hot chocolate and good cheer. David wants to see a bear so bad, I want to hire a rent-a-bear for him to spot. He saw a bear track in the woods going up Rainy Pass, but that was slightly spoiled by the fact that he fell down in the snow. I think that might have been related to his sandals, which he admitted weren't good snow shoes. It snowed, rained and pelted us up both the passes yesterday, but we made it without much difficulty at all. I had some brake trouble, but that's fixed now.
Today we climbed to Loup Loup pass, and had a screaming downhill into the town of Okanogan, where I am reviving myself at the public library. I have to say that everything is very sweet---the riding is good, in sunshine or under clouds, and my eyes cannot capture all the beautiful scenery. We've startled a few deer in the road, and seen a lot of birds. One day we were in the forest, and we heard the disconcerting sounds of gunfire. We were getting closer and closer to it---and pedaling faster and faster. We came around a bend and saw that it was a rifle range with trap shooting! It was super cool---they were launching flourescent targets that were getting blown to bits. Still, I wanted to keep riding in a different direction. Tomorrow we are headed to the next mountain...I think we've done about 200 miles, no complaints. We have everything we need, and then some. A few days ago I needed a long handled 4mm allen wrench, but I improvised. I appreciate all the good thoughts coming our way---it's like a gentle breeze at my back. Okay. I'm off to find some oreos and a diet coke.
GIDDYUP!! Well, it's Day 4 and Internet access has been quite spotty. Where available, it is often closed by the time we roll into town. However; today we got to OKANOGAN WA early enough for me to both have my brakes adjusted AND get to the public library! Everything is going great for us so far---I had a golden few days in Seattle with my friend Dave, and all our gear and our bikes arrived safe and sound for the journey East. My friends Layne and Ross drove up from Salem with their new car which they outfitted to carry bikes (with the help of a cycling friend (Jaylene) that Kami and I met in Washington last year). On Sunday, Layne, Ross, Kami and I drove up to La Conner to rest before departing on Monday morning. We stayed at the Heron Inn, which is such a sweet little spot with a charming and helpful innkeeper, Vanessa. I got a couple of messages from my brother David---we were expecting to see him in the mountains, hopefully on Tuesday night before a big pass on Wednesday. However; he told me on Sunday night that he wasn't able to leave Texas on Friday as scheduled, because he was "Too Busy". He was just LEAVING!!! (deep breaths). My heart sank, but before further damage was done I could hear him cackling, and he said he was in Washington, a ferry away---and would be there for the "wheel dip" in the Pacific the next morning. And he was.
Vanessa sent us off with hearty snacks, and we rode to Bayview state park---a ride we did with Bicycle Adventures and Mark on our very first bike trip. The whole gang took pictures of our wheels in the ocean, and collecting some water then waved us off---and we left for the road. The weather was soft---perfect for pedaling, and we covered about 50 miles to Concrete, where we stayed at the scariest place I hope to ever encounter. My brother asked Kami how she could stay there, if she was frightened of animals... The next day, fortified with "plate sized pancake" (not pancakes, as I had inferred) we took off in the pouring rain for Colonial Campgrounds. The breaking point in the pre-trip buying binge, for me, was shoe covers which I refused to buy. SO, I wore bread bags on my shoes, and they worked great. But you know what works better? SUBWAY bags are PERFECT!! If only I had known, I would have hundreds saved by now.
The ride that day was also nice, along a river for most of it, with good roads and nice people. We ran into two very loud dogs who chased us uphill aways, but nothing came of it for us or for them. Which was good for them, because Kami had her pepper spray out and aimed at them!! We camped the night, and were next to a river. My brother and his wife Carmyn are so incredible to us---they cook, they pack, they load---they show up on cold rainy mountain passes with hot chocolate and good cheer. David wants to see a bear so bad, I want to hire a rent-a-bear for him to spot. He saw a bear track in the woods going up Rainy Pass, but that was slightly spoiled by the fact that he fell down in the snow. I think that might have been related to his sandals, which he admitted weren't good snow shoes. It snowed, rained and pelted us up both the passes yesterday, but we made it without much difficulty at all. I had some brake trouble, but that's fixed now.
Today we climbed to Loup Loup pass, and had a screaming downhill into the town of Okanogan, where I am reviving myself at the public library. I have to say that everything is very sweet---the riding is good, in sunshine or under clouds, and my eyes cannot capture all the beautiful scenery. We've startled a few deer in the road, and seen a lot of birds. One day we were in the forest, and we heard the disconcerting sounds of gunfire. We were getting closer and closer to it---and pedaling faster and faster. We came around a bend and saw that it was a rifle range with trap shooting! It was super cool---they were launching flourescent targets that were getting blown to bits. Still, I wanted to keep riding in a different direction. Tomorrow we are headed to the next mountain...I think we've done about 200 miles, no complaints. We have everything we need, and then some. A few days ago I needed a long handled 4mm allen wrench, but I improvised. I appreciate all the good thoughts coming our way---it's like a gentle breeze at my back. Okay. I'm off to find some oreos and a diet coke.
posted by BarbN @ 6:29 PM
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