Slowly but Shurly...

Simply inspiring

273 miles ridden (1,042 to go!)
218 pictures taken
27 energy bars consumed
11 new acquaintances
7 days in
5 flat tires
4 small-town diners enjoyed
3 tubes flatted out
2 sunny days
1.5 jars of peanut butter eaten
1 crash

Shall we just do a quick shout-out to our number-one from-afar Supplies, Gear, Moral Support, Armchair Trip Leader, Mr. Peter Bender?  Not only has he given us over the phone directions, coordinated Warmshowers contacts and driven us from Seattle to Anacortes last week, it appears he's just sent us the care package of all care packages to our temporary Portland address.  Love you, Bender. 

Setting off in Anacortes

It's hard to believe that one week ago, we were still gearing up in Seattle. Already, the days have started blending together, to the point of quasi-Alzheimer's. Although the days are speeding by, each one has been unique, so here's a day by day breakdown thus far:

Day 1:
We left Anacortes at 11 pm, after a pleasant car ride from Seattle. The ride was hilly, curvy and beautiful. After following farmland and weaving through small inland towns, we were rewarded by sunshine and our first views of Puget sound, as we approached the small town of Coupeville. From there, we enjoyed a 35 minute ferry ride to quaint Port Townsend, and after stocking up and a short 6 mile jaunt, we arrived in Old Ft.

The ferry

Townsend State Park. ~50 miles including an early accidental 8 mi. detour. We were exhausted but excited as the sun set.

Day 2:
Saturday was supposed to be a 65 miler, but we were feeling our legs, asses and arms badly enough to break it up into two days.  It was overcast and slightly chilly so instead of obstacles, hills were opportunities to get warm.  We encountered our largest hill, 800 feet over three miles, which, today doesn't sound so bad, but we were daunted.  We learned an important thing riding up through the Olympic national forest, the things we dread on paper are not nearly as bad on a bicycle.  We stayed in Dosewallips State Park and enjoyed watching multitudes of "campers" enjoying nature.

Day 3:
Riding along the gorgeous Hood Canal--an inlet of the Pacific, dotted with oyster farms and sea-side cabins--we enjoyed sunshine and quintessential PNW views. Sunshine poking through the evergreens, while the smell of saltwater permeated the air. The riding was easy, skirting the canal, so hills were minimal and beaches were plentiful. At the end of the day, we rode through Hoodsport, a small resort town, and enjoyed our first picturesque coffee shop and fellow Tourer. Walter (or Valter in his accent) is an older German man riding to Tucson. Good for him. The ride ended at Potlatch State Park, where the campground host, in a southern accent questioned our ambitions passionately (if you goin' all tha way to Santa Barbra, ya shouldn't be stoppin here!). And then the rain started falling...

Day 4:

The culprit of flat #1

After saying goodbye to our chalk-wielding, energy-drink-seeking, pine cone-throwing, eleven-year old neighbor, "Snake...no, call me Blade," we began our longest day yet, 75 miles, from Potlatch State Park to Twin Harbors, and also when the first flat or the trip happened.  Not a bad day, but it started raining as we made our way into Aberdeen, and continued to rain until the next morning.  For the first time on the trip, we were wet, cold and frustrated. But...we learned a funny joke. Throw a piano down a mineshaft, and I'll show you a  flat miner.

Day 5:

Approaching Bay Center

An easy day in contrast to day 4. After leaving Twin harbors, we slowly approached the coast, until finally we saw the Pacific Ocean in all her beauty. Immediately after reaching the coast, my tire crapped out again, and we began our flat-fixing intensive training. The rain held off all day, and when we reached Raymond, WA, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast-lunch at the wonderful corner cafe. After a cloudy final 18 miles (which the book failed to inform us were extremely hilly), we arrived at the Bay Center KOA. This was practically an outdoor hotel, with wi-fi, unlimited showers, a general store and a bike shelter. We were overjoyed when the sun came out at dinner time, and we relished the warm rays while they lasted. We also encountered Ben and Claire, an Alaskan couple towing surf boards, and tour-surfing the PNW. They spent the next few days with us, and proved to be great touring companions.
 
Day 6:

It was miserable, raining, slow-going for the first 17 miles to a town called Naselle.  Attempted a little something we like to call hitch-biking -- sticking out our thumbs while riding, hoping one of the seemingly omnipresent pickup trucks would pull over.  Not even the Jelly Belly slugbug showed us compassion.  Something good, however:  we enjoyed the best breakfast of the trip at Bapie's Corner Cafe in Naselle.  Ate the standard -- scrambled eggs, hashbrowns and toast and of course...coffee.  Upon exiting Bapie's, Shurly's front tire was completely flat.  Surprise surprise, but a blessing in disguise.  We set up tire-fixing shop on the intersection of Highway 4 and 104, stuck out our thumbs and were swiftly picked up by Ed and Janet who happily drove us across the Astoria Bridge, and into Astoria. Previously, we had set up a  warmshowers.org account--a touring cyclist community, where users offer housing, food, cars etc--and left a message for a couple in Astoria during our ride. Once we reached town, we got no response, and began researching hotels in the area. We found a Hostel, and as we were about to check in, Ben and Claire (the surf-tourers) invited us to share a yurt at the nearby Ft.

Dramatic sunset

Stevens State park. Mind you, these yurts are first come. After groceries and a few wrong turns, we were cut off by a minivan, who, in the end, sharked the last yurt, and so we were forced to tent it. After setting up our tent, the warmshowers couple called back, excited to host us, but of course, we had already passed their area, and couldn't take them up. Luckily, the sun came out, and we enjoyed a dramatic sunset on the coast, near Cape Disappointment.






Day 7:
We woke up, made pancakes, and were picked up by my friend from NOLS last year, Isabelle, and now are staying at her house for the next few days in Portland.

So that's that!  More to come.

Adventure Gestation

And so it begins. Tomorrow morning, we depart from Anacortes, Washington with two bikes, twelve waterproof bags, four pedals, six water bottles, two helmets, a bit of trepidation but mostly, a plethora of excitement.  

The beautiful Yellowstone River
 (and Allyson Carroll)

The marvelous cake pop

After a relaxing weekend spent passing through Montana (Jake in Gardiner, and Dory elsewhere), we drove the eight hours to Seattle in style.  That is, two bikes precariously perched on the rear end of my adorable blue car. Despite our moral dissent towards a certain large corporation, we enjoyed a new culinary innovation, the "cake pop." Additionally, Dory gave me a crash course on the inner workings of the male and female brains, respectively. 

   

It's strange to think that nine months ago, I was planning on spending my summer preparing to leave for Spain and Dory had a summer of changing diapers and feeding grilled cheese sandwiches to toddlers to look forward to.  We were hiking up the Rattlesnake one Saturday and started talking about camping on the beach.  And then bicycling.  And then how much we'd both like to have a grand adventure and spend a summer free of all the things we both carry around.  So it isn't a philanthropic venture, or really even a vacation, but rather an experiment in corporeal freedom.  How far can we travel on our own bodily power?  Add some nuts, bolts, steel and waterproof panniers, and here we are in Seattle at Bender's lovely Queen Anne home with an idea that's completed its nine-month gestation. Stay tuned...

Before...

...after

Preparing to prepare

All my gear. Seems pretty insignificant huh?

Hey everyone! Welcome to our blog. As you may or may not know, Dory Athey and myself will be setting out to conquer the pacific coast via bicycle beginning June 24.
So far, just the preparation has been a whirlwind. we've been buying gear--which is all specialized and hard to find somehow--installing said gear, packing it, planning the trip and then doing it all again. Although it's incredibly exciting, it's also stressful. An expedition like this takes significant time and resources, and we're lucky to have had both, as well as incredible help from our community. The future is unsure at best, but I take solace in the fact that we're as well prepared as possible. Before we take our first northern pedal strokes, it's a good feeling to know we've done our homework (or so we hope).
 So the gear is finally packed, our bikes are finely tuned and our legs... not so much (but we're not worried). Beginning in Anacortes,WA, we'll wind through the puget sound area before popping out in Astoria, OR. Our country's Independence Day will be spent in the fine city of Portland, OR, and after that, we're not sure of the timeline. Our terminus will lie in the Santa Barbara area, whereupon we will meet my mom on August 1st, and carpool back to the 303.

Our projected route,
 The Pacific Coast Hwy.

So that's the plan! We're in for rain, flat tires, logging trucks, beaches and good people, so hopefully you guys can live vicariously through our adventure. We've never done anything like this before, so comments, advice and enthusiasm are all appreciated.
I know there are thousands of travel blogs out there, but stay tuned on this one...I promise it will be a crazy ride.