Life On A B-I7

A Tisket a Tasket I’m going to Tonasket… then on to Republic…

Today was tough. Perfect example of biting-off more than you should attempt to chew.

Tomorrow will be a tough day as well but with slightly less climbing. 4,100 ft. today, 3,800 ft. tomorrow. Fortunately tomorrow is fewer miles by about 20.

My buddy Mike with the KLR 650, back at the Omak campground, gave this to me to protect me on my ride. I plan to carry it in my pannier.

Itinerary

Today’s ride introduced me to a significant bit of climbing… 3,325 vertical. Getting hit with that out of the gate on day three is not my idea of an easy ride, but it was satisfying, even though grueling.

We are in the city park in Omak in a nice tent site. The fellow next to us is touring. He is on a KLR 650. He started at the Mexican border and is headed for the Arctic Circle. The three of us had a great time chatting about our tours!

Tomorrow will be a long day. You never know quite how far you are going to get until you get there…

Just follow the signs and you’ll be fine.

The public library in Twisp is smaller than I expected. One thing you don’t do on a cycling tour is carry books, for obvious reasons. The work that goes into deciding what to carry takes a fair amount of deliberation.

Itinerary

SAG drove this leg to detour around the winter washout on Highway 20.

Not a lot to be said about today. It was a seven hour drive to get back on route. That was the shortest way possible.

I’m grateful to have SAG along with me. The detour would have taken a week without SAG. The acronym stands for “Support and Gear.” Since SAG refers to support as well as the person supplying the support, I was cautioned by my SAG to be careful how I spelled that term. I was told under no circumstances was I to spell that with an “N” an “H,” or a B.”

Itinerary

I learned last night that Highway 20, my planned route east from here is closed due to rock slides that occurred during the winter. It probably won’t be open until early July, this calls for a slight adjustment to the plan.

I’m going to ride to Rockport which is about 18 miles east of the closure. My SAG and I will camp in the Newhalem State Park, then detour around the closure. The detour will require us to go south, over the Cascades at Stevens Pass, then go north and west to Winthrop. It’s about a 200 mile detour. The detour will bypass about 80 miles of the route. I’m planning to make that up at the end of the ride by adding a side trip or two, probably somewhere in Maine.

Before I left Oregon I took pledges from a dozen or so people for their support of the homeless shelter in town. When I reached Rockport I ducked into the town bar for a beer. After describing what I was doing to a couple of patrons there, one generous soul gave me some cash for the shelter. I was blown away. My hat is off to you (when I’m not wearing my cycling helmet.)

Ready to leave Anacortes.

Itinerary

For the next three months or so (if all goes according to plan) I’ll be posting a daily entry here describing my bicycle ride across the country. Each entry will usually contain a photo and a story about that day. It may be slightly bold to say this, but I hope you will enjoy the journey along with me. I would be delighted to have you drop in here from time-to-time…

We spent the day wandering the Main Street of Anacortes. We hade lunch at “Dockside Dogs.” They have one of the best dog menus I have ever seen. Locally sourced, top quality dogs. Naturally I had the “Anacortes Dog.” It was terrific. Five stars!

A small gathering of family and friends came together for a send-off dinner. We shared an amazing evening of good food and good company. I learned from my friends that a portion of the road ahead in the mountains east of here is closed due to winter road damage. I will have to detour around a 35 mile stretch of the route. Fortunately I have SAG support for my first week on the road.

Tomorrow begins the journey. Wish me luck!

This morning we left Redmond, Oregon for Anacortes, Washington — the start of my tour. We decide that rather than slog up I-5 all the way to Anacortes, we would cut-over to Mukilteo, just North of Seattle, and catch the Washington State Ferry to Whidbey Island. We drove up-island and crossed the famous Deception Pass bridge. Built in 1935, it is a landmark in Washington. We parked and walked across the bridge (see photo below) and enjoyed the view from this remarkably preserved structure. Whidbey Island State Park is the most visited park in the state of Washington. It encompasses the bridge on both sides. Tomorrow we plan to enjoy the city of Anacortes and have dinner with friends and family before I begin the tour on Monday.

The view from the Deception Pass bridge on Whidbey Island.