August 2, 2021
DAY 1 DETAILS from.DAN
Day 1:. 81 Miles / 6036 Feet of Elevation Gain (a solid and challenging day on the bike)
Dan was gracious enough to do the journal entry while standing behind the restroom at the campground that had limited WIFI. Hope you enjoy!
Epic Day 1 of my Dad’s tour and so grateful to share the time with him “Rockin’ in the boat.” Started the day early with a mess in the house from Mr. B. He must have known we were leaving and was nervous. He’s still a sweet dog.
Anywho. Sat and had coffee with Mr. B and Louise and watched the sun just peaking over the trees in our front room. Out and on the road and it was just beginning to be visible over the horizon. Perfect time to set out.
Mile 3: Launched down the Green Canopy downhill and was treated to the sun coming up behind the city. Stopped for some photos.
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Mile 12: Made it to the locks and watched an Army corps of engineer boat. Realized I forgot my book. Dang it! Ohh well. Made it out of Seattle by riding parallel streets to the busy roads. A lot of the roads were still closed due to COVID which made for easy miles with no cars. GREAT. We called this “getting cute” with the route. And for the most part it worked- until it didn’t.
Mile 30: Made it to 5 miles from the Ferry and should have turned down a busy road. Instead, opted to try and find a road that parallel it. Wrong move. Ended up on the wrong side of an airport, highway, and Boeing manufacturing plant
. 🤦
Mile 35: Tried to ride thru the Boeing plant and got turned around. Re-routed about 10ish rolling miles up and over at least one big climb. Got cute, got burned! 🔥 But we still made it and found a Calzone place for lunch- that made everything better.
Mile 45: Poked around the lighthouse by the ferry. Always fun to see. No lighthouse emoji- emoji people need to get on that.
Mile 55: Riding on Whidby was a roller coaster 🎢. Took a side road of 524 down to the water. Beautiful view. Paid the price having to go up at least 2 big climbs. Resort road was a hit. Beautiful trees with no cars- worth it. But still another big climb to get back to 524. After that made the decision to just get to the camp site.
Mile 65: stopped to pause. Dad had a gel. 16 miles to go on the GPS. Knew it was time to dig deep. Worst road of the day with no shoulder. Made it to a gas station (they were few and far between) at mile 75. Didn’t realize how empty I was on fuel until I was in the gas station grabbing a ton of stuff. Gatorade. Chips. 100 grand bars. Ranchers mix (my favorite). Ate and drank and felt much better. Trail all the way to the campground. Thankful to get off the busy road for the last part of the trip.
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Mile 80: down the hill to register our camp site. Registration closed. Sign pointing back up the hill for campsite. Rude. Last big climb to our campsite.
Mile 81: made it safely and shared a big hug. So great to cover the miles and challenge myself alongside my dad. One for the books.
Today's ride: 81 miles (130 km)
Total: 81 miles (130 km)
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