June 3, 2021
Go to the hard places - w/ pictures
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Ross and I are big hockey fans. One saying that professional hockey coaches always say is “if you go to the hard areas on the ice (in front of the net) you will be rewarded with goals”. Today felt like a bike touring turn of that phrase “if you go to the hard roads you will be rewarded with amazing sights”.
We started the day in Rockport hoping to grab breakfast at the Rockport Bar and Grill. It was closed. So we road 13 miles to Marblemount for lunch. The ride was great, fairly flat roads, sunny skies and mountains all around. After lunch we had a 15 mile jaunt up to Newhalem. The one store in Newhalem was closed,so we just sat around and rested. The last 10 miles to the Colonial Creek campground was a lot of climbing. I would say it was 8 miles of climbing at about 6% gradient. It was difficult but we did it. Janet and my technique is to ride about a mile and then stop to catch our breath and then plod on. It is slow going but we make it to the top. The campground is great and our site is on the shores of Diablo lake with a huge mountain on the other side.
The sights on today’s ride were truly outstanding. The entire ride had the Skagit river next to the road with mountains on all sides. There were lots of rapids on the river. We saw so many waterfalls from little creeks and tributaries running into the river. The snow in the high areas is melting so every water way was full. We stopped and took pictures of many of the waterfalls but could not stop for them all. The wonderful thing about bike touring is that we go so slow that we can see and hear every little rushing water way.
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Tomorrow we try to conquer our first two passes. We will start climbing first thing and then climb for 30 miles. We have a hotel reservation in Winthrop tomorrow which is over 60 miles away. After the passes it will be all downhill.
Wish us luck!
Today's ride: 38 miles (61 km)
Total: 160 miles (257 km)
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