Day 1 

Today was an emotional send off - thankful to Matt and Robyn for being there and joining us on the first part of the ride! Thanks to Ross’s friends also! A special thank you to Robyn and Matt for taking care of our dog Remington for the next 3 months. We will miss you all!  

The ride today was short - only 31 miles and on well known roads.  It felt good to get started! There were a few climbs that I chose granny for. Heck, she’s there, so why not use her. My legs are tired, and I’m sure my legs will remind me of that tomorrow, but that’s why we do low mileage to start out with. About 20 miles in we stopped in Fairhaven and ate lunch. A veggie burger and chocolate malt for me. Yum!  My legs never appreciate those stops when there are still hills to climb. Glad my lunch stayed down as we went up! Made it to Larrabee state park around 4 and set up camp. Time to do some cooking now.

Day 2

Tent sleeping is rough after not doing it for so long, and I found it very uncomfortable, but hopefully it will improve over time.  Getting up and out of the tent and seeing a dear peek at me from behind a tree was a great start to my day!  The first day of breaking camp was a little rough and time consuming, but I’m thankful for the labels I put inside my bags to keep track of what goes where. On the road again -

We decided to eat a breakfast bar instead of spending time making more and cleaning up since it was a shorter ride to the next campsite. Bad decision - I was starving before we got to real food. My legs were tired, but I was happy with how they felt riding Chuckanuts hills. We made it to the campgrounds at Bay View, dropped the bags and headed for Anacortes for lunch. Late lunch. Protein bar to tide me over.  I have a feeling I’m going to be really tired of protein bars by the end of this trip!  Had a good lunch, stopped for groceries for dinner and headed back to the campsite. I’d really like a cold glass of milk with dinner. Only day 2...

Day 3

Sleep was a little more comfortable last night, but still not good. Lots of noises to get used too, and who knew raccoons were so talkative!

We left Bay View campground and had a short climb right away. I hate climbing before my legs warm up. Tired legs...

We spent a portion of the day on a gravel bike path. At one point it went to large gravel and I hit the side of a rock and went down. Just the bike, not me thank goodness! The last 5 miles were a climb, but my legs are feeling strong. I need to stop every so often to rest; taking it slow and easy. I’m ok with that.

Sleep finally happened, sooo happy with that!

Day 4

Legs are tired but working. We stopped for lunch in Marblemount. I had a black bean burger and coffee. Upset stomach the rest of the day. No more black bean burgers, no more coffee? Nah - can’t be the coffee! Crackers are helpful!

10 miles of climbing got a little tiring but breaks help a lot. The uphill in the tunnel was NOT fun. I was very scared when campers zoomed by us with oncoming traffic. Shaking like crazy by the time I made it thru ☹️ 

I feel bad because I think I am slowing Terry and Ross down but Terry keeps reassuring me that all is good. Ross too is assuring me all is well as he waits for us.

Ended the day riding downhill and chatted with a deer that was grazing on the side of the road 😊

Campsite is great, right on the water.

Day 5

The night did not bring restful sleep sad to say, and with the stomach issues of the previous day, I was careful with food intake. Turns out that was a bad decision when cycling 66 miles without breakfast or lunch, only snack bars and water.

What a day!

Started out wind to our faces uphill 2 miles to a rest area before continuing on. Didn’t quite make it, wind blew me almost over so I walked the last little bit to the rest area. Beautiful views!

Onward and upward, but amazingly the wind shifted to our backs. All was good for many miles! Views were amazing, and so many waterfalls. 

And then the climb got steeper and my body needed food. The days climb got harder and harder and I got very disappointed in my ability to climb. At one point I was actually “bonking” as Terry referred to it. I could barely stand and I was very emotional. Terry gave me a cookie and half a protein bar with water and I was much better.  Terry was very supportive and waited for me to catch up often. Ross also was very supportive and cheered me on. He also took some of my load eventually and that really helped!

I did try to walk when I felt I couldn’t make it but the walking was worse so back on the bike I went, slowly but surely. The downhill was amazing but brake usage was high!! 

Mazama was a welcome sight for food and rest, but still had 12 miles to go. Definitely had saddle soars that did not like being seated on a bicycle again.

Made it to Winthrop with not an ounce of energy to spare. I was very disappointed to find that our room was on the 2nd floor with no elevator ☹️ Got the bags off the bike and several trips up and down stairs to end the days physical activities. Shower time!!! Rash cream!!!! Sleep!!!!!

Day 6

Rest day! I couldn’t imagine trying to do another pass today, so I am very thankful for this rest. My rash is healing so hopefully tomorrow back in the saddle will not be as painful. 

Laundry day, eat in restaurant day, hotel bed again tonight - all is good!