Our first two Passes

May 31, 2024

Diablo to Twisp

The good news, there's only one hill .. The bad news, there's only one hill.

Cumulative miles 208

Average speed today 10.1

The tiny house on the right was our accommodations for the evening...Sarah tented nearby

This was an old motel and Cafe our hosts are looking to rehab.

Wow, that first two or three miles out of the campground were scary hard. Sarah was originally thinking it might be 10 hours just to reach the top of the passes (about 33 miles from our start). I was thinking she might be right. Fortunately things improved quickly, sorta of.

Diablo lake. Okay this was a cheap excuse to catch our breath in the first few miles. Still, a great vista.

It was still 5k feet of climbing over 33 or so miles. Okay the visuals were quite the wonderful distraction. Really quite stunning. In Addition, we had a good shoulder often of macadam ( the road is chip and seal). We average 7.25 miles on the climb up.

One of a gazillion on the way up Rainy Pass

Enjoying a roadside al fresco brunch of peanut butter, cheese, and crackers.

The last of the dams on the Skagit supplying Seattle, at Ross lake.

Once, just below the top of Washington pass, Tina realized her brakes weren't working right. She wisely took it down slowly, and it was a long and steep ride down. We eventually made our way to the ONLY bike shop between Bellingham, WA and Cut Point Idaho in Winthrop. METHOW CYCLE AND SPORT Yes we are lucky! today. These guys saved our bacon by replacing a kinked brake cable. This of course was at the end of a day and they are hopping with business to begin with. Our kudos and thanks can not be great enough.

Our view between Rainy and Washington Passes. It'll keep you occupied and distracted, a bit, from the climb.

And still another view from the top. See what I mean... So easy to be entertained out here.

It turned out our warm showers was not in the town of Twisp but about 3 miles beyond. This just turned into a further difficult evening for various reasons. But we finally settled in with two passes under our belts and so grateful for a place to stay.

Today's ride: 77 miles (124 km)
Total: 207 miles (333 km)

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Peter CameronJust amazing, Just amazing.
Thanks for images.
Will share with Anne-Marie.
Take Care.
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5 months ago