Seattle, WA

Day 69 (04 August 2014)
Snohomish, WA to Seattle, WA
Day:  42.97 miles, Trip:  4286.13 miles (+110.87 miles)

We were suppose to sleep in today, but by the time I got up most people were getting ready to leave for breakfast. Its weird waking up and having the only tent left standing in a field that was a one point full of tents. I managed to get packed, give my closing interview with Duncan and make it to the Second Street Diner in time to have breakfast. It is the entire crew so we swarmed the place and they handled it very well. The food was amazing and even Andy found a breakfast that he couldn't finish.



After breakfast we attempted to stay in a group today. It was clear that it wasn't going to work. Between flat tires and new Michelle not being ready for the surprising climbs it wasn't effective constantly waiting for people and even more importantly not safe. So Kristen and I rode with Michelle and I am pretty sure the rest of them broke into smaller groups as well. At least it seemed that way when they passed us. We all met up again at the Gas Works Park. There we also picked up Don and a few others.

We successfully rode as a group to the Peddlers Brewery for drinks and food from a taco truck. At the pre-tire dip party we also had the check presentation ceremony. From here we headed as a group to the water for the tire dip ceremony. It took a bit to get organized but we got the pictures and then dipped the bikes and the clothes and all went into the water and celebrated with bottles of champagne. We got into the groups that we associated with for even more pictures.



After the celebration we moved to the Edgewater Hotel. This hotel is much nicer than we would normal be in. We are talking fancy. We got our showers and clean clothes and collected in the parking lot for a little party. We were joined by some of the Trans Am crew who came up before heading back to Virginia.We eventually had to move the party and then break it up around 8 pm. At this point it was time for dinner so it wasn't so bad. I decided not to walk a long distance for pizza and instead Kristen and I went for Vietnamese at Green Leaf Vietnamese. The food was good and we had a good waiter. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and were relaxing in bed watching mindless tv when we fell asleep. Another great day, and great ending to the trip.

Snohomish, WA

Day 68 (03 August 2014)
Darrington, WA to Snohomish, WA
Day:  50.73 miles, Trip:  4243.16 miles

Today ended up being much shorter than expected. We rode into Arlington, WA for breakfast at a local cafe. From Arlington we got on a bike trail that took us south to Snohomish, WA. The trail was nice except all the road crossings that made you slow down. This is expected as you approach a major city.

This morning I started out by myself but after 5 miles the fast group caught up to me and I hopped on their wheel and rode with them to breakfast and then with Richard and Michelle after breakfast.  We rolled into Snohomish which is a nice town. We decided to head into town first for some froyo instead of going straight to camp. This was followed by showers at the aquatic center (which were great in terms of swimming pool showers).

Back at camp Kate's family brought us dinner and drinks. Thank you it was appreciated. We also had some of Richard's family and Michelle's family came to join us as well. This included Molly who is riding with us tomorrow. We also had a new rider with us today. Michelle B is riding the last two days with us.

After dinner we were given index cards and wrote superlatives. We then took turns reading them out and guessing who it described. There really was no guessing, we have all gotten to know each other pretty well. I think it was a great idea and we all enjoyed it.

16 Flats

0 Flats

Darrington, WA

Day 67 (02 August 2014)
Diablo Lake, WA to Darrington, WA
Day:  55.27 miles, Trip:  4192.43 miles

The first stop of the day was at the Northern Cascades National Park Visitor Center outside of Newhalem, WA. From here it was over to Marblemount, WA for the first rest stop. We found a great place and following breakfast the girl at the espresso hut gave us free coffee. It turns out she has MS.

 

Shortly after Marblemount we headed south on Hwy 530 leaving the ACA route and heading towards Seattle. Now it is really sinking in that it is the end, we are skipping the last 70 miles towards Anacortes and instead turning south to Seattle. I arrived in Darrington, WA with Kristen and we stopped at the grocery store and then did the last 3 miles to the campground. It is an ok spot. The sites are nice but the bathroom is far and not the cleanest. I opted to join the card group tonight and joined Michelle, Jen and Richard for some hearts. Another great day of riding, I am really loving Northern Washington.

Diablo Lake, WA

Day 66 (01 August 2014)
Winthrop, WA to Diablo Lake, WA
Day:  64.73 miles, Trip:  4137.16 miles

Another early start. I was o the road by 6:30. It was a nice ride to Mazama where I stopped at the little shop for breakfast. What I thought was a short time later I see Larry and Kristen and Connor.  I realized it was actually 8:30 and I had spent way too much time in this awesome shop. So I headed out to start the climbing.














The climb was amazing with cool temperatures, beautiful scenery, only moderate traffic and I am feeling great. This was my best days ride of the entire trip. I was just blown away with the day. At the top of Washington Pass there was a bombing descent  that I hit in the 40s mph without even trying. I just sat back and enjoyed the views. At the top of Rainy Pass we crossed the Pacific Crest Trail. Too bad my brother won't be here for a month or so. From Rainy Pass it was another long descent with lots of stops down to Lake Diablo where we are camping for the night.



Somewhere between Washington Pass and Lake Diablo I passed a motorcyclists who started pedaling his legs as he passed me. I was already having an amazing day and that just made it so much better.







The camp site is amazing with large trees, the closest we are going to get feeling like wild camping. There is very limited space for tents but tons of trees to set up hammocks. During the night a park ranger came and complained about the noise, the number of tents, how the vans were parked and the fact that there were decals on the van and trailer. He issued hollow threats. We took care of the things that could be seen from the road and then ignored the rest.

Winthrop, WA

Day 65 (31 July 2014)
Tonasket, WA to Winthrop, WA
Day: 73.26 miles, Trip: 4072.43 miles

I got up early (4 am to be exact). It ended up being myself, Kristen, Richard, Joe and Andy. We rode out of town around 5 am (at first light). It is a lot better riding in the morning than the heat of the day. We stopped for breakfast at McDonalds in Omak (all but Joe). The climb started right after Okanogan and it was a lot steeper than I was expecting. But about halfway up it got better. Duncan found me about 5 miles to the top and refilled my water bottles and gave me a banana. At the top I  met 2 self contained cyclists and chatted with them for awhile before heading down from Loup Loup Pass.

We have been seeing and smelling the smoke for awhile now but when I started heading down from Loup Loup I could really taste it. This is the first stretch where we actually traveled through the burned area and see first hand the destruction. These fires around Twisp and Winthrop are part of the larger Carlton Complex wildfire site. In this area over 300 homes have been destroyed. All day long we have been passing various fire groups from all over that are here to help with the fires. Thanks to the drought that the area is seeing, this is the worst season for wildfires that Washington has ever seen. In addition to the charred areas we could see smoke rising and helicopters flying to the active fire zones.

Tonight we are staying in Winthrop, WA (pop 400) at the Winthrop KOA. When we arrived in town the early riders all stopped by Hwy 20 Pizza for some delicious pizzas and a few beers and back to the KOA for a nap. I didn't really take advantage of the campground amenities. All I used was the shower. I did some napping in the shade and opted against going out. Planning on another early morning to limit my heat exposure again tomorrow.