Day 12, 8/26/08

We had a great night sleep. Just out of Cathlamet a couple miles we will be catching the ferry to Oregon. We will not miss rainy Washington.

We are now in Oregon! It's probably just psychological, but it seems to be a relief to be out of Washington. A short 3-4 mile ride brought us to a ferry across the Columbia river to Oregon. From Westport to Astoria, OR, we faced 5-6 climbs, each over 600 feet. But they were long and gradual hills, so not that bad. We broke for lunch at Knappa Junction, eating our beloved peanut butter, banana sandwiches.

The weather was overcast skies, cool to warm temps. Perfect cycling weather. We ended our day in Astoria, staying at the Hideaway Inn & Hostel ($44). The nearest camping spots were 10 miles away and we needed to do laundry, update the blog and hit the bike shop anyway, so the hostel was a good plan for the night. The hostel had a laundry facility, so that was helpful. We ate at a nearby cafe. Supper was a sandwich of fried oyster, bacon and tomato sandwich. Delicious.

Day 11, 8/25/08

We were shooting to cross into Oregon today. To our surprise, we almost made it. I say surprise because it started raining again (of course) and we also expected several steep climbs along the way. We were near the town of Castle Rock around mid-day and it began raining. It seemed like a good time to eat lunch anyway, so we holed up in a pizza parlor and waited for the rain to subside. The pizza was very good. We were lucky to have a place to stay dry as it poured rain outside. The rain stopped and we pressed on.

The hills out of Castle Rock weren't that bad and we made good time over the next 30 miles. SR 4 along the Columbia river was not that good. The shoulders were often narrow and of pour condition and the traffic was heavy.

We rolled into Cathlamet around 7 pm. A kid on his bike, Tony, offered to show us where the Marina was located. That's where we were planning on camping for the night. As we were heading over there just a few blocks away, yeah, you guessed it, it began to rain hard. He guided us to a sheltered area where we waited it out. Cold, wet, miserable, still sick. Again. After the rain subsided, we checked with the camp host and then went to check out our camping site - right at the edge of the water next to some RVs camping. Not excited about camping at the water's edge where it was windy, wet and cold, we opted for the $80 cabin up the hill.

After hot showers, we had a homemade pasta dinner with sausage, onions, peppers and mushrooms. Some red wine, & peanut butter cookies.

Day 10, 8/24/08

Another rainy, miserable day for cycling. Was overcast, but not raining when we left Centralia. It wasn't long before it was drizzling though. Big climb leaving the Centralia area. We also had some pretty sweet descents. Soon it was raining. We took shelter under a huge cottonwood tree as we were passing over a bridge. The rain eventually subsided and we pressed on. Of course it started raining again and even harder than earlier.



We had stopped along the side of SR508 when a guy drove by and shouted that we could use his carport as temporary shelter if we wanted. His name was Clayton. We took him up on his offer and sat for around 45 minutes but it didn't let up much. It was after 4 pm so we needed to move on despite the rain.



We figured that we had another 10 miles or so to make it to Toledo where they had a community park we could camp in. But I could tell that we were in desperate need of some fuel, so we pulled under the cover of an abandon gas station and we each ate one of our fabulous peanut butter, banana sandwiches made on our favorite Oregon hazelnut bread. With full tummies, we headed on to Toledo in the rain.

We did stop at the Lewis and Clark State Park. It was pouring and we were cold. We found a nice covered picnic patio area we could camp under but decided to take our chances in Toledo. Boy, was that a good call. What we found in Toledo was indescribable. They have a community park with gorgeous trees, horseshoe pits, playgrounds, BBQ pit, and a giant open club house area with a huge fireplace in the middle. It was large enough to house a dozen picnic tables and a sink area. We found the camp host and paid our $10. It was pouring and we were drenched and cold.




After a quick trip to the grocery store, we took long hot showers. We hung up our wet clothes, stuffed our wet shoes with newspapers and built a fire and started cooking. Tonight we are having a chili size on ciabatta bread with chopped onions and aerosol cheese.







We pitched our tent on the floor in front of the fireplace. Right behind the club house was a wood shed, so we had all the wood we needed. We took advantage of that and had a raging fire for a few hours. By the end of the evening we were totally refreshed and content. Total mileage 32 miles. Max speed 42 mph.

Day 9, 8/23/08

What a great day this was. Sunny skies and warm. Plus it was Sam's birthday. A few hills in the beginning, but the route was mostly flat to a gentle decline. We are both beginning to feel better. Not much traffic and the countryside was very scenic (except for the 2-3 blocks of trashy houses & the one house with a woman sleeping on a mattress in the front yard).




When we stopped for lunch in Elma, the bank sign said it was 80 degrees. Lunch was a wonderful $4 hoagie. Took Sam out for a nice big birthday dinner at Country Cousin. Stayed at the fine Motel 6. Total mileage was 60 miles, 57 along the main route.

A birthday gift for Sam from his right pedal.

Day 8, 8/22/08

Today was a better cycling day. 38 miles total, and all but 3 in a forward direction. We planned to cover 50 or so. But that was before we ran into Al. More about him later.

No rain and sunny skies. Thank God! A couple crazy hills, but mostly flat or rollers. All in all, not a bad cycling day but we both clearly are sick with a head cold or something. We were leaving the town of Shelton for Elma and had realized that we had missed a turn and needed help with directions when Al showed up. He had pulled off the side of the road and approached us with an offer to stay at his place. He explained that he belonged to the network http://www.warmshowers.org/ , a website just for cyclists who exchange places to stay. His place was right on the route about 5 miles from where we were. At first, we didn't know what to think. Al's enthusiasm was the type you would either see from someone inviting us to a revival or to an Amway sales meeting. With both of us feeling under the weather, we figured we might as well stop by. And what a great decision that was.

Al lives with his wife Donna and son Lewis in a house on a hill that he built himself. He had a queen size bed in the garage for us and a hot shower. He made us an incredible spaghetti dinner, a couple cold beers, veggies, fresh fruit and blueberry pound cake that Donna had made. The next morning, breakfast was pancakes with fresh picked blueberries. They put a candle in Sam's pancake and Lewis played happy birthday on the piano. Their home and hospitality was truly a respite and an oasis along our journey. One of our highlights for sure. Thanks, Al.

Day 7, 8/21/08

Words cannot express how happy we are that it is not raining this morning. We were both pretty worn out from yesterday and needed a break. We slept in until 8:30. After we broke camp, we stopped at the public library and spent an hour updating our blog. We had plans to also do laundry, but we had had enough of Bremerton. Eventually, we managed to get back on the main route - 10 miles later! Not only was it way off route, but hilly almost every step of the way.









Made it down to Bellfair, did laundry, then stopped by the store on our way to camp at Bellfair State Park. Arrived at our campsite around 9 pm. Dinner tonight was pan fried steak, pre-seasoned with lemon pepper, instant powdered potatoes with a can of corn and hot chilies thrown in and capped off with a giant piece of german chocolate cake. Delicious. Total distance for the day was only 29 miles and 10 of that was just getting out of Bemerton. Jeez.

Day 6, 8/20/08

We turned in our best mileage today, 57 miles. Some was not in the forward direction, but was still a very challenging day. It was clearly our toughest ride yet. Not just because of the distance, but for most of the ride it either drizzled or poured rain. Early in the ride and late afternoon, early evening, it was partly sunny. We decided to camp at Iillanhee State Park. Our map said it was 3 miles NE of Bremerton, WA, but it turned out to be much further than that and very hilly. It took us around 1.5-2 hours to get there once we were in the town of Bremerton.

It was not raining once we arrived at the campsite around 8:20 pm. The first thing we did was pitch our tent. By the time we each took a hot shower, well, the hot water ran out halfway into my shower, so mine was ice cold, it had begun to drizzle again. Not cooking anything tonight. We set in the drizzling rain and ate fried chicken, broccoli salad and triscuits we picked up at a nearby store. Food never tasted so good. It poured much of the night but our tent kept us both dry. We both like rain, but are getting tired of it for sure. The ranger said that it was the wettest Aug. 20 on record.

Earlier in the day we met up with some folks on bike tours. We were discussing gear and safety and such and this old gal came up to me later and gave me an extra safety triangle she had. Very sweet. We strapped it on the back of Sam's bike.

Another couple riding a tandem bike was in the lead when we crossed the Hood Canal. What a scary, yet exciting ordeal that was. It was a long bridge, narrow lane for bikes, lots of traffic and it was raining hard. And given all that, some jerk in an SUV actually honked at us.

Day 5, 8/19/08

Another "admin" day. First thing we did this morning was to go through each bag and inventory each item to select things that we could live without and mail back home. It was overcast, damp, and cool once we got rolling around 11 am. Four miles down the road was the ferry to Port Townsend, WA. While we were waiting for the ferry, we met a couple on the final stretch of a bike tour around the perimeter of the US. Their mileage had just crossed the 10,000 mark earlier in the day. Their final journey will come in around 11,200 miles. We had a really nice chat about gear, touring experiences, sharing tips, etc.. You can check out their journey at jeffandnike.com.

After a 30 minute ferry ride, we arrived to partly sunny skies and very quaint town of Port Townsend. We stopped for a slice of pizza at a sidewalk cafe and listened to a woman sing while playing her accordion. Both the pizza and the entertainment were excellent. Next stop was the post office to ship back 10 pounds of gear. Our final chore for the day was doing a load of laundry at the laundry mat. Fun.

Once we got rolling again, it was around 6:30 pm. It was windy, cold, and drizzling again. We found our campground for the night about 5 miles down the road at the Old Fort Townsend State Park. Dinner tonight was red beans & rice with some ham and a few dice hot chilles thrown in. Excellent. Cycling distance was only 15 miles today, but the things we worked on needed to be done. We feel like we are getting handle on things.

Day 4, 8/18/08

After a breakfast of hot coffee, oatmeal with fresh blueberries and chopped apples, we were ready to roll. Today we rode from Bay View State Park to Coupville, WA for a total of 48 miles. We were planning on camping at Ft. Eby State Park, about 4 miles south of Coupville, but it had been raining lightly off and on the entire day and grew more steady and then pouring as we got close to the park.



Soaked to the bone with either no clean or no dry cycling clothes for the next day, we decided a motel was once again in order. The hot shower and big supper was indescribable. In addition to the rain, we had climbed some serious hills. Was a hard ride today.





We saw some gorgeous scenery today. The highlight was crossing a long bridge, in 2 sections above Deception Pass. It looked to be about 170' above above the water. We figured our chances were better to ride on the walkway rather than the road that did not have any shoulder and the traffic was heavy.





The walkway was narrow, however, with just a bit of clearance for our rear panniers. We would occasionally either wobble and bump against the railing on the water side, or against the cable stretched along the roadside. Was a bit unnerving.
















Before the rain got out of hand, we stopped at a fresh produce stand in the late afternoon and picked up a small bag of new potatoes and basket of loganberries. Back in our motel room, we boiled the potatoes for snacking on our ride for tomorrow. Probably the only disappointment for the day was not finding fresh oysters on the menu at our motel.

Day 3, 8/17/08

Didn't cover much mileage today, as we had some things to take care of in Bellingham. We did put in 32 miles, but 7-8 of those were backtracking (forgot to mention that we rode 51 miles on Day 2). After we broke camp at 7:30, we headed up to find REI. We had plenty of time to kill, so we stopped at IHOP for a rather large breakfast and read the Sunday paper. It was raining lightly. Next stop was Kinkos to use their computer to update the blog, then on to REI. They worked us in and got the Randonee tuned up and we were back on the road. On our way out of town, we stopped and took a picture of the front of the coon house on Chuckanut Road.

We made it down to a town called Bay View, WA and camped at the state park there. It was a very nice campground, complete with hot pay showers.

Day 2, 8/16/08

We took advantage of staying at a motel to do some laundry before we started riding. Not bad as yesterday, but another late start. The US border is approximately 13 miles from where we were staying in Surrey, B.C.. First stop was a produce stand, stopping to buy some trail mix, blueberries and some hot chilies. Early in this ride we encountered a very tough climb. And it was scorching hot. We took a break near the summit to regroup. The weight of the gear on my bike is an issue. We will be taking an inventory soon to see what non-essentials can be mailed back home. Crossing the border was a breeze. We flew past a very, very long line of cars and trucks and got right through.

We ate a late lunch around 3 pm in Ferndale, WA. Was nice to get out the heat. Some guy we asked for directions thought we were nuts to be out in the heat riding our bikes. Then when we told him we were riding to Mexico, he wanted to go get his video camera to film us. We ended up the day in Bellingham, WA. There is an REI here and I need to take my touring bike (Novara Randonee purchased from REI) for a early warranty tune up. The derailer and brake cables needs adjusting, which is normal for any new bike. Sam had a minor spill, starting a climb in too high of a gear. Bruised hip, lacerated elbow, and broken sunglasses. He's gonna feel that tomorrow.

It was too late in the day to go to REI. There weren't any campgrounds nearby, so we decided to "guerrilla camp". We eventually found a great spot behind an boarded up house at the edge of a wooded area. We pitched our tent and got to bed early. We were awakened by a family of raccoons who lived under the house, curious about what kind of food they may find in our gear. We managed to scare them off and got a pretty decent night sleep.

Day 1, 8/15/08

OK, the bikes and gear arrived safely. By the time we got them reassembled and loaded with our gear, it was already late afternoon when we left the train station. On the way over to the starting point of the ride, which was at Vanier park in Vancouver, we stopped by a bike shop to borrow their tire pump and to purchase fenders for my bike. Installing those took another hour so that by the time we actually started the ride, it was after 5 pm. But to actually be there, at the beginning of the ride, with the Vancouver skyline across the water, the mountains in the background and the gorgeous partly cloudy weather was quite a thrill.

We put in 35 miles on day 1, which was pretty good given our late start. Sam turned in a great performance on his first day out, considering his lack of cycling experience. We also found ourselves cycling in the dark, requiring us to stay at a motel again since we were not near any campgrounds.

Still in Vancouver

TONY: This is a story about an adventure. I have been dreaming of riding my bike south along the Pacific coast from Vancouver, British Columbia to the Mexican boarder since I learned of this popular bicycle tour in 2005. The first thought to pop into my head when I got the recent news of my impending lay off was "Awesome! Now I will have the time to do that ride"

I estimate that the ride will take approximately 30 days, riding with all the gear necessary to camp and cook my meals along the way. I was planning to do the ride solo until just a couple weeks ago. Then my brother Sam got laid off as well and decided to join me. I was happy to have company and thrilled it was one of my brothers.

We are in Vancouver at the moment as we post our first blog. In almost every one of the long bike rides I have done in the past, I have experienced challenges beyond just covering the distance and this ride has been no exception. We have not even begun the ride and already we have had two curve balls. The first came in having difficulty removing the pedals from one of the bikes when we were packing them at the Amtrak station. We were forced to pack the bike with them on and am hoping the bike is not damaged in transit. The other curve ball was a delay in the gear arriving as scheduled and having to spend an additional night in Vancouver. I am keeping my fingers crossed that the bikes and gear arrive as promised and all in good shape.

We will post trip reports and pictures of our journey along the way whenever possible.

SAM: I'm not sure what to expect, but i'm very excited to get rolling! It seems as though we've done a lot of sitting and now it's GO time.