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.