Consistent ... Ever So Consistent (June 28, 2019)

It has been eight days of riding since we left Anacortes, WA, and there have been two elements of the ride that have had a consistent presense in our daytime travels.

The ever present beauty of the Cascade Mountain Range is sometimes overpowering ... from the towering mountains to a view as simple as a beautiful meadow.  After a while one seems to become numb to the beauty ... kind of a, "Oh yeah, just another scenic view worthy of capturing, but I just don't feel like taking the trouble to stop and snap the photo."  The beauty of traveling via a bicycle is that biking allows one to take in most of the beauty at a slow speed (as opposed to the 60 - 70 MPH of the passing vehicles).

Although I must admit, toward the end of most days I am quite envious of those traveling down the road at 70 MPH.

We have covered around 420 miles in these eight days, which if traversed on reasonably flat roads would bring much joy into one's remembrance of those eight days.  However, the majority of those eight days consisted of substantial climbing through the Cascade Mountain Range ... consistent climbing, I might emphatically add.  There are four or five major mountain-top passes between Anacortes and Newport, WA ... passes that typically require four to five hours of grinding the granny gear, upward at a wobbling 3 to 4 MPH ... consistently 3 to 4 MPH ... consistently painfull.

But that having been said, the down hills are filled with 30 MPH+ pure glee.

I rode this same route back in 2010 and I have discovered that unlike fine wine, the ageing process does not necessarily improve all things.  This 70 year-old body (particularly these 70 year-old legs) yearn for that that existed nine years ago.  Consistently ... late in the day ... yearns.

Oddly enough, one other physical change that has apparently occurred over these past years has been a reduction in body mass that used to exist between my "sit bones" and my bike's saddle ... much less cushion these days!

But the major climbs are behind us and Glacier National Park is about a week on down the road.  Today we will have a short 30 mile ride into Sandpoint, ID.  We will be taking a rest day in Sandpoint tomorrow that will allow our bodies to relax and partially recover from those grinding climbs.  Sandpoint is the first sizable town we have visited on this ride, so looking forward to browsing a few book stores and just enjoying a sense of urbanization.

After riding up the fabled Glacier N.P. "Going to the Sun" road (video of ride down the road), we will be heading south to Missoula, MT.  From there I will be heading west across central Washington with the goal of riding on the north and west sides of Olympic Peninsula, and then down to Astoria, OR.  After that ... don't know.  At this point Kim is undecided as to where her adventure will take her after Missoula, but she is considering several exciting options.

Speaking of Kim, she has been quite diligent in providing information about our daily experiences, so for a more detailed look at our ride, please visit her Biking With the Tailwind - 2019.

Sometimes I find myself wondering how I have become to be such a lucky individual so as to be able to experience the joys of long-distance bicycle touring at my age.  I would like to suggest that this is all due to living a sin-free life, eating a healthy diet and generally treating my body as a temple ... but unfortunately there are too many friends still alive who would laugh at such a suggestion.

Never-the-less ... life is good.

Eye Candy (June 22, 2019)

As indicated in the previous post, the climbing required to get over both Rainy Pass and Washington Pass in one day was very painful ... but it led to some incredible scenery.  Following are a few of the views that caught my eye.








Lost Ten Pounds (June 22, 2019)

Once again ... many days, many miles.

Quick summary of our daily miles and over-night locations:  Left Anacortes June 20, and rode to Concrete, WA ... 44 miles; next day, 46 miles to Colonial Creek Campground; today, 54 miles to Mazama, WA.

The route we are following is the initial leg of a cross-country route put together by the Adventure Cycling Assn., called 'The Northern Tier".  This leg of the route basically follows WA-20 highway ... and we will be following it for the next few weeks as we head to Glacier National Park.

For the most part, the first two days were flat rides, with much in the way of nice scenery.  I say, "For the most part", because the final ten miles of the second day provided ten miles of ass-kicking climbing ... ouch to the MAX!  But as I said, up to that point blissful riding prevailed.  The adjacent photo was taken west of Concrete when we were riding The Cascade Trail.  The Cascade Trail is a rail-to-trail hard-packed dirt/gravel multi-use path ... most enjoyable.

What was not enjoyable was today's ride, which included approximately 5300 feet of climbing in the initial 37 miles, which when added to the final ten miles of climbing the previous day resulted in ouch to the ULTRA UBER MAX.  Today we made it over both Rainy Pass and Washington Pass.  As the old adage suggests, "What goes up must come down."  And come down we did!  High-speed descent for a majority of the final 17 miles today ... screaming high-speed descent which brings great joy to cyclists who have spent most of the day climbing at 3 MPH.

There will be three or four more major climbs/passes in the next several days.  So my guess is that I will either be in great shape ... or ready to be placed in a local Emergency Room.

No doubt I am indeed losing weight, but the ten pounds I referred to in the title of this post has to do with the United States Postal Service and their Priority Mail service.  Guess when one waits until the last moment to pack for a bike tour, one is not very discriminating as to what one brings along for the ride.  We stopped at a USPS office in Burlington, and I became very discriminating as to what I really need.

Had I not off-loaded those ten pounds then I would most likely be posting this from the local E.R.

Off to Glacier N. P. (June 20, 2019)


Many a day and many a mile have passed since gloriously sailing down the west face of McKenzie Pass.

The fifty mile ride into Eugene, though tiresome, was relatively easy.  Spent a couple of enjoyable days in Eugene with Nancy O'Brien ... always enjoy my visits to the very bike-friendly city.

The next phase of travel started very early on Monday, June 17 ... 5:30 A.M. train to Seattle.  The train ride was very comfortable, arriving mid-day at the Amtrak King Station.  From there, I had the task of making my way through the downtown area to catch the Washington State Ferry to Bainbridge Island.  I had anticipated that this was to be a somewhat troublesome task due to my proclivity for getting myself misdirected.  As it turned out it was a mere ten minute, eight block ride.  I arrived at the preloading area for the ferry about five minutes prior to loading ... thirty minute boat ride and I was at my end-of-day destination.  Glory be, not an iota of misdirection adding to my day.

The following day I rode the forty five miles to Port Townsend, for which about 2/3s of the ride was enjoyable.  But, that remaining 1/3 was not high on my "let's do that again" scale.  Hills and enough misting rain to require donning rain jacket and pants ... off-and-on ... both the rain and the jacket/pants.  Thankfully, the final fifteen miles into Port Townsend was dry and sunny. 

After arriving at my motel, showering and resting, I walked to the old town section of Port Townsend.  Very interesting collection of architecturally ornate three and four story brick structures dating back to the 1880s.  Some have been beautifully restored (as the adjacent photo shows), while others await being saved. 

From Port Townsend I took the ferry over to Whidbey Island, then rode the thirty five miles to Anacortes.  My long time riding partner since 2012, Kim Basinger, had arrived in Anacortes the prior day after spending a couple of weeks on Vancouver Island.  It is a joy to reconnect after not seeing her since I abruptly stopped my participation, due to health issues, on our ride two years ago.  This trip is somewhat of a continuation of what we had planned for back in 2017.

So today we head out towards Glacier National Park ... two-and-a-half weeks (or so) of riding through the Cascade Mountain range.  I rode this route in 2010 ... wonder how my legs have aged. 

McKenzie Pass, What a Joy (June 14, 2019)

Oh what fun ... well worth the wait.

I left Sisters around 9:30 this morning, and enjoyed an easy eight or nine mile ride along a fairly flat road heading toward McKenzie Pass ... nice way to start a day's ride.  Not much in the way of wind and very little car traffic.  Nice and comfortable.

But as the old saying goes, all good things must come to an end.  Not that things turned ugly, but rather things turned upward.  The next six miles or so found me comfortably moving at about 4 MPH, which can wear a person down.  Lots of other cyclists on the road, but most on lightweight road bikes moving at a much faster pace than I.

For the next few days a majority of the road over McKenzie Pass is closed to cars, so for we cyclist it is a joyful ride.  The adjacent photo was taken at the top of the Pass and shows just a very small area of the vast lava flow beds. (click on the photo for a better view)

For some cyclists, climbing brings them much joy ... not so much for me.

But flying down the glorious descent definitely puts a smile on my face.  Hard to describe the reason this is so joyful to those who have not experienced a great downhill run.  Maybe this YouTube video
of someone's ride down the west face of McKenzie Pass will provide understanding.  This cyclist was on a road bike and traveling at a greater speed than I, but it does show how wonderfully the road winds.  My downhill run lasted about 45 minutes ... what joy.

Tomorrow I ride into Eugene, then after the weekend it is off to Seattle via Amtrak.   

Earth Angels (June 13, 2019)


Here I sit in Sisters, awaiting word as to if the road over McKenzie Pass will be open to cyclists today.

Due to damage to the road as a result of last year's forest fires, Oregon DOT has been doing a lot of repairs to the road on the east side of the Pass.  Typically, when a road is closed due to construction, cyclists can walk their bike around or through the construction zone with the okay from the construction crew.  I spoke with people in the two Sisters bike shops, and they all indicated that the construction crews were not at all civil to cyclists who bypassed the "road closed to cars and CYCLISTS" signs.

So here I sit, awaiting word if the road will be open today ... I have been assured that it will be open to cyclists tomorrow.  We shall see.

Many a day has gone by since my last post.  Since I have pedaled this route several times before, there really isn't much new for me to write about.   The snow covered mountains are amazing, and the deep-green forests certainly are not akin to the Sonoran Desert.  The route taken includes Portland, Detroit, (Santiam Pass ... ouch!), Sisters, Bend and then to Bill Burk's place south of Bend ... then back to Sisters.

My visit to Bill's place, along with subsequent tours around the area, have shown me why Bend is quickly becoming a favored destination for living and/or vacationing.  When Bill was a wee lad, he grew-up in Culver, which is a (very) small town about 35 miles north of Bend.  In the 1950s, the population of Bend was around 10,000 people.  Currently approximately 100,000 people reside in the area, plus another 20,000 vacationers during the summer.  This population boom causes old Mr. Burk to become quite grumpy regarding these recent interlopers.  At the risk of being "unfriended" by Bill, I must say I find Bend to be a very attractive place for those looking for a new place to live.

Anyway, not a lot to say about the days since leaving Portland, other than a pretty amazing happening that occurred on my first day of riding.

I left Portland that first day by taking the MAX rail system out to Gresham, then riding the 45 miles to Ripple Creek Campground.  About three miles short of the Ripple Creek Ranger Station/store, it started raining.  Prior to leaving Portland I had been monitoring the weather reports for the area, so was not surprised by the rain.  What I was, though, I was deeply dreading the thought of camping in the rain that night and awaking in the rain, then riding all day on the the way to Detroit (50 miles) in the rain on the next day.

Prior to reaching the camp ground, I stopped at the Ranger Station/store to get water and a few food items.  When getting ready to pay for the items, I asked (with much hope in my heart), if possibly the owner of one of the two pickups out front might be so kind as to haul me into Detroit that afternoon.  Peggy, the cashier, said she would ask her husband (Ray) ... he said yes!!

Peggy and Ray are retired and work in the Northwest during the summer, and head to a RV park in Apache Junction, AZ for the winters.  We shared a very enjoyable conversation during this 50 mile drive to Detroit.  At one point I asked as to where they park their 5th-wheel trailer, thinking the RV park was somewhere in the Detroit area ... "Oh, we have a space back behind the Ranger station."

To suggest that I was flabbergasted that they would drive 100 miles just to help me out would be a gross understatement.  There really are angels on this Earth!!  An amazing act of generosity on their part.  Oh, and by the way, it rained all that night and all the next day, but I was tucked into an inexpensive motel for the duration.

So here I sit awaiting a probable day of idleness filled with not much to do.  Sisters is a town of around 2,000 people, so it won't take long to see the sights ... oh, but I did see a bookstore on the way through town yesterday, so that is promising.

Sometimes boring and quite is good.

Crashing Against the Rocks (June 10, 2019)

Currently I am relaxing at Bill Burk's wonderful home south of Bend, OR.  It has been four days since leaving Portland, and there are tales to be told about a few of those days.

However, my thought of the moment is to how the next several days will unfold.

The photo is of the McKenzie Pass area ... the road over the Pass runs between Sisters and Eugene, and the ride down the west face is one of my favorite rides ever ... 21 miles of pure bliss.  Here is another rider's description.

So here is my dilemma ... I have laid out a schedule that includes riding over the Pass this coming Thursday, but just received word that there is road construction scheduled for Thursday and that the road will be closed.  My current schedule has me arriving in Eugene on Friday in order to spend the weekend with Nancy O'Brien. 

So do I bypass McKenzie Pass and hold true to my schedule, or do I ride over the Pass on Friday and shorten my stay in Eugene by a day?  Not a major dilemma, but a decision is required.

In John Steinbeck's "Travels with Charlie", he talks of the beauty of flexibility concerning schedules when on a long-term trek.  He cautions that many a sea captain crashed his ship against the coastal rocks when steadfastly adhering to his scheduled headings.

So that is my dilemma ... and I hope to not crash against the rocks.

Reason to Celebrate (June 5, 2019)

Yes indeed, a good reason to celebrate.  After last summer's disappointing experience with Amtrak's shipping of my bike to Portland, I am happy (and muy pleased) that this year they successfully conveyed my bike between Tucson and Portland.

For an explanation of last year's debacle, go to the right of the photo to the Archive column, and click on 2018; June, and read the three entries starting with the "Ah Hell ...", June 12 entry.

So,  I am in Portland, OR anxiously (and nervously) getting ready to start this summer's journey ... starting tomorrow morning.

Tomorrow I start on a four day ride down to Bill Burk's place south of Bend, OR.  Then after a day of enjoying Bill's company, I will be heading toward Eugene, OR and pay a weekend visit with Nancy O'Brien ... I have my rain jacket and pants, so am ready for the usual Eugene weather.

From Eugene I will be taking the train to Seattle, on June 17.  This particular train, The Cascades, is set up for rolling one's bike on without having to put the bike into a shipping box.  Two days later I will be joining up with Kim in Anacortes, WA.  From there, we will be heading eastward to Glacier National Park (about three weeks +/-).

From there ... who knows?  We have discussed a few options, but decided to make a decision later.

So, am I excited, enthused, happy, elated, etc., to be on the cusp of another extended bike tour?  I suppose those emotions are floating around somewhere in my psyche ... but the dominating emotion is much like I suspect five year-olds feel on that first day of school.   Kinda unsettling.

But a good unsettling.