Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Our Penultimate Day - The BIG RIDE is Almost Over: Marblemount, WA to Sedro-Woolley, WA

Another beautiful weather and scenery day.  The landscape has, again, completely changed.  Now it's lush greenery and miles and miles of blackberry bushes along the roadway.

We rode a 'tunnel of trees' road this morning for about 20 miles.  Very light traffic, good surface, flat terrain.  Doesn't get much better.

We only did 45 miles today.  Could have easily done another 30 into Anacortes, WA as it turns out, but we hated to put two 75 miles days back to back.  Now, we'll sleep a little later and cruise on into Anacortes by lunchtime tomorrow.  I'm looking forward to meeting my contact at the Skagit Bike Shop in Anacortes.  We'll also have to find out if Barney's box has yet been delivered by UPS.  We expect to spend at least a day or two in Anacortes.  We'll probably take a ferry over to one of the San Juan Islands and do an unloaded day ride.  We'll hardly know how to ride Barney w/o him lugging 50 lbs of stuff.  It'll still be fun to try.

Today's lone picture, made, you guessed it, in Concrete, WA. I presume those silos once contained tons and tons of Portland cement mix.

Day 52/53 - A Rest Day, Then We Conquer Washington and Rainy Passes: Mazama, WA to Marblemount, WA

We took a rest day yesterday in Mazama, WA. Martha was just a little off her feed and it worked better to take a day off.

Mazama consists of a country-all organic-store and our inn. It's out in the middle of nowhere. The inn serves breakfast and supper on Fri and Sat. Since it was neither Fri nor Sat, we had supper both nights consisting of cheese and crackers and a microwave burrito. Yum. Yum. Oh, and the store. Organic ain't cheap. We bought a couple of apples, some cheese, cereal, etc to get us through a couple of meals - it was $55 for groceries that didn't even half fill a small sack. Couldn't afford to shop in Mazama for long.

Today was our last big pass day. We did Washington Pass and Rainy Pass. The day was 75 miles and there were no services for the first 60 miles. We knew that going in and prepared accordingly, having a delicious picnic lunch shortly before we got to Diablo Lake. The first climb was to Washington Pass. Took us three and one-half hours to ride 17 miles. Rainy Pass is 5 miles down and one mile up after you go over Washington Pass. We both had a good day and felt strong, though we were both glad to see our inn finally appear.

We're staying in Clark's Skagit River Resort and RV park. It's sort of a throw back to the 40's. Very simple cabins/etc. There is a café on the grounds that served us a great supper. We'll be returning for, I'm sure, an equally delightful breakfast. The café is famous for their cinnamon rolls. We'll try those out first thing in the a.m.Another quirky/cute thing here are the rabbits. They have a herd of wild rabbits that have the run of the place. They're everywhere and looking for little hand-outs. Cute little guys of all colors and sizes. But they're wild, so no cuddling.

We met a couple from our hometown today! They are just a little younger than us. The story is they sold their home a couple of years ago, bought an RV and have been 'on tour' since. Made us a little envious.

Tomorrow (Wednesday) will be just a 45 mile day, and then Thursday will be about 30 miles for our finale into Anacortes, WA. The BIG RIDE is almost over. We can hardly believe it.

Sign at the bottom of our first climb this a.m.

Put the emphasis on 'Scenic'. Easily the prettiest pass we've done.
 

This guy waited until we were almost within arm's length before making his getaway.
 

This was a really, really steep part of the climb.
 

I told you it was pretty.
 
 

The obligatory Pass pic.
 

Yet another Pass pic.
 

Every new corner revealed yet another great view.
 

A delicious picnic lunch.
 

Martha, overlooking Diablo Lake.
 

Barney's new BIG BFF.
  
 

Monday, July 29, 2013

Day 51 - Another Day. Another Pass. We Did Great.: Okanogan, WA to Mazama, WA

Last night we stayed in Okanogan. Nice town. Had lunch at the Caribou Hotel, a local landmark. Met the guy who owns the local bike shop. The shop was not open, but he, the shop owner, was having coffee across the street, saw us looking in the shop window, and came over to see if we were broke down and needed him to open special. Nice guy.

Also, our Okanogan motel was right next door to a rather large casino. Just for yucks, we walked over. You could cut the tobacco smoke with a knife. The place was nearly full on a Saturday afternoon. Yet, what a depressing place. It was like everyone there was being forced to be there. No smiling faces or big winners were observed in the 5 minutes it took for us to decide to move on.We came over Loup Loup Pass this a.m. It was 3,000 feet of climbing over a 17 mile piece of road. We took our time and had no problems whatsoever. After the pass, we coasted 12 miles down to lunch in Twisp, WA. Delicious food at the Blackbird Café.  We proceeded on to the next town which turned out to be Winthrop, WA. Wow! Winthrop was a happening place on a Sunday afternoon. The whole town is set up like an Old West stage. Shops everywhere. We went to the Mercantile for ice cream. The guy behind the counter had never heard of a blended coke float. Had to talk him through it. I'm sure he'll be spreading the news and blended coke floats will be all the northwest rage.  We're staying in a lovely camp village (The Country Inn) in Mazama tonight and tomorrow (a rest day). Lots of outdoorsy things to do here. They have all the amenities (except a tv - no SportsCenter). I think we're going to enjoy our off day. The weather also broke late this afternoon with a thunderstorm (fortunately, just after we got in). The temps have really cooled down. That will help a lot when we do our last two passes - Washington and Rainey - on Tuesday. It was the first rain we've seen in over a month. We've been really blessed with the weather since the first week of our trip.  
The Northern Cascade Mtn range. Breathtaking. Picture does them no justice.



An apple orchard. Washington Apples!! Hundreds and hundreds of orchard acres.
 

At Loup Loup Pass 17 miles and 3,000 feet of elevation later.
 

Neat bike rack in Twisp, WA.
 

An old cedar wood water tank. What workmanship.
 

Daniel (missed his last name) and Greg (Holmes). They're 3 days from finishing the NT. They've done about 4,500 miles. Ran into them in Winthrop, WA. Greg has a CGOAB journal. He and I have kinda been keeping up with each other the last several days since it seemed we had a pretty good chance of meeting up. And we did. Safe journeys and Congratulations on a long ride well done.
 
Martha and Barney checking out the wild west scene in Winthrop, WA.
 
   
 

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Day 50 - A Virtual Rest Day - 33 Downhill/Downwind Miles. That Was Fun!: Tonasket, WA to Okanogan, WA

We set today up with really short miles as a rest day.  It worked out perfect as we had a steady tailwind and the route was mostly downhill. We slept a little later and had a nice breakfast in Tonasket and still rolled into Okanogan by noon.

The weather is still hot, but the forecast predicts a change for the better beginning today. We climb the third of five passes tomorrow. It will be Loup Loup Pass. A mere 3,000 feet to climb over about 20 miles. The day will be a total of 55 miles. We'll be going to bed early to set up an early, early start to the day. We both agree it works better that way, though Martha sometimes wants to renege when the alarm goes off at 4:30 a.m. We ran into a couple of cycle tourists heading east.  One was going only as far as Spokane, the other had Wash, D.C. as his endpoint.   He better have a giddy up if he's going to beat some cool temps back east. Counting tomorrow, we've got only four riding days left on our tour. We don't know whether to be glad or sad. We truly have mixed emotions. Anyway, it's almost over, though we might squeeze in a day or two of day rides on the San Juan islands after we get to Anacortes.  What a bonus that could be.  We'll just have to see.

Sage. It thrives in this high, arid country. There are millions and millions of them. This is the real west.
 

Martha and Barney taking in the scenery of sage and mountain.
 

        We finally found some cheap gas. Wait. Is this pump working?  
 

Cycling tourists Kevin and Bob. Kevin is only going as far as Spokane. Bob is on his was to D.C. We gave him a couple of tips for the GAP and C&O, but it'll be a couple of months before he can use them.
 

Friday, July 26, 2013

Day 49 - An Easy Day. Only a 13 Mile Climb. Piece of Cake.: Republic, WA to Tonasket, WA

Today was an Easy Button day. Even though we had a 13 mile climb for starters (which we did in just a little over two hours), the rest of the ride was mostly downhill into our destination of Tonasket, WA. We're staying in a nice little motel with an adjacent laundry mat and C-Store. Everything one would ever need right here at our fingertips.
Tomorrow will be essentially a rest day as we'll only go 30 miles through the valley. Then we hit the passes again. Two down, three to go. Our confidence is pretty high. The toughest remaining day will be a two pass/76 mile/no services day. That's okay. We're tuffed up and ready for anything coming down the road. Adapt. Improvise. Overcome.

At the summit. 13 miles. Just two hours to climb.
 
 

Martha's looking for her needle.
 

Snack break scenery.
 
 

Hard to see, but that's a range of snow capped mtns in the distance.
 
Serendipity.
 
 

 

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Day 48 - Sherman Pass. It Just Went On and On. But We Did It !!: Kettle Falls, WA to Republic, WA

Today was a challenging day. We climbed Sherman Pass. A 22 mile climb. And the temp was over a 100 before the day was over.
We were getting tired and felt really glad to finally see the summit sign for Sherman Pass. After that, it was a 13 mile coast down to Republic, our destination.Tomorrow we'll have the 2nd of 5 successive passes - Wauconda. It won't be nearly as long and tough. Piece of cake.  
Martha. She's checking out the bronzed shoes marking an old CCC camp. She wears a size 4.5. Those boots look a little big for her.
 

Barney awaits our return while taking in some nice scenery.
 

Lunch break beside a babbling brook. Or was that Martha babbling?
 

New tour BFFs Cindy and Rupert. Met them on the Sherman Pass climb. They're experienced cycle tourists and thought the climb was hard. Made us feel better.
 

We'd been looking for that darn sign for 6 hours.
 

See? I told you it was hot.
 
  
 

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Day 47 - More Beatiful Weather, More Great Riding, More Spectacular Scenery. More of Everything!: Ione, WA to Kettle Falls, WA

Yet another great day.
We got a little taste of the climbs to come this morning. We got an extra early start and were rolling at 6:45 to beat the heat. We had about a 3 mile climb that Barney handled with ease. After that it was pretty much a down hill day. We liked that.Tomorrow will be only 47 miles, but will include a 25 mile climb right out of the chute. We expect to spend 4 to 5 hours on the climb and then coast 20 miles or so to our overnight destination of Republic, WA. We're both excited about tomorrow. We decided to get an even earlier start on our big day, so breakfast will be served here in our motel room at 5 a.m. We should be rolling by 6.  Whoopee.  We stopped in Colville, WA for lunch (delicious) and a haircut (well done). Here in Kettle Falls, WA, it's another tiny one street town, but it does have not one but two places to eat and a C-Store. We'll provision up for that early breakfast since we have a microwave and fridge here in the room.

The highest priced gas yet.  $4.90/gallon. Yikes!
 

See.

Just chillin' with some more great scenery in the background.
 

Why such loooong faces?
 
 
Farmers market in Colville, WA. We bought some peaches.

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Day 46 - Rest Day in Ione, WA

Today we had a rest day in anticipation of the big climbs we have coming up.  Spent the day doing laundry, catching up on email, Sports Center and ESPN.  Also researching some rides once we get to Anacortes, WA.  Had a wonderful picnic lunch in the local park across the river from our motel.  Will be getting up early to start riding tomorrow so we can enjoy the cool temperatures in the a.m.

The local grocery has a deli where we picked up sandwiches for lunch.  With only a pizza restaurant in town, we've already frequented the grocery store twice with another trip planned for tonight!

Barney hanging out while we lunched.
 

We sat in a swing and enjoyed the view.  Larry tried to sing that song about "swanging"!

Monday, July 22, 2013

Day 45 - Downhill Downwind 60 miles - Did Somebody Hit the EASY BUTTON ?: Priest River, ID to Ione, WA

Yet another beautiful, cloudless day. For the first time in several days we got a tailwind out of the east. The route was mostly downhill. It was a near effortless 60 miles. We've never had a better day. And the scenery - it was, as ever, just great.
We entered our 11th and final state, Washington, this a.m. Sorry, no state sign to take a picture of. We're staying in the tiny crossroad town of Ione tonight and tomorrow. We're taking a rest day before we start the mountain passes so we'll have fresh legs. Our motel is literally on the banks of the Pend Oreille River. Very nice. We may even get in a little swimming. I call it swimming. Martha says it's really just wading.
 
Barney and his new BFF await us while we lunch in Usk, WA.
 
 

Martha waiting for her lunch order to come up in Usk. Check out that farmer tan.
 

We passed 2,000 miles of pedaling this a.m.
 

The Stonehenge of the Northwest?
 

More Stonehenge.
 

The scene from our Ione, WA motel. Too bad we couldn't find a place with a nice view.
 
 

Martha took a look at the profiles of the climbs coming up.
 

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Day 44 - Same Old, Same Old - Spectacular Scenery and Great Riding: Clark Fork, ID to Priest River, ID

Yet another great weather and riding day. As we finished at about 4 p.m., we noticed that the time/temp signs all said 93 degrees. We were both surprised it was that hot. We had been riding a lot on shaded roads. That, and the low humidity made for a great day.
We had a long, leisurely lunch in Sand Point, ID. Sand Point is on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille. A lovely resort/ski town. Lots of bikes and shops - and lunch was delicious. We had mostly great roads - even a 5.5 mile bike path - today. Took our time and had a great experience. Arrived at our destination with plenty of gas left in our tanks. This was our fourth consecutive day of riding after our little layoff. Our bodies have quickly adjusted to the everyday routine of riding and our stamina has come back strong. We'll be ready for the mountains that are just around the corner.

Beautiful Lake Pend Oreille, ID.
 

At lunch in Sand Point, ID we broke out our last ACA map. We started out with a dozen or so. Just 462 miles (and 5 mtn passes) between us and Anacortes, WA, our end destination.

Us and pretty flowers in the happening little town of Sand Point, ID.

A wild flower bordered bike path along the lake shore. That water really looked good. I wanted to skinny dip. Barney and Martha said 'no'.

A friendly enough seeming bear.