Day 2 May 26th

Day 2 May 26th

Stats: 68.45 Miles, 6:34 hours, 10.1 MPH average, 29.9 MHP Top Speed, Rainy and cloudy high 50’s stopped raining by late afternoon.

Today we started late; we woke up in Jamie and Sarah’s house in West Seattle and had a big breakfast that Sarah was great enough to make for us. After breakfast Jamie and Sarah took us and all our gear down to the ferry terminal in Seattle to catch the 9:30 Seattle-Bainbridge Island ferry.




We played it pretty close and were still riding our bikes to the front of the ferry when we disembarked. For any travel guide types, the ferry was 7 bucks each, for people without cars. We were on our way, and 10 minutes into the trip Molly was already in the ferry’s cafeteria looking for something to eat, deciding on a Mountain Dew.


We found some seats, took some pictures and amazed some other travelers with our end goal, San Diego!



The ferry was quick and painless until we docked and I jammed my hand between one of the ferry doors and a wall of the ship, what happened to door stops. The thing swung open so fast I couldn’t get my hand out and before we even had gotten on our bikes I thought I had broke something. With the great start to the trip we gingerly rode off the ferry and immediately pulled over. Of course by now the Pacific Northwest was not letting me down and we were already soaked! Luckily we found the rain jacket Molly thought she forgot to bring, and hit the road. The first few miles we were excited and full of energy, charging hard, but within 10 miles we found ourselves at a gas station looking for snacks, and of course a Coke Zero to tide over Molly’s addiction. The gas station attendants were again amazed at our hair brained idea and wished us luck as we set back out into the rain.



Through some hills, over some sketchy bridges and 3 hours later we were still soaked. I was able to see some sea life though on the big bridge crossing for the day that Molly claims was a mirage since she missed it, but it was a seal or sea lion for sure. After the bridge things got interesting, we started up this long gradual hill and Molly was in vertigo, she kept asking me what she was dragging or if her tires were flat. I just kept laughing because I thought she knew we were going up hill for miles. Turns out she actually thought we were going down hill, and kept wondering why things were so tough. Soon after this episode was over Molly and I started to experience our first bonk, we hadn’t brought any food since we hoped to buy it along the way, and as it turned out there was none along the way. Luckily I remembered a stash of oranges and mangos I dragged along from Fort Collins. With some energy in our system we set out again keeping a keen eye out for more food, and just as things were starting to get bad we rounded a corner and out of nowhere heaven presented itself. This moment was out of a movie, one minute we were starved in the middle of nowhere, the next we were unpacking our bikes as Fat Smitty’s. Fat Smitty’s is one of these deliverance middle of the woods type of place, where only wayward travelers desperately seeking nourishment would ever stumble upon.




Of course our 90 year old waitress, unquestionably fatty Smitty’s wife, came out of the kitchen screaming, “better have the Smitty burger, that’s what were famous for!” Of course Molly and I didn’t even look at the menu or ask questions, we ordered two. During our wait we found time to enjoy the decorating of the dive, which consisted of dollar bills tacked to the wall and the largest collection of M&M memorabilia in western Washington.

Finally our food came, and what was set in front of us was the biggest burger known to man, two - half pound patties, 3 pieces of bun, 4 strips of bacon, thousand island sauce, onions, pickles, tomato, lettuce, this thing made a Big Mac cry mercy. Best of all they came with instruction on how to eat, “Smoosh way down, pick the thing up and don’t let go until your done eating!” I followed the tip until there was nothing left, and soon regretted my course of action.



We paid our bill and headed out, only to make it to the front steps of the restaurant where both Molly and I lapsed into a food coma and passed out for the better part of an hour. The drool dripping into my ear woke me up and quickly we mounted our bikes and left old Fat Smitty’s in the past.

The rest of the day went smooth, the rain had stopped and miles were flowing by. We even ran into some other cyclists as Molly and I were talking about how many people we though have even done this trip. Mark the Crazy Biker and his companion were out to do the same trip as us, but in a touch different way. Mark had actually been on tour for three years, and was reaching 15,000 miles. Check out his site at http://northamericacyclingexpedition.com/.


Lastly we made it to Sequim Bay State Park which was our campsite for our first night. Sequim Bay State Park is amazing; it’s in the forest right on the water of Sequim bay, with adequate facilities and cost 14 bucks a night for bikers. We thought this was a steep price, but with nothing to compare it to who knows. We of course ventured into Sequim to seek a market to buy dinner from and ended up choosing grilled cheese and hot coco. The first day was finally over, and although it started as a wet one, we loved it!!