We're in Oregon!

Just crossed the astoria bridge, more pictures and videos to come!!

To all who have commented!!

Hey thanks everyone who is keeping an eye on us!! Andrea our bodies are tired and sore, our butts are surprisingly alright but our knees and ankles are beat up, but we're toughing and medicating through it all! Jamie tell Sarah and Grech were doing great on Day 6! Annie thanks for keeping Olive alive, and we hope all is well back home on Rocky Rd! Alex, it was great to meet you, what a great place Sol Duc was, and thanks for checking out the site!!

Thanks again everyone, keep your eye out as we make our way further south!

Day 5 May 29th

Day 5 May 29^th

Stats: 52.13 Miles, 4:58 Hours, 10.6 MPH Average, 25.8 MPH Average, High 40’s and not a drop of rain!!

Today Molly and I knew we had a long day ahead of us, we woke up in Kalaloch, and headed inland, back towards the mountains and the rain forest. With sore bodies and aching muscles we hoped to find a short cut through the Quinault Indian Reservation but the gravel roads looked like they may have led to the Washington Chainsaw Massacre so we stayed the course and headed back uphill into the mountains. 30 miles dragged by and by the time we made Lake Quinault we were broke. Molly’s sore knees and beat ego was lifted by the gift from the heavens that sat in front of us, a bus that could take us 30 miles down the road and out of the mountains. We struggled to make the decision to give in and get back on track, or push through our 80 mile day. With much hesitation we broke down, paid the 50 cents and we're off.

I know what you all are thinking, we gave up, but we didn’t, we just needed a break, and 80 miles on our 4^th straight day was too much, plus the bus ran on Bio Fuel so we felt alright taking the cheap ride.

Anyway we did it and 30 miles down the road we were back on our bikes. We still had 20 or so miles to go, so we got a quick snack at an old fashioned soda fountain and took off.

About 12 miles in we came across the Westport Winery and decided to have a taste. Of course Molly got drunk and couldn’t bike out of there, I got some great video of her episode, check it out. (The Video wouldn't load in this podunk town so I'll up load it next chance I get, it's worth seeing!!)

The rest of the day flowed on and we ended at Twin Harbors State Park, on the south side of Gray’s Harbor which was deserted and had an amazing beach where we ate dinner.

Also, the camp area had hot showers!!! We paid our 4 bucks and got a 24 minute shower which was exactly what we needed to keep our sanity. Over all the day was good, and even though we didn’t ride all day we made it to where we needed to and are back on schedule for tomorrow!!

Stats

So I keep posting these stats every day, and I just wanted to explain them a bit. The miles we ride are total miles for a day, which usually includes us riding around for food and looking for camp spots. The time per day is just riding time, this time is only when our bikes are moving, you’re probably wondering what we do with all those extra hours since we only ride for 6 or 7 hours a day, but we wake up at 7, eat and pack, ride all day with breaks for food and water and to just relax a bit, unpack, set camp and eat dinner, and usually are cleaning our pots and pans in the pitch black which is about 9:30 or 10:00 up here. We haven’t gone to sleep before 10:30 yet! So although the actual riding time seems low, every day has been long!!

Day 4 May 28th

Day 4 May 28^th

Stats: 74.47 Miles, 6:43 Hours, 10.7 MPH Average, 33.4 MPH Top Speed, Sun shine in the morning and overcast most of the day, low 50’s.

Today was pretty uneventful; we woke up to sunshine in Sol Duc Hot Springs, packed our things and headed off. The ride back to 101 was amazingly quick; apparently we rode up hill those last 12 miles last night into Sol Duc. Anyway we were both happy to be coasting instead of pedaling.

As soon as we left the rain forest behind the sun went away and clouds rolled in threatening us with another wet day. Luckily the bike gods spared us and we rode all day without a single drop. The ride to Forks was pretty much flat and straight and Molly was hustling and keeping me on my toes with her 15 MPH pace. We obviously got in early and had a long lunch, and finally found somewhere to connect to the internet. We decided to lounge and play on the computer, charge all the electronics and relax a bit, and of course we took too long and by the time we decided to leave we were in a rush to get back on the road. So off we went, 4:30 and 30 more miles to Kalaloch. About 10 miles out of town the coffee shop owner went whizzing by us and flagged us over, Molly, in the rush of things, forgot her phone that was charging in the café. The owner told Molly to use her head a bit more and rushed back into Forks. With all our pieces now with us, we continued to pedal. We raced through Hoh Rain Forest and Olympic National Park and finally made it to the camp ground in Kalaloch by about 8:00. Thank god for the extra hour of light these Washington folk get up here compared to Denver!! Anyway we set camp and went down to the beach, yes Kalaloch in on the ocean; we finally made it to the coast!! Anyway we relaxed on the sand and enjoyed a pre dinner snack.

It’s now 10:45 and we have eaten, washed our dirty clothes, cleaned our faces and teeth and are ready to hit the sack. Night night!!

Day 3 May 27th

Day 3 May 27th

Stats: 65.55 Miles, 6:55 Hours, 9.8 MPH average, 40.1 MPH top Speed, A bit of rain here and there but mostly sunny and high of 80

Today started off with a big disappointment, we woke to find our tasty seasoned almonds, 12 slices of cheese, all our bread, and some other tid bits taken and eaten by some sneaky animal of the night. We suspect raccoon or crow, but that is still up in the air.

Either way we started day three in the rain and a bit behind schedule, but never the less in good spirits. The first part of the day was drab and boring, 101 out of Sequim is a bit run down and uneventful. I did manage to find a 2 GB jump drive still in its packaging though on the side of the road, and the rain had stopped early so things were looking up. Shortly we were in Port Angles, where we quickly spotted a Dollar Tree dollar store and filled up on candy, pickles and chips.

Our hopes were high for Port Angles however we were presented with another disappointment since the old timer at the visitor info desk told us that our craved seafood lunch was pretty lack luster in the fair city. So we kept biking in search of other food and ended up lost in hillyville, and Molly began to redden in the face. We navigated our way out and back onto 101, however we managed to pass all the markets, and with yesterdays track record of no grocery’s in 40 miles we were panicked. Luckily we stumbled upon Lynn’s Caboose, a little roadside trailer serving up beef and shakes. We indulged ourselves again, in too much food, and found the coma creeping back into our lives.

We fought it off and clambered back onto the bikes and headed west for Lake Crescent. Lake Crescent was the beginning of the rain forest, and completely amazed Molly and I. The pristine blue waters, and temperate rain forest surroundings made us almost forget about the non-existent shoulder and the endless barrage of giant logging trucks flying by at high speeds. And for anyone who has never seen a Pacific Northwest logging truck drive by, these suckers are moving at the speed of light and could care less of who or what is on the shoulder in front of them. Needless to say it got pretty exciting at moments. But to get back to Lake Crescent, this place was unreal!! My words cannot even describe it, just look at the pictures.

On the west side of the lake there was the one building town of Fairholm, which is simply a general store. We were soaked again from the afternoon rain forest shower we received, and decided to stop in to buy some supplies. After deciding on ramen and peas for dinner we headed out to tackle our last leg of the day, Fairholm Hill and the 12 mile ride into the rain forest to Sol Duc Hot Springs. Fairholm Hill ended up being over 2 miles of the steepest hill we had yet encountered and finally broke Molly. I knew at some point in the trip it would happen, when Molly’s emotions got the best of her, but I had hoped it wouldn’t happen by the second day on bikes. Either way, the water works started flowing and the phrases “I can’t do this,” and “This is terrible,” were tossed around. With a lot of coaxing, a bit of pep talking and me walking her bike to the top of the hill, I was able to get her back on the bike and head south with me into the rain forest. This little jaunt ended up being 12 more miles of uphill hell for Molly, which produced more tears, however these ones were squelched with Jolly Joes Grape Mike and Ikes.
To end the day we arrived at Sol Duc, set camp quickly at an amazing site on the beautiful Sol Duc River, and rushed over to the hot springs to soak. We got in an hour of bathe time at the springs which are deep into the rain forest and surrounded by mountains and clouds, it’s truly another amazing place! Northern Washington in the past two days has not disappointed us. Plus we finally got our first shower in two days, which normally would not be such a bad stretch, but we had already biked over 130 miles though rain and 80 degree sun, so we were pretty soiled.

Finally after the needed cleanse and relaxation we headed back to camp and had another round of grilled cheese, hopefully the animals won’t get to this batch, and our ramen concoction. The day is finally over, and as Molly sleeps, I sit here in the latrines, charging my laptop and typing away!

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!!

Day 1 May 25th

Day 1 May 25th

The alarm struck at 4:30, and quickly we were out of bed with the excitement of hitting the road. Denver International Airport is over an hour from Fort Collins, and with an 8:15 curtain call we headed out at 5:00. We were a bit worried about how checking bikes would go since neither of us had ever traveled like this before, and of course we packed way more to strap onto those bikes once on the road. However, the airport experience was smooth and easy, Molly wouldn’t let me tell the Southwest people that we were racing for the cure, or carrying fine art so we got stuck paying the $50.00 bike fee, but everyone was working to help us get things sorted out, even the TSA guy at security was telling us jokes. So we made it on the plane, step one!!

After 3 or so hours we were in Seattle, our starting point, and to our amazement, our bikes made the trip unscathed. We spent the next hour or so being watched by everyone passing through the baggage claim of Seattle Tacoma Airport as we assembled our parted monsters. I had another stranger tell me the ride would be great, “It’s all down hill,” which is another story for all you reading that will come soon! Anyway we got the bikes together and Molly’s brother Jamie and sister-in-law Sarah came to pick us up.

They live in West Seattle and late last fall finished a year of bike touring around the world! They had just moved into a new house earlier in the week as well as brought home a 4 month old Great Dane named Gretta, or Grech as the landlord wants to call her.

So we unpacked, played with the dog and then were whisked away to see the sights of Seattle. I have never been to Seattle, and was surprised to see blue skies and sunshine, since the stereotype made me believe I would be in depressing downpour listening to Nirvana at Starbucks. Anyway, we got to go to the fish market and have frozen yogurt, read the “10 Crack Commandments,” one of which is to not pretend thy art horny, and pick up a few last things at the biggest REI I have ever seen.

The rest of the day we spent relaxing and eating, we went to Cactus in West Seattle, which was amazing, have the Ten Dollar Nachos if your ever there, and we prepared for Day 2 which was the first day on bikes.

It's coming...

Sorry everybody, but posts are coming, great pictures too! I just need to find wireless out here in northern Washington, this is just a quickie from my cell phone. Stay tuned!!

New Spire Messenger Bags

We got out new messenger bags and laptop protectors last night from Spire USA, and they look sweet! We'll be showcasing how great these bags are, and testing them to see if they can stand up to the tour! Check them out as SpireUSA.com, just click on the title to the post to redirect you to their site. Soon to come: pictures of these bags in ACTION!!

First Leg: Washington!!

View Larger Map

Here are the first few days of the trip. Each Green marker is another camp spot and represents the breaks between days. You may need to re-center the map with your mouse, and after that you can zoom in and out, change to satellite mode which will show you actual terrain, and follow our exact route. I'll post these for each section of the trip, Enjoy!!

Time to Jet! What a Mess!!

So with school finished for the semester and all other work either done or put to the side, it is time to take off. Molly and I are packed and ready to leave in the morning headed to Seattle and the beginning of our journey. Now that time will abound there will be posts and pictures everyday, or as close to every day as I can.

So this is our first tour like this, although we have traveled in other modes quite a bit. Molly has been to Europe and Mexico, and I have been able to travel most of the world, so we figured this one would be easy right, we are staying here in the US after all. I believe it was Twain who said, "Common sense is neither common nor sensical," and after stressing about packing too much, then too little, and then over how to properly box a touring bike I decided this trip may have a few unseen curve balls for us. Either way, after much deliberation, were packed and ready to head to the airport, keep your fingers crossed that the bikes are still in only 40 pieces!

Well stay tuned, the excitement is here!!

An answer to Ayn's questions!

Hey thanks for checking out the site! We were actually going to do the whole trip sans air travel too, but we ran out of time this summer, and only have a month to get away. The ride from Fort Collins up north would be a great addition to the Pac Coast! Keep me posted on how your tip is going and I'll post some of your folly up here along with some of your pictures! As for your questions, I love the Jandd frame pack! I am riding with a springed brooks and I cannot fit a wedge back there properly so the frame pack was the next option, and the thing is great. It’s big enough to fit all my important stuff, I think right now I have a spare tube, a patch kit, a mini pump, a multi tool, and cliff bar and there is room to spare! Not once has it gotten in the way, I don’t even notice it’s there, and it secures well. Jandd does a good job with all their products, but I would say this is one of my favorite and most useful accessories, plus there are a few companies that sell them on Ebay for 25 bucks so they are affordable, or there is a great clearance section on the Jandd website that you may come across them from time to time. There are actually some on there right now for 23 bucks at:

http://www.jandd.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=FFP2NDS

As for the racks and bags issue, my bags came with inserts for the hooks for different diameter tubing on your racks and between those spacers and the little patches of electrical tape that also came with the bags everything seems to stay pretty still. If that is not working for you try playing with the lower attachment on the bags so when it is hooked on the rack it is snug and either pushes your bags all the way forward or backwards on the rack so there is little to no sliding or moving. Hopefully that helps, if not, ride on over and have a look at how I have everything set up, or we could meet for a beer at Road 34 and talk about the trips.

Thanks again for posting!!

Hey hey, our first tidbit of feedback!

Ayn said...
"Came across your blog somehow....Good luck with your trip. We are doing the same ride around the same time but are leaving from Fort Collins. Perhaps we will cross paths along the way. We will be riding The Surly LHT's as well, so keep an eye out for us. I do have a few questions for you. How do you like that Jandd frame bag? And I have the same front rack and bags, did you get the bags to fit securely to the rack? I seem to have a lot of rattling:) Safe travels and happy pedaling! Ride on!"