cycling

We are on the road! Getting out of Canada was not too scenic but biking through the border was interesting.  We basically got personal service and did not even have to get in line!  We biked through Bellingham but can't prove it as the camera battery was low.  Once we left Bellingham and started biking around Puget Sound things have been gorgeous, if a bit rainy. We camped outside of Anacortes with a tame deer that came begging, squirrels that tried to get into the food and loud ravens. 

Washington Park in Anacortes

We stopped in Coupeville, second oldest town in Washington, and had fresh mussels at Toby's, an old tavern filled with moose heads, skulls and all sorts of old stuff. 

Deception Pass

Downtown Dallas map (no,we are not going to Dallas)

Nervousness is setting in.  We are packed and ready to go.  This time tomorrow we will be in the air on the way to Vancouver!  Whew.  Maybe I will need something to occupy my time not spent pedaling, camp cooking, or staring into the beautiful scenery.  I was thinking about doing some kind of embroidered piece about the bike tour.  It might be like a sampler, kind of a loose collection of things held together by a border or done in some of kind of loose template (like squares).   There are a lot of inspiring embroidered maps as well.  Hmm. I will pack some fabric and floss and we shall see what happens! 

It will most likely not be as detailed as these!

Long Isle Land by H. Adams, 1938 (George Glazer Gallery)

Map Sampler (unfinished), Sarah Ann Drayton, 1805

Cristy and I are getting ready to go on a nice, long bike tour.  Vancouver, BC to San Francisco. We're at t-minus three days until liftoff.

Let's see.  We're packed, for the most part.  We've spent a lot of time packing.  A lot.  We packed, then repacked, got rid of two bags, repacked, got rid of a few more things.  I wouldn't be surprised if we repacked again.  We're that thorough.  We're also that adverse to extra weight.

We're taking care of little last-minute things now.  Making copies of the maps, making sure we have addresses to send postcards, worrying.  That sort of thing.  The last big thing to be done is packing up the bikes, which I'm planning to do tomorrow.  I find this to be the least appealing part of the whole affaor, mainly because I'm afraid that our bicycles will suffer as a result of my ineptitude.  But I have lots of tape, if not courage.

This will be my second tour, Cristy's first.  We've spent the last 4 months or so training.  We're ready.

So the route.  It's the first three legs of the standard north-to-south Pacific Coast route, cartogrified and sanctified by the Adventure Cycling Association.  Approximately 1200 miles.  Some hills.  Lots of ocean views, I imagine.  I'm pretty excited, but I think Cristy is more excited than I am.  In fact I know she is.  But she isn't responsible for packing the bikes, so that might have something to do with it.

The plan is to chart our progress here on this venerable blog as we roll along.  Will we do this every day, filling you in on the excruciating details of our saddlesores?  No, we will not. I promise.  Will we post lots of pictures of the ocean?  Probably.  Will we get lazy and post Youtube videos of sneezing pandas?  Possibly.  Will we brag about how we've become masters of MSR whisperlite stove operation?  Absolutely.

Maybe tomorrow some bike packing photos, if I am not crying too hard to hold the camera steady.

I can only aspire to such mad skills!