Washington to Oregon

Friday morning marked out final day in Washington until we return on December 15th. Our tour south along the coast has been extraordinary! Each day we are adjusting to life on the road as our bodies and minds get used to riding every day.

We left Thompson Custom Bicycles late on Friday after a final packing extravaganza. Neither Sierra or I could believe that all of our belongings would actually fit into our four Ortlieb panniers, but when we looked around, there wasn't anything left. Our first arduous task was to get this heavy load up to the top of the steep driveway. We were quickly out of breath, but without a pause, we gave a final wave and set off down the street (and up another hill). 

And we're off!

We weren't in any hurry to get out of town and wound our way through the trail on Evergreen Parkway with a dappled sun piercing through the trees. The day was warm and sunny and after days of sorting, packing and stressing, we were on the road.

Pacing is important on tour. The rhythm of the ride is different from that of everyday life. Sometimes I feel like I'm in a bubble looking out into the busy days people are having and feel like I too should be in a hurry to get somewhere. Then I realize that here and now are the only place and time I need to be. 

Riding South to Raymond WA

We pedal at our own slower pace and eventually we find ourselves at the top the hill and are ready to coast down the other side. It is exciting to see familiar roads at this slow pace and we stop and explore places that I have never taken the time to see before, like a sunny lunch break at a park in McCleary. There is an old steam locomotive on display. It reminded me of our tandem loaded down with gear. The sign indicated that the old engine was reduced to a yard worker because of its faulty designed breaks that weren't powerful enough to stop on the steep grades of the logging operations. This was a fate I hoped our tandem wouldn't share.

Dusk from Bush County Park, with a panoramic view of the day's ride

We have adapted our lives to the sun and haven't needed an alarm clock to get up a 7am each morning. The ocean air is usually thick with fog until late so we warm ourselves with a hot cup of tea and hot breakfast each morning. After a few hours of riding, the sun is out and our bodies are warm and our stomachs start grumbling. Hunger seems to be a constant battle and snacks are a requirement to keep the energy levels high. We break again at noon for lunch and usually again in the afternoon for another snack. Our goal is to get into camp before 4pm to have some time to go for a small walk and start making dinner before it gets dark. We sit out and watch the sun set and warm ourselves next to a fire and watch the stars come out.

Bush County Park

This blissful experience is balanced with the growing pains of riding a bicycle every day. Each morning we put on a damp bicycle clothes, still sweaty from the previous day. Saddle sores and hot spots challenge the time we can spend without a break from riding and our muscles still burn when the climbing starts. We are constantly spurred on with each friendly wave we get and the thumbs up and cheers of encouragement from people we see along the way.

Snack stop in Seaside, Oregon

So far, our trip has been broken down into the following days:
1. Olympia to Lake Sylvia State Park, 45 miles, highlights: beautiful 1.5 mile hike around the lake and awoken by a loud owl in the night.
2. Lake Sylvia to Two Harbors Sate Park, 35 miles, highlights: sunny nap on the beach, beer and pizza at Bog Water Brewing. For those traveling to Westport, we highly recommend a visit.
3. Two Harbors to Bush County Park, 52 miles, highlights: Grayland Cranberry Museum, cycling through cranberry bogs at harvest, pelicans at Tokeland Point.

4. Bush County Park to Cape Disappointment State Park 46 miles, highlights: Willapa Bay, 2.4 mile hike to Lewis and Clark Museum, North Head Lighthouse, Cape Disappointment Lightouse
5. Cape Disappointment to Cannon Beach, 40 miles, highlights: Surviving Astoria bridge, meeting a new friend Jay at
Columbia River Coffee Roasters (bought our coffee and swapped stories of bicycle touring), surviving our first rain showers and arriving at Alan Woods' beach house.
6. Rest Day in Cannon beach. Walk along beach to Silver Point and haystack rock. Good food, clean laundry and excellent company!

The weather forecast looks sunny and the winds are out of the north as we pack up and prepare to continue south. Until next time...

Our wonderful hosts Diane and Alan!

Willapa Bay

Cannon Beach

Plenty of sea anemones in the tide pools

North Head lighthouse at Cape Disappointment

The Grand Adventure Begins!

It is hard to believe that our departure is finally upon us! After months of planning, we will set off this morning to ride our custom tandem bicycle from Olympia, Washington to San Diego, California.

The past year has held much for Ian and I as we juggled multiple moves around Olympia, finishing a master's program (Sierra), starting new jobs (both), planning a wedding and packing up our lives. The next two months will encompass the longest time that Ian and I have spent together without work in the almost ten years we met, and will be a much-needed reset to allow us to return to Olympia in December.

Daisy, Daisy

We have spent the past few weeks making pile after pile to ensure that we have a manageable amount of equipment to balance comfort against weight. I'm sure no matter how well we do the first few days will feel like we are carrying a load as heavy as this one:

Wide load!

We have gone on several longer rides to get used to riding together, including my first 200 kilometer (125-mile) ride last weekend. We started in Kent, Washington with 35 other randonneurs for a Fall brevet with the Seattle International Randonneurs. The day dawned cloudy and cool, and stayed in the 60s - 70s all day - perfect riding weather. We road along quiet back roads surrounded by the Cascade foothills into Wilkeson, where the road turns uphill to follow the Carbon river up into Mount Rainier National Park. This was the part of the ride contains 15 miles of uphill to the turnaround point, and definitely made my heart pound on parts of it. 

We were joined on the ride by our good friend Corey and his girlfriend Stefanie, on their own tandem. Corey is the creative force behind our tandem with his frame shop Thompson Custom Bicycles, and we are so honored to have such a phenomenal machine for our great journey South. I love riding with them - everyone is so close together that we end up chatting and joking as we ride, making the miles fly by.

Tandem tandems

Many people have asked me what I will be most nervous/excited for while contemplating a trip of this magnitude. Beyond garden variety anxieties (what if I just don't like it? What if it rains all the time, etc...), there's not much that worries me. Ian and I have had independent bike tour experiences, and we both love the pace and difficulty of bike touring. Instead, I am filled with the overwhelming excitement of setting out on this grand adventure. I can't wait to sleep outside night after night, experience the coast at a slower bike touring pace, and living life without a strict deadline or schedule. Since this is our honeymoon, I anticipate there will be plenty of wine, some rest days and many delicious meals in the miles ahead.

We plan to be in San Diego, California to spend Thanksgiving with my family at the end of our tour, where Ian and I will likely eat one whole turkey apiece. Then, we fly to Hilo, Hawaii for ten days of beach bumming before we return to real life and work in Olympia on December 15th. 

We hope to update this blog as often as we can, internet and weather permitting!

- Sierra

From our test overnight to Rainbow Falls State Park

Snack stop on the test overnight 

100k ride with friends 

Descending the Carbon River Road during the Fall Populaire 200k

Lunch in Buckley WA during the 200k

Loaded up and ready to go. Adventure awaits!