Day 61 on tour

Fox gloves at Crescent Lake

Today was a nice bike ride to Crescent Lake.The weather has been great and looks like it's going to continue through the weekend.I'm working my way around the Olympic Mountains and headed south to to the Pacific coast.Washington is fast becoming my favorite state.It smells like Douglas fur and wild flowers.I love the landscape,the forest's are beautiful and the mountains are majestic.I can't wait to make it to the coast.Let me know how you're doing...

He'll be comming around the mountain when he comes

Bikerboy in the mountainsI came from down there this morningLying in the road to get this oneDungeness spit
Deer meadowHurricane ridge

Top of the world

I went to dungeness Spit yesterday and spent the night in Sequim.This morning I rode to Port Angeles on the bike path then rode up to Hurricane Ridge in the Olympic mountains.It was over 6000 ft.It was awesome.I'm so glad I did it! Just chillin on top of the world.

This part of the country is beautifulAlan,Susan, Eric, and Liz told great stories of the history of these partsI spent the night here with the FamilyEric and I went sailing in his uncle's sailboatEric showing off the bounty of clams we just dug up

Saturday morning started out with a 20 mile ride to the Port Townsend ferry.While waiting for the ferry to arrive I met Eric who was on his way to his uncle's to go sailing. I decided to follow him for the next 27 miles only to be punished by the back road hills that led us to his uncle's place.Eric is a high school teacher in Seattle and has raced sailboats in Tanzania.Upon arriving I met the rest of the family,and we went down to the beach to dig up clams for dinner.Now that was fun!After that, Eric and I went for a quick and adventurous sail in his uncle's boat.
When we got back I scrubbed clams While the rest of the family prepared dinner.Fresh clams over pasta, sauteed vegetables,salad, and rhubarb pie with ice cream.Another amazing encounter with the people and places in this incredible part of the country.Thank you for sharing these times with me. I am humbled by your kindness.

unbelievable kindness

Cynthia and David take me inThis is where I stayed last nightBambi
The Washington coast and beyond

Well, I rode to the coast of Washington and jumped on a ferry to Whidbey Island.I found a nice coffee house and met Jessica.then I headed to South Whidbey state park to check out the camp ground.It was really nice, but I didn't feel like spending alone time in the woods.I rode six miles back to the coffee shop.Jessica was showing my blog to Cynthia who invited me to come stay in her and her husbands studio.That was a no brainier.We packed up my bike in her car and drove to the west side of Whidbey where they have a charming house.After getting cleaned up they had me over for a wonderful dinner.We shared stories and had fresh strawberries with ice cream for dessert.David is an avid astronomer complete with an observatory. He showed me Saturn and the moon through his amazing telescope.Wow!The deer and rabbits are plentiful here, and so was Cynthia and David's kindness.They called me in Saturday morning for Breakfast, and now I'm getting ready to ride up to Deception pass.Encounters like this make me feel so blessed.I am truly grateful for the unconditional love they have shared.With a giant leap of faith comes unbelievable rewards.Never be afraid to take that first step.There is a world of opportunity out here just waiting to be discovered.

up and over the Cascades

My little Germany
The river shot
The Cascade Mountains

Yesterday I rode 71 miles over the Cascade mountains.They are very rugged and gnarly I ended up in a small town 30 miles east of Seattle Called Gold Bar.I made it up to Stevens pass in about 3 hours.By the time I got to Gold Bar I was spent, so I stayed at the only motel in town,did some laundry and had hot chicken wings for dinner.

Getting to know the locals

The Columbia River

Yesterday I ended up playing music at the Red Bird coffee house.I met Zack and he turned me on to Gorden And his Wife Nicole and we all ended up at their house getting baked and having dinner. A fresh salad that she made entirely from her own garden.Super nice people and a great time.I could stay here for a while. It's an adorable town with a German theme.It's like being back In Frankfurt all over again.The people are amazing, and I got to wow some folks with my musical skills. I got my mojo back!

No shame in my game

Just east of Leavenworth, Washington
My first big rig experienceChris gets top billing today

Tuesday morning started out challenging.I got about 3 miles out of town on this bike path and my rear tire split right down the middle.It went flat so I tried to pump it up and it actually held air.There was a piece of wire stuck right in the tube.I managed to find a bike shop 5 miles back into town.I replaced both front and rear tires with new ones, and saved my old front tire as a spare.I got back on the road at about 11:00 a.m.About 25 miles down the road I started to get a real sense of danger because there was absolutely no shoulder to ride on.Cars were whizzing by at 70 mph.And for the first time on this journey I was scared.My intuition was me telling to get off the road.I couldn't stop thinking I was going to get run over.Just then a semi was coming in the opposite direction and I could here another one right behind me and all three of us were about to converge at the same point.I could here the truck behind me brake,so I bailed off the road.He gave me a friendly beep as if to say thanks.I just shook my head and said that's enough.Up the hill about a half a mile was a gas station and I pulled in frazzled.This guy comes out of the store and says, hey thanks for getting off the road, most bikers would have just kept going.I said oh, that was you.Yeah he said, this is a real dangerous road Lot's of people get killed out here.I told him how I felt and said,I need to get of this road, I'm ready to start hitchhiking.This is nuts and I'm terrified.So he offers to take me 70 miles to Libby where I was trying to get for the day, and I say sure!I strapped my bike onto the empty flatbed and away we went.Chris and I get to talking and he is just the nicest guy.We're the same age and had a lot to talk about.We talked non stop for hours.He was picking up a railroad truck in Troy which was just the other side of Libby and bringing it about 350 miles away to Leavenworth Washington, which is only 100 miles east of Seattle.To make a long story short he offered to take me as far as he was going, so we picked up the truck in Troy and drove 350 miles out of Montana thru Idaho and into Washington.We had a blast stopping for dinner shooting the shit and telling stories of our adventures.We stopped and shared a hotel when it got dark.Two perfect strangers getting on like old friends.We got up this morning had breakfast and drove the rest of the way to Leavenworth droped off the railroad truck and said our goodbyes.Man, I could'nt make this shit up.He was happy to have some company and I was thrilled to escape that dangerous situation, get to ride in a big rig, and most of all be 400 miles closer to Seattle avoiding some serious mountain passes.Tomorrow I have to climb some 4000 ft. over Stevens pass and then coast 50 miles into Seattle.Right now I'm in a coffee shop drinking dancing goats alive and well thanking my lucky stars.I may be crazy, but I'm not stupid. See ya in Seattle!