Keep Calm and Pedal On

Tom’s turn to post:

We were off for a destination or campsite near Usk, WA for a 70 mile ride. Beautiful countryside riding. We had a few climbs during the early part of the day, but the ride was mostly flat with some rollers. This was a very remote ride with very few services and cell connection, but was my favorite ride to date.

At about mile 25 we found a lodge store/cafe to buy some provisions and some snacks. Next stop Ione, WA at mile 36 where we will grab lunch. Unfortunately once arriving in Ione, WA, the restaurant was not open 😔. So next stop, Usk 35 miles away. (Tom is getting a little hungry and needs a Snicker Bar 😁)

We reached our campsite destination and find it is closed because of flooding of the Pend Oreille River from too much snow melt. So on to Newport for another unplanned 15 miles. We arrived at Pioneer Campground and found our friends Dave/Dan who invited us to set up a tent on their site which is what bicyclers do.

Another highlight was meeting Mick, a robust, old timer who was also riding NT. Interesting fella that demonstrates a lot of courage and perseverance.

From Deb: Today (Thursday) was the first opportunity to pray the Luminous mysterious. Keep your prayers coming, and updates too.

Also Tombo saw an elk and her calf yesterday on the road. Couldn’t get a pic as she quickly ran away.

#acaNoTier Republic to Colville, 64 miles | Boom! Sherman Pass

Having Sherman Pass behind us, we have completed the four major mountain passes in Washington! Yah baby!

There will be more elevation but nothing like these until Glacier.

Whining Alert:

Yesterday the struggle was real for me. My body was achy and beat up by the heavy bike, I couldn’t find my dang brush anywhere and my rear light was missing.

There are three safety non-negotiables in a long distance bike ride and I’d lost one of them.

Helmet
Helmet rear view mirror
Blinking red helmet light

I found the light (and the brush which didn’t make a diff with my hair), cozied up with some butt cream and took a couple Advil and today I felt like a new person.

#whiningover

Tom rode his “even-heavier-than-mine” bike down the steep dirt road from our Warm Shower host. Check out the vid of me trying to get my bike down as it’s getting away from me going down the steep grade.

Believe me, Tom would be in Montana right now if he didn’t have to wait for me.

Early in the day we hopped on a nice, although short, bike path through the woods and away from traffic. Then all of a sudden, party over. The long, slow accent began.

A thirteen mile climb might seem awful but we are getting stronger! Each pass has been so different in terms of scenery, grade, traffic, etc. Today we encountered the logging and mining trucks. Determined to maintain good relations with the truckers, our hands were a-wavin’ to them all morning.

We reached the top before noon, had a snack of peanut butter crackers, fresh broccoli and Cliff Bars and were off toward Colville for a Bar B Q sammie and some coleslaw.

Again the pics don’t do Washington justice. What a gem she is. I’m eager to get to our first state line but will never forget the people who helped launch our journey, those who’ve helped us along the way, and the awe and wonder in God’s great gift of creation. All truly remarkable.

We also came across an interesting undergarment on the side of the road, did our first bit of “grocery shopping” in a real store for provisions for the next couple days and found our first bike hostel where we met David and Dan, also Northern Tier thru-bikers.

Tom did a sun dance in gratitude for our perfect weather and I donned fresh cycling clothing for benefit of Tom. Life is good! Geronimo! Let’s go east!

#acaNoTier Riverside to Republic, 60 miles | Something Old, Something New

Another day, another Washington mountain pass. Same old.

But!

We experienced something new today! Before I give the deets on that let’s talk about the cougar old Wiley talked about at the Wauconda post office near the top of the pass. Wiley is a local who was mending his fence and I think might have been looking for a legit reason to take a break for a while.

Hence the post office visit where he found us. We’d stopped in for something to drink before the last three (and steepest) miles to the top of the pass. As luck would have it, Tom walked out with two La Croix. That happens to be our fave and about all they had in there at the remote USPS office. #trailmagic

Much in the same way I loiter before tackling a pass, Wiley was more than happy to share all he knew about cougars, moose, elk, bears and golden eagles in the area. (That’s right, Gordon, golden eagles). Smiley Wiley was super friendly but I was curious about his motives. lol

He said one way to befriend the locals is to wave at all the cars that go by while cycling. Wiley, I gotta agree with you, it’s a nice gesture when I’m not clenching the brakes to keep my bike under 30 mph going down or charging up the pass going 3 mph and can hardly keep my loaded bike upright.

Tom’s got that hand a-goin’ all day long and when Wiley passed us later on, we were on a flat and I managed a hearty wave. Fortunately no cougars or other predators were spotted the rest of the day. They were only imagined… by me.

Right out of the gate we had headwinds as we road to Tonasket for breakfast. Check out the flag in the vid.

As also seen in the vids, the weather has been stellar – the scenery, so much better than pics could show (unless Becky Andrade or Anna Kirkpatrick were taking them.)

Back to the something new. We decided it might be different to try out Warm Showers.

Warm Showers is a community of like minded folk who host bike travelers and offer a bed, place to camp, a meal, whatever. Since we got the camping challenge going we decided we’d camp.

I gotta tell you. These folk are super friendly and accommodating. We took Patty’s recommendation on the best local spot for beer and pizza, so we passed on dinner but took them up on the warm shower. And then there was that massage chair Tom used. Seriously, when will we ever have that luxury again?

Looks like we might not even have to fire up the camp stove in the morning because Patty mentioned something about coffee and a coffee cake on the counter in the morning. Yes please!

Warm Showers. That and so much more.

PS: We woke up to this note and treat for breakfast. The huckleberry coffee cake Patty made was the BEST!

#acaNoTier Winthrop to Riverside, 64 miles | Loup Loup

Riding stats

Good news is… we turned the right direction out of the Bicycle Barn Camping place!

Another day, another mountain pass. Loup Loup Pass isn’t as high as Washington but there are no downhills or plateaus to rest the legs. It’s pretty much just one LONG climb. Another stunningly beautiful day of riding with the sun, the Methow and Okanogan Rivers and we moved into some very different topography.

Highlights of the day:

Coming out of camp we had the sweetest tailwind and downhill a cyclist could ever have. Just the way you want to start a ride.
Touring through the cowboy town of Winthrop.
Well now let’s just say second breakfast was stellar. Breakfast sammies and quiche, coffee and protein smoothies with kale and spinach and all good stuff.
Hitting the top of a mountain pass is always a high point. Literally. Lol. The other side was wicked awesome. Not as scary as yesterday. I still pumped my brakes but Tombo topped out at a comfortable 36 mph.
If you’re going to have another flat tire it’s always nice after lunch and in a Washington apple orchard. Got it fixed quickly and we were on our way.
Lunch! Food is becoming something we talk about. A lot. Bacon, spinach and tomato wraps today at a mom and pop organic shop.
And finally at one point we stopped our bikes, held up our arms in awe at doing something we always talked about doing.

Not everyday will be as good as this one. But we will take whatever comes and with gratitude.

Quick PSA… you can send in prayer requests at any time by clicking on Contact at the top right. They are confidential and prayed for every day at the beginning of our ride.

#acaNoTier Colonial Creek to Winthrop, 70 miles | Pumping Blood

As you can see we made it! Praise God for strong hearts and lungs. #pumpingblood

6,500 feet of climbing on an overcast day. Tom was a rock star; it was physically challenging for me to climb that long and terrifying to come down the pass. My hands are numb from clenching the brakes. But we finished seven miles short of our destination for bevvies and food and all is well.

My gosh the views were spectacular today! And I can’t believe it’s only day three. The days are running together; we are forgetting what day of the week it is.

The Barn Bicycle Campground where we are tenting tonight might be the best camp ground yet. Solar outdoor showers, electric outlets available and compost outhouse. Even tops the frigid lake bath yesterday!

We leapfrogged on SR 20 through the Northern Cascades with Serena today, a fellow bike traveler. Thanks for taking our pic at the top of the pass Serena!

Serena also played a critical role in our bike travels today. On our first big mountain climb and longest cycling day so far we turned the wrong way on SR 20 and backtracked seven miles. Yep! My nickname should be “wrong-way Wright”.

In our delirium to find an open tent space yesterday we forgot that we crossed the street when we entered the campground. It wasn’t until we saw Serena at Gorge Creek that we thought that looks mighty familiar. We just had to laugh at ourselves and thought: 1) we won’t make that mistake again and 2) we will always get the best laugh out of cycling seven miles of rollers on SR 20 three times.

Here’s what’s on deck for tomorrow’s ride. Check out Loup Loup Pass.

Click on the image below for a recap vid of today.

#acaNoTier Rockport to Diablo, 39 miles | A “No Flat” Day

R iding Stats

Good news is… it was a no flat day. All tires held air! It was also a day when we started to see some serious rollers. #ouch

Although the National Parks guy said there were no tent spaces at Colonial Creek Campground at Diablo we decided to press on and chance it. So glad we did because it’s another stellar campsite with ginormous pines, a roaring stream nearby and plenty big campsites. Flushers too!

No shower? #noproblem

We both jumped in Diablo Lake with clothes on to do laundry and bathe simultaneously. Soap and shampoo are overrated. Just gotta rinse off really well. #ecofriendly However, deodorant and dental floss are non-negotiable.

I missed the chance to capture Tom in a standing-in-the-water dive (which he did TWICE). But he did it! And he went in first. The water was frigid cold but nothing makes you feel cleaner than cold water.

How was the cycling? Compared to tomorrow’s climbs, nothing too serious. But compared to our flat training rides in Indiana? Let’s just say the second half of the day was a “no flat” day. But again, we were awed by the steep rock faces, mountain views and our comrade that ran swiftly along side us all day, the Skagit River.

We missed Vic and Becky today. Vic wanted to ride the pass today and we ended up leaving an hour earlier so we somehow missed them. And there’s no cell service up here.

However when we rolled into the campground we found this note on the message board. He found a replacement tube for my tire and, with the tiniest safety pin I think I have ever seen, was able to pin the tube box and this note to the board. Faith and trust indeed, Vic. #trailangel

Not sure if we will see you two again in Washington but don’t forget we are Warm Shower hosts in Indy the next time you roll through town. And we always have a bed and meal for you two!

Another karma moment was when we saw the exact place at Gorge Creek where we saw the Northern Tier cyclists a couple years ago and decided then and there to bucket list this bike trip.

Not gonna lie. I’m a little freaked out with the two mountain passes tomorrow: Rainy and Washington. But ya know ya just gotta keep calm… and pedal on. One mile at a time.

Plus there is always second breakfast to look forward to. But that won’t be until after lunch because there isn’t any cell service or food for the next 50+ miles.

Gonna be an adventure no doubt.

#acaNoTier Anacortes to Rockport, 61 miles | Diving In