Monday, June 8, 2009
Bellingham to Concrete, WA
Tailwind when we turned east. Temp 73F
I was awake at 4, waiting for the 7 am start. Weird start. Diane and I left Lara and Maya's place at 7:30 am and rode to meet the others at the Fanatik Bike Shop by 8. The plan—decided by all last night—was to meet at the shop at 8 am and then ride to a nice place for breakfast together on this our first morning on the road. But, all of the others, who had stayed in motels, had eaten breakfast at their motels, and had no plans to stop.
So, sans breakfast, we rode a trail out of town that Bill H. had discovered. We soon found a little beach in Fairhaven (a Bellingham suburb) from which we could dip our wheels. We asked a passing walker if he would take a group photo and he obliged, but when we looked at it, he had managed only to take a photo of the beach gravel, so we all took photos of each other.
 |
Wheel dippers Diane, Tim, Rick, Kevin, and Bill U.
|
 |
Me as close to dipping a wheel as the beach and my rig will allow
|
Just after dipping our wheels, we crossed a little bridge on the trail, and Beth Brown and Diane were brought together by the “fickle finger of fate.” The night before we arrived at our Warm Showers hostesses' house, Beth had dropped off a handmade card and $50 in support of Diane’s cause: NJ Battered Women’s Service. Serendipity saw the two women meeting on the trail. Tim videotaped them (and me) for Diane’s website: http//:www.starjumpsforjoy.com which I do not believe is still available.
 |
Beth Brown, a contributor and sympathizer with Diane’s cause, somehow finds Diane on the trail our first morning out; she will help us get over Wauconda Pass later in the ride
|
 |
Moi, posing before Puget Sound at a scenic pullout along Hwy 11
|
 |
One of the bridges on the trail along the Sound; Tim’s photo
|
 |
Puget Sound near where we dipped out wheels; Tim’s photo
|
Since Diane and I had not eaten, she and I stopped in Fairhaven at a little quiche place, the Colophon Café. Beth Brown found us there and joined us for a bit. Those who had eaten breakfast at their hotels went to a bike shop where Bill Hickman had his old rack removed and a new rack installed. We spent several hours getting out of Dodge, so to speak, with Kevin returning to the Colophon and eating a second meal there. We didn’t leave Fairhaven until after 11 am. We had pedaled only 6 miles of our 68-mile route.
 |
The square before the Colophon Café in Fairhaven where Diane and I had breakfast
|
 |
Me with a friend before the Colophon Café
|
 |
Six of the starting seven riders: Tim, Kevin, Diane, Bill U. me, and Rick in Fairhaven Square on Day 1; Bill H. was at a bike shop getting his rear rack switched out
|
After Fairhaven, we rode along Puget Sound and around the foot of Chuckanut Mountain on Hwy 11 for the first 25 miles, and then turned east on Cook Road to ride through the Sedro-Woolley Valley and pick up the North Cascades Highway (Rte 20) east to Concrete.
 |
View on the road to Sedro-Wooley
|
 |
Lovely barn off Cook Road to Sedro-Wooley
|
 |
Another pretty farm along the route on the way to Sedro-Wooley
|
 |
Oyster beds at low tide in Puget Sound as seen from a scenic pull out off Hwy 11 south
|
On Cook Road after the turn, I discovered that I had left off a leg of the daily mile-by-mile route sheet which I had distributed to the riders. Kevin had the Adventure Cycling maps, but we were not on the AC route yet, and I and several other riders did not have these maps, so I had printed route sheets for my convenience and that of those without maps. However, this gap in the route sheet upset Tim and the rest of the group greatly. How far would they have to go before water? Kevin's attitude and this mistake shook the group's confidence in the day-by-day route directions for the remainder of the ride! Kevin was particularly vexed that I had created these directions. He felt that the Adventure Cycling maps should have been purchased and used by all. Yes they should have because Kevin wasn't around most evenings to share the next day's route with the group, so they had only my day-by-day for route finding.
When we finally got to Sedro-Woolley, we stopped at a DQ. I was worried about getting gas for our cook stoves. I had seen Kevin and Bill H. go straight on the business loop rather than turning left on Hwy 9, so asked him how he had come in, thinking that maybe he had seen a store in town that sold stove fuel. Thinking that I was accusing him of taking a wrong turn, he rounded on me loudly and angrily in front of the others. I yelled back trying to explain. The others were embarrassed and stunned. After this outburst, we all cycled into town and those with fuel canisters found what they were looking for. I did not find fuel for my stove until I stopped at a CS outside of Concrete. One can of fuel cost $17! I filled my fuel bottle, shared the can with Rick and left the rest at the campsite.
 |
Diane in Sedro-Wooley posing beneath a gorgeous flowering tree
|
 |
Sedro-Wooley wood carvings
|
 |
Rick in S-W. He and Tim rode with panniers. The rest of us pulled BOB (Beast of Burden)
one-wheeled trailers
|
Once past S-W, we were out in the country and the lure of the unknown and the beautiful scenery tugged at me. When we got to Concrete, some of us went grocery shopping and then rode to the scheduled campsite: Eagle’s Nest RV CG, right on the Skagit River. The place was run down and up for sale, and the tenting area had been used for a dog walk, but our excitement at the first night’s camping and the river and distant hills/mountains made up for it.
 |
Kevin and Rick reading the signs at an elk reserve west of Concrete
|
 |
Mountains backing the Elk reserve west of Concrete. We would cross similar mountains for the next six days
|
 |
The little gazebo with the bald eagle atop at our Eagle's Landing tent site outside of Concrete.That's the Skagit River just glimpsed through the trees.
|
 |
The run down and for sale Eagle’s Landing RV park in Concrete, Washington
|
 |
We were camped right on the bank of the beautiful Skagit River
|
 |
Fast-flowing Skagit River at our campsite
|
Before the tour began, Kevin, who originated the ride, determined that it was "every man for him/herself." He was going to ride across the country to celebrate his 60th birthday. He invited all who wanted to "to tag along." No group cooking, etc. However, this business of every man for himself for meals is awkward at best. It means that each of us must carry a stove, cooking utensils and pans, fuel, and food. Kevin and Bill H. who are not planning on cooking or camping much, pedaled to a nearby bar/café and drank their dinner. Rick, Bill U., Tim, and I fixed ourselves dinners from our “kitchens” and the food we had bought in Concrete. Diane disappeared into her tent, ate her bars and powders, and talked on her cell phone.
This first night, I fixed mac and cheese with peas and sausage, which took a long time to cook because I neglected to pump my little Coleman single-burner camp stove to make it burn hot. Rick had bought some wine, so we had that also. Rick steamed up a pot of broccoli. Tim got out his tiny alcohol stoves and cooked up something that I cannot now remember. We tired four spent far too much time individually cooking and cleaning up.
To bed to bed after this first day on the road which has been both exciting and emotionally draining.
Tune in tomorrow for more excitement.
 |
| Tired Batchelor's Button flowers |
