My First Fully-loaded Long-distance Ride Starts Tomorrow Morning

Now that I've cycled across the US, down the east coast and down the west coast, it's time to try carrying all my gear and ditching the van.  Despite the forecast of unusual heat for the Pacific Northwest, I will head east to my daughter's house in Ennis, Montana tomorrow morning.  Joining me will be Jim and Diana, a couple from St. Louis I met on my trip down the west coast last year.  What appeals to me about carrying all my stuff is the independence.  We have no reservations at any hotels or parks and retain the ability to change our itinerary on a whim.  We are in no hurry.

As an example of this flexibility, we intend to head to North Bend, WA in the morning where we will pick up the John Wayne Pioneer Trail.  I have ridden this trail twice before in preparation for this trip.  It follows an abandoned railroad bed which parallels I-90 to Snoqualmie Pass where cyclists and walkers enter a 2.2 mile tunnel under the peak of the Cascade range.  We intend to camp the first night just short of that tunnel and press on to Cle Elum, WA the next day.  At that point we will decide whether we want to continue due east and cross the Columbia on I-90 at Vantage, or head north toward Leavenworth and spend July 4th at our cabin before heading east through Wenatchee.  I will let you know what we decide.

Fall 2012 Pacific Coast ride with Adventure Cycling

Because WiFi was limited and in many camp sites we had no electricity or cellular coverage, I did not do a blog.  What follows is a summary of the trip with a picture of all the riders in front of a bike sculpture somewhere in Northern California (without our two leaders).  I'm the last human on the far right, next to Snoopy.

This past Sunday, November 4, 2012, I completed a van-supported, 41-day trip from the Canadian border to the Mexican boarder along the Pacific Coast.  This was a fantastic trip, highlighted by good weather, beautiful scenery and great people.  Our group of consisted of seven women and six men ranging in age from the early 50’s to 71.  Our two leaders, Tim and Sue, took turns driving the van or riding sweep each day.  We camped most nights, which allowed us to enjoy locations close to the water, which would not have been possible had we been staying in hotels.  The van carried our gear, but did not provide SAG support.  Our average day’s ride was just over 50 miles, allowing us time to pitch our tents and prepare dinner.  Each night two people were responsible for menu planning and food preparation, which resulted in excellent dinners as competition developed to see who could prepare the best meals.  We had four rest days, in Astoria and Brookings, OR and San Francisco and Carpenteria, CA.  We stayed in hostels in Astoria, San Francisco and San Diego and hotels in Half Moon Bay, Tomales, Carpenteria and Seal Beach, CA .  Adventure Cycling reserves funds to stay in hotels in case of bad weather, but our weather was so good, with only one morning of hard rain, that we spent the hotel money as it became obvious weather would not be a problem.  Adventure Cycling will not return money, so we needed to use up the funds.  

I highly recommend this route and Adventure Cycling.  For those not interested is camping, the trip could easily be done using hotels.  We met one couple who was doing just that, only carrying clothes on their bikes.  We also met several people doing the route self contained.  For anyone interested, I highly recommend Adventure Cycling maps.  They provide great detail about the route, including cities along the way, and guide cyclists off busy highways onto more scenic side roads whenever possible.  Adventure Cycling sells these maps, and may more, at adventurecycling.org.   If anyone has any questions, please e-mail me or give me a call at (206)-200-3782.  I hope you have a great fall and winter and get a chance to stay on your bikes.  I am already planning a self-contained ride to Montana next Spring and would welcome company if anyone is interested.  Cheers, Bill