Date: 2007-06-14
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Miles today: 0.0

6-11-07Burlington, Wa18 miles today4105 miles totalWow, what busy times!! We finished the Trans Am Bicycle Trail on the 7th of this month, then rented a U-Haul in Florence, Or and loaded the bikes and drove along the Pacific Coast north towards Washington State.I had been talking about seafood for a long time and that I would get my share of seafood when I got to the Pacific.I had a 2 pound dungenous crab and some smoked salmon that I ate along the waterfront in Oregon.I had blackened cod the night before. I had some very good shrimp the next night and I consumed a large quantity of king crab the next night. :-))We drove to some friends of mine in Yelm, Wa and stayed there for 3 nights.I was supposed to golf, but George had thrown his back out a few days ago. It was kind of rainy anyway.We ended up touring Mount St Helens. George and Vonda lived here when it blew and were very good tour guides.We left their home at 4am today and got through the Seattle traffic before rush hour hit. That worked out nicely because I never had to slow down.We stopped for coffee and breakfast north of Seattle, then drove the rest of the way to Anacortes, Wa and dropped off the U-Haul.The Northern Tier Bicycle Trail starts there along the waterfront and goes all the way over to Maine...and we're riding that Trail east. :-))It was a nice cool start to the ride at about 50 degrees. There were some rain clouds in the mountains, but the sun was out in Anacortes.We got off to a slow start and took a few pictures, then got on a bike path for about 5 miles that got us through Anacortes.We met Ethan, the first cross country bicycle rider we've run into here on the Northern Tier.Mrs Gorp is getting new tires for her bike (even though she doesn't need them) and I've gracefully offered to take her old ones and put them on my bike.They are in better shape than mine, but her husband wants her to have new tires.We planned on going to Burlington for the night and either getting new tires there at the local bike shop, or ordering them and having them sent ahead.I stopped a couple times and tried getting more smoked salmon, but they only had the tail end and I prefer the belly section of the filet.It looked like rain was going to get us, but we got to Burlington just ahead of it.We got a room and started checking on tires. Mrs Gorp ordered some for delivery to a bike shop that's about 400 miles ahead, so I checked the air pressure in all our tires and filled them up with air.I had some stuff to send home. My ol' buddy Chief sent me a care package that was put together by some "friends" at Trail Days this year.There were bumper stickers, five bottles of booze, diarrhea buttons to pin on my shirt, a heavy yellow T shirt, a cute Stumpy the dog article and a link to Jan Liteshoe's ancient journal. I think that Chief, Xmas, Lief, Shortcut, Hammock Hanger and Liteshoe were all involved. :-))Anyway, I kept the good stuff and sent the rest home. ;-))We are heading into the forested Cascades and will have another short ride tomorrow to set us up for a huge climb on Wednesday. There won't be any services for about 75 miles that day.I will be sending Chief my photo card from the last half of the Trans Am Trail in a few days and hopefully he will post some photos next week when he gets back from his "vacation".It really feels good to be back riding again.A great day on the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))6-12-07Marblemount, Wa50 miles today4156 miles totalWe got a late start after eating the continental breakfast at the motel in Burlington, Wa.I also made a pot of Starbuck's and enjoyed that while I corraled all my stuff that was spread all over the room. This was the first time I've gone through everything at one time. I thought it prudent to see just how much stuff I was carrying theat belonged to Mrs Gorp. :-))Suprisingly I couldn't find any of her stuff mixed in with my stuff.We finally got packed and left at 8:30am. It really feels strange to be heading east.We went through Sedro-Woolley, then crossed over the Skagit River. We followed that river for most of the day.It was more of a glacier green color and a very wide, fast moving river.We stopped to take a few pictures and Mrs Gorp spotted a beaver swimming in the river. That beaver was twice as big as any I've seen in the east.This is also an area with very lush forests. There were lots of salmon berries along the side of the road. We stopped and ate a few, but they didn't seem quite sweet enough to me. They were very large berries though and there were lots of them.I made some Orville Redinbacher's popcorn last night and was carrying 2 bags with me. We stopped along the river and I sat there watching the river flow by. There were snow covered mountains in the background...and there was lots of snow in them. They are the northern Cascades and we'll climb over them tomorrow.We headed on and I wanted to stop in Concrete, Wa for a late lunch, but the place was closed, so we kept on padaling.The road got smoother once we got to Concrete. We rode on and came to Marblemount. We stopped at Buffalo Cafe and ate lunch, then got a room.This is the last place to stay for the next 70 miles or so.I finished writing the summary of the Trans Am Bicycle trip, sent it in to Goosebump to post, then we went and ate dinner.These first couple of days on the Northern Tier have been very easy. We get into the mountains tomorrow.Another great day on the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))6-13-07Twisp, Wa97 miles today4253 miles totalThis would be a very tough day for anyone just starting out on an eastbound ride. We climbed over 6600 feet today. That's way more than any day on the Trans Am Trail.Today started out with some motel coffee, Total cerial with milk and a banana.We left at 6:10am and headed east. It was overcast and sprinkled on us off and on all the way up to Washington Pass...a 57 mile climb.We followed along the side of Skagit River. I love the glacier green color of all the water out in this are.Seattle Light Works has 3 dams that generate power further up on this river. We passed by those later in the morning.We stopped at a small store in Newhalem. That would be the last services for aver 70 miles.I had a Little Debbie snack and more coffee, then we headed up the hill.Mrs Gorp was quiet this morning. I think she was remembering how cold it got coming over McKenzie Pass last week. It was raining lightly and I know she thought it was going to be another McKenzie Pass today.We rode through 2 tunnels. The first one was long enough to be dark inside. It helped that they had a flashing light to warn motorists that bicyclists were in the tunnel.We stopped and enjoyed the view of Ross Lake and got more pictures. The lake was the same glacial green color.We could see snow in the mountains and we were heading towards it. We started seeing snow still laying on the ground at 3900 feet high.We stopped a couple times to rest our legs and drink some water. The last time we stopped, we could see snow falling way high on the mountains, but we weren't going that high. :-))We got to Rainy Pass and took some pictures where the PCT crosses. There was a couple feet of snow on the ground, so it's still too early for southbounders...I guess.We went down a few hundred feet, then climbed another 1000 feet up to Washington Pass.I was real happy to get there because my legs had climbed enough for one day. :-))The off again and on again showers stopped once we crossed to the east side of the Cascade Mountains. The forest also changed from rain forest thick and lush green, to a more arid forest with no moss and very little undergrowth.I started going down the mountain, but had to stop twice and take pictures of all the snow in the mountains. This is really a beautiful spot.It was nice going downhill at about 35mph for over 10 miles.I started following along the side of the Methow River. We ended up following that all the way to the end of the day.I waited on Mrs Gorp and when she caught up, we rode into Winthrop and I got a coke.We thought about staying there, but we kept riding and in another 8 miles, we came to Twisp.We saw Ethan on the way in. He climbed the mountain yesterday and said he needed a zero day today. :-))We stopped and got some information about places to eat and stay.The lady told us about The Sportsman Motel. She said Willy Nelson stayed there, so that sounded good to me.It's old, but not bad for a town on less than 1000 people.The doorway into the bathroom is only 6 feet high. I hit my head on that once. That was enough to make me remember to duck each time I went in the bathroom. :-))We also decided to stop at the grocery and pick up some fried chicken for tonight. That turned out to be a good idea because the fried chicken was delicious. :-))We got some potato salad and half a watermelon...and everything was very good.Fannypack called the motel, but there aren't phones in the roon and it was hard to understand him on a cordless in the parking lot. I guess he knew where we were fron an email Mrs Gorp sent out. It was definitely a shock to get a phone call. :-))I experienced a strange thing today. I felt wind blowing on my back!! That's right, we had tail winds!! That helped make the climb today, the biggest climb we've done yet, not feel quite so bad. I'm so used to pedaling uphill and into the wind, then having to pedal downhill to get some speed up. The downhill today was sweet with those tailwinds. :-))I think I'm going to love riding eastbound!!Another great day on the Northern Tier Bicycle Trail. :-))