Early Winters - Rockport - Everett - SEATTLE

Early Winters -

The LOUP LOUP PASS happened today. (We realized around this point that whoever thought we had a general downhill trend after the Continental Divide was entirely wrong.) Myself, Brooke, Hana, and Hannah Wagley whiled away the elevation change with a new game, which was recalling every single ride and town we stayed in from Providence, RI. We got to about Jackon, WY when Jess blew past us. A bunch of us sped up to catch up, and then it was over, 2 miles early! Whoot. Elevation: 4020 ft, most of which we climbed that day.

We also passed through Winthrop, which was a bustling tourist town. Many of us stopped for snacks such as a pear smoothie (delicious) and tried out some seats made of horse saddles.

The campsite had many pine trees lining the edge of an icy mountain stream: generally much more camp-like than Wilbur. There was not a shower on site, so Stazzle had bought a bottle of Dr. Brauner's so we could shower in the stream. One of the many joys of Bike and Build: seeing people's reactions to cold water.

Rockport -

At about 4:30 am I woke up to flashing lights. I realized after a while that it was flashlights through the tent, and that there was a huge bustle of people awake, tense voices, and more importantly: thunder. Droplets of rain threatened to pour on us, so the entire campsite was up trying to cover tents with rain covers, and set up another one for people who were just sleeping out in the open. It didn't actually pour though, Lady Luck was on our side for that.

Everyone was pretty groggy that morning though. Lack of coffee and many precious minutes of sleep. Good thing I was sweep that day. I took my sweet time getting started that day.

Emily and I began our LAST AND FINAL PASS (Washington Pass) as soon as we left the campsite. It was supposed to be about 16 miles of uphill. It wasn't too steep, but at one point, I saw the road turning off to the left and a really steep cut of road sloping up to the right. Seeing this from miles back, and riding about 5 mph let me stare at my impending doom of steep inclined road, but after a wicked 180 degree hairpin turn, it turned out it wasn't too bad either.

Just kidding, we did another Pass: Rainy Pass, but it was a joke pass because it was right after the first one, and only after a small decline. Its significance became apparent a little while later: the roadside was green afterwards. The soil was no longer dry, and there was gratuitous green ferns and weeds lining the forest floor like nothing we'd seen in weeks. We'd crossed the Rain Shadow Effect border! No more dry empty deadlands!

Lunch was about 35 miles into the ride, halfway through a wicked awesome downhill. More downhill on crazy curving roads, and we came upon a beautiful turquois colored lake trapped in the basin of the mountain valley. The ride continued to roll up and down hills, but at one point we went through a tunnel that wasn't lit! I thought I was going to die. I couldn't see the road, and cars couldn't see me, and as soon as I got out, all I could do was slow down and hope that Emily made it behind me. We were both fine of course, but it was still pretty hair raising. We ate second lunch at Skagit, WA which produces the electricity used in Seattle, and Josh Schorr greeted us with beautiful strawberries.

The road was now lined with beautiful green trees, much taller than anything we'd been seeing. We swept some people stopped at a winery, and then we got caught up in blueberry and raspberry picking at the Cascade Farms. I at handfuls and handfuls of fresh picked blueberries while we waited for people. We thus had a whole entourage to ride into the campsite with by the end of the day.

Except that the day just got better: Josh Schorr brought us one of the best dinners we've had so far on this trip. What comes to mind is the mixed greens salad with goat cheese, cranberries, and walnuts. This was followed with a small Shabbat ceremony that was simple and to the point. I've been to two Bat Mitzvahs, but never a Friday night Shabbat, so it was fun to be a part of something new.

S'mores by a campfire, and then sleeping in tents another night.

Everett -

So this ride was supposed to be easy, and it wasn't. Although it was cloudy when we woke up, it simply didn't occur to me to take out my rain jacket. I was thus incredibly classy with a plastic bag with holes for arms and head that morning. Good thing Shira, Jake C., and Brooke wanted to step for coffee at mile 15. We got Wagles free coffee too, since it was her birthday! Finally 21!

Lunch: a wonderful last trailer lunch. Jake Schorr allowed me to have some pesto, so I in fact had a bagel, cream cheese, pesto, and tomato sandwich for my last lunch. It was phenomenal.

Riding in the cold rain didn't help much though, and I didn't feel that great in the afternoon. The group I was riding with was booking it though, so I decided to wait for another group. They were ALSO booking it, so I sucked it up and kept up with Barbara who went friggin 18 mph up one hill, I swear. And then Chad led up a hill for a while, I was done for, but we were close to the church, so yay.

At the church, the tandem bike had arrived!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The hairbrained scheme was that since Julie really couldn't put any pressure on her broken arm let alone brake on the downhills, she'd ride on a tandem with a willing volunteer, who was Jeff. They needed spare tubes though, and Jeff asked for a volunteer trial partner, so I bit the bullet and went. I made Wagley laugh harder than I ever have this trip with our start off because we were entirely off sync and almost toppled over. Folks, I began my first tandem experience doing a left hand turn on to a downhill street. YIKES. About the scariest thing ever, and the weighting of the bike was super awkward at first, but as soon as we figured out a starting and breaking system ("kick off one, two, three, GO!" - "Coasting, and leaning to the left in three, two, one, alright!") we were actually pretty smooth by the time we got back to the church.

Because it was Hannah Wagley's 21st birthday, we all went out to a bar that night. It felt a bit seedy, but it had karaoke, and we all had a blast listening to Wagles sing Roxanne (with her own lyrics) and Baby Got Back.

SEATTLE - A short, but intense day nonetheless. It was great to see Julie in spandex once again that morning. Barbara's parents also brought a boatload of bagels, and we had a feast.

I decided to stick with the tandem because it had been so long since I'd been able to ride with Julie. Also, I figured they had enough on their plate as it was, so I kept an extra eye on traffic and kept them on the cue sheet as well. We were going from one fairly busy metropolis to another, but a lot of the way was on bikepaths which were lined with beautiful houses. Yea, houses that I liked! There was also a much higher concentration of expensive bicycles and cyclists along there. Plus, I got a kick out of every time Jeff and Julie stopped or began. It had to be so coordinated.

By the end of the path, we were in Seattle and we could see the Space Needle ~ ! (Swoon) And that's when the road began to be really hairy too. Several times, we got off the bike to walk down stairs. One time, we went down the steepest, most cobblestone covered street I've ever biked on in my life, and what made it worse was biking behind the tandem! THEY BIKED DOWN THAT STREET ! On my brakes the entire time trying not to freak out too much. At around a mile or two before the end of the ride, we all waited by the waterfront so everyone could ride into the beach together - Michael got a flat about a half mile away and rode on his rims - we saw Josh and Heather Schorr - a whole line of friends and family cheered us on - we were throwing our bikes down and kicking off shoes and socks - running into the ocean SCREAMING - hugging each other and screaming at the top of our lungs from cold? Because we'd biked 3800 miles?

~ the end. (Did it seem like I had the sense of mind to take out a cellphone from a back pocket? I think not.)

Not quite. Because then we had another delicious banquet (SALMON! WINE!), and we had in fact, another build day. This time, it was with Rebuilding Together once again. Jeff, Brooke, Michael, and I dug a really nice trench and a water retention well so the homeowner's basement wouldn't flood. There was painting, and emptying out the basement of flood damaged objects as well. They also fed us the best lunch of burritos ever, even better than many dinners we've eaten.

Afterwards, many of us worked on breaking down our bikes. It felt strange not to have nearly 3 dozen bicycles leaning all over the walls. Some people even left that night.

Today - People have been trickling away. The number of hugs shared have been fewer and fewer, but each time has been pretty sad. A bunch of us had a last adventure with Danny (our van) while delivering our bikes to the Fed Ex, because we had to drive down into a parking garage to drop them off, and it was not only steep but also narrow. All I can say is, Marita is an amazing driver, although at one point, the trailer may or may not have gone over the curb.

Josh, Heather, and Sarah (did I remember the name right?) Schorr were kind and drove myself, Jess, Marty and Hannah Wagley to the Water Taxi, and we all got to enjoy a scenic ride into the city for the afternoon. We wandered around Pike Street Market for the most part. At one point, we were on Union only blocks away from Seattle Central Library ... but the group decided to go elsewhere. (SOON!) I did get to sketch a mixed-use hotel/condo designed by NBBJ on 1st Ave though. One of those buildings that are deceptively simple design, but elude being captured because they are all about proportions and exact details.

Dinner at an Asian Place, and a caramel apple from Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory (?). The last time I ate there was in Salt Lake City with Priya!

One last van ride back to the church. Tomorrow I leave Bike and Build and enter Seattle on my own.