Date: Friday, 19 August 2016
Time on Bike: 4:47:17
Total Travel Time: ~5:54:14
Miles Covered Today: 54.97
Total Trip Miles: 2,306.4 (3,711.8 km)
Average Speed: 11.2, Maximum Speed: 21.3
From: Concrete, WA
To: Anacortes, WA
(Uploaded on 28 Aug 2016)
Today was an emotional day. Hard to believe, but after 32 years, I finally completed my 1984 cross country bike trip!!
On Sunday, 10 July 2016, exactly 42 days ago, I dipped my rear wheel into Lake Michigan and started my adventure.
I had no idea what the road held in store for me. Would I finish? Could I climb the Continental Divide and summit Logan Pass? Would I make it all the way to the Pacific?
The answer to all those questions was a yes! If I could just get through today!
I made sure I wore the same jersey today I had started out with in Chicago… my 2015 World Road Cycling Championships jersey that Richmond hosted last September.
And I put the same Va Beach VA sign that I biked with in 1984 on my rear bag. Today, it would make it to the Pacific!
Bunny & I loaded up the Prius for the last day of sag wagon duty. It was about a 40 minute drive from our hotel in Sedrol Woolley to Concrete. It was strange because in a few hours I would be cycling west on parts of this same road that I was traveling east on in our car! And we actually hit morning rush hour traffic. That was very weird!! Rush hour traffic??
We met the gang at the only bakery in Concrete, 5b's Bakery! The owner was busy giving Jenn some cycling shortcuts…
While Rachel and Woz were having a quiet moment together…
It was time to hit the road for the last time. There was a ferry to catch!
The bike path that was suggested sucked… the rocks were too deep and made cycling slow.
We opted for the highway… HW 20 again! There were several side roads that Adventure Cycling Association had found for our route that paralleled HW 20 that were just great. Limited traffic and fantastic scenery!
We were still following the Skagit River that every once in a while came into view.
It was a perfect day of cycling and a fitting end to our journey.
We needed to get back on HW 20 on occasion to get from side road to side road. We got a terrible scare when at one such intersection Carl crossed the road and somehow missed a pickup truck barreling toward us. Had it not been for the pickup truck driver's quick reflexes, Carl would have been broadsided on the road and I would be writing a different type of comment now.
My heart literally stopped beating! It was sooooo upsetting to see this happen almost in slow motion. On the last morning, in the last few miles of a ~5,000 mile bike trip, to get hit by a fracking pickup truck!!! Say it ain’t so!
After regaining our composure, we continued on our way. I asked for a stop. Needed food and needed to rest my butt. We stopped in Sedrol Woolley… the same Sedrol Woolley where Bunny, Woz, and I had spent the previous night!
The Woolley Market got our attention. Wi-Fi and food!
And then it happened… I turned my Adventure Cycling Association Northern Tier Bicycle map to the last map – Map #1. That is it. No more roads to ride, no more summits to climb, no more highways to find. At least on this bike trip…
We had our last sag wagon stop on a side road before we got on a very busy HW 20 at Fredonia, WA. There were less than 15 miles to go to get to the ferry.
It was all exhilarating but sad at the same time.
On the last section of HW 20, we rode for a while with some local cyclists. The road was way too busy. At least these cyclists were very impressed with our trip.
We got to cross the Swinomish Channel on a high bridge that separates Fidalgo Island (where Anacortes is located) from the mainland. Met several cyclists going the other way.
We were soon on a bike path that took us over a tidal area. It was low tide.
We needed to cross the tidal area on a bike/pedestrian bridge. Now this is a sign I had never seen before…
I asked a woman to take our picture as I knew we were getting down to the last few miles of biking together and I was sad that our journey was about to end.
I crossed alone.
I used the Find Friends app to see that Bunny was already at the ferry terminal.
And before you knew it, so were we…
The gang went in and bought their tickets
I could not believe our journey together was over. We talked about staying in touch. I promised everyone I would get them copies of the hundreds of pictures I had taken of them and our travels together.
I was surprised when they handed me a card…
This card meant more to me than they would ever know. They had been my travel mates for only 10 days, but we shared a special time together and I will not easily forget Jenn, Carl, and Rachel! We were Team Woz!!
Like I said, that Va Beach VA sign made it all the way this time!
And now that I have made it to Anacortes, I found a path down to the shore and placed my front wheel in the water. So now my bike trip was complete!
And... you can just make out the still snow covered Mt. Rainer above my head!!!!
Jenn, Carl, and Rachel caught the ferry and left Anacortes. They were heading to the Olympic Peninsula to do some hiking & little more cycling and to get to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Their trip had been epic! They left Bar Harbor, Maine and after 91 days and some 4,845 miles they would complete their adventure in a few more days! This is a picture I grabbed from their Facebook page.
Jenn had planned their trip out to every turn. It is a credit to her attention to detail and strength that they made it. Carl, who carried on despite a fractured collarbone & rib and later suffered from heat exhaustion should be very proud of his feat. And Rachel, who came all the way from the UK for this trip never stopped smiling. She was a joy to ride with.
As a matter of fact, I doubt I would have ever completed my trip without them!
Rachel saved my butt and helped me get through my worst day on the bike when I was sick. And thanks to Carl for pulling me up Wauconda Pass that same day. Jenn can time trial at the end of a long day and pulled us all with her more than once! These guys rock!
It was a pleasure and an honor to ride with you for 10 days towards the end of your adventure! Stay well! Cheers!
But I dedicate this trip to my dear wife Bunny. She put up with this dream of mine for years, and when it became a reality, she wanted to help make it happen. I do not think either of us realized how hard (and boring!!!) this trip would be for the “sag wagon driver”. She spent more time waiting in no-name towns, or off to the side of the road, than she ever wants to acknowledge!
We seemed to have no cell phone service more than we had cell phone service. Where was I? Was I hurt? Possibly hit by a logging truck, or maybe just by a car? These were the questions that Bunny had to deal with for way too long on our trip. Who would have thought the lack of cell phone service would have had such an impact?
But without her, and of course Mr. Woz, I would not have been standing at the water's edge in Anacortes, WA!
And finally, to all the cyclists that I met on the road, either going east or going west, thank you for inspiring me! Be safe. Some are no doubt still on the road. Hell, George (from the UK that I biked one glorious day with on 2 Aug 2016) will be on the road until Fall 2017!! May the winds only be at your backs. No flat tires, and only down hills!!
My CHICAGO to SEATTLE by BIKE – 2016, by the numbers:
Miles cycled: 2,306.4 miles, or 3,711.8 km
Most miles cycled in one day: 100.94 miles, Joplin, MT to Blackfoot, MT on 5 Aug 2016
Least miles cycled in one day: 23.74 miles, Stryker, MT to Eureka, MT on 10 August 2016
States Crossed: 7 (Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington)
Highest average daily speed: 15.4 MPH, Stryker, MT to Eureka, MT on 10 August 2016
Total feet climbed during the entire trip: 85,507 ft (according to my RunTastic app)
Mechanicals – 2 (1 dropped chain, 1 brake problem on descent (!!) from Logan Pass)
Flat tires: 0!!!
Bee stings: 2!!!
Weight lost: 14 pounds (5 pounds in training + 9 pounds during the trip)
1 GREAT TRIP!
People have asked me my favorite cycling days... I would have to say crossing the Continental Divide at Logan Pass and the next to the last day summiting Mt. Washington.
But my favorite day of the trip was the day I spent together with Bunny & Woz at Glacier National Park! I want to go back there!
Thank you very much for reading my blog! I must admit I am disappointed I didn't get more comments, especially from my friends in Richmond, VA...
Some last pictures...
Mt. Rainer