First 9 Days - highlights

In the first 9 days we have biked 462 miles with 18,005 feet of climbing. Almost to Idaho!

We rode from Bellingham to Arlington, to North Bend, through Snoqualmie pass to Easton Lake, through Cle Elum up Wa 970, 66 miles and over 4000ft of Climbing to Peshastin, through East Wenatchee to Quincy, to Moses Lake, to Ritzville (not very Ritzy), to Fishtrap Lake, and now we are resting in Spokane. 

Highlights

The first few days were a mix of side roads, paved and gravel trails. Washington is such a green and beautiful state. There were tons of blackberry bushes full of blossoms, but no fruit. Sad. But at least we were able to get some Salmon Berries on the side of a road. 

The first night we stayed in a Best Western (anniversary gift from Bliss’ dad), The second night we stayed with a warmshowers host, Tisch, in North Bend. We were her first Warmshowers (WS) guests, so she was so excited (more details in a later post).

We rode the Palouse-Cascade trail through Snoqualmie pass. It was a steady climb and on gravel, so tough, but enjoyable. We went over several train tressels so high up, past beautiful rivers, and through the Snoqualmie Tunnel. Two miles of pitch black, but the headlights worked great. It was a little damp and musty, and a little bumpy, and pretty fun. We found out that the trail was closed quite a ways ahead due to construction. It would have been horrible to backtrack, so after talking with several other cyclists we decided to chance it. Luckily, although they laid down a lot of gravel that made the riding difficult, there were no workers around and we made it through just fine. Whew. We stopped at Easton lake where we washed off a little in the lake and wild camped in the woods. 

Next day we rode through Cle Elum where we stopped at the Pioneer Coffee Shop and Bakery. A very nice, long break where we charged some electronics. The majority of the ride was on Wa 970. A lot of high speed traffic, however the shoulder was pretty good for most of it. So despite being a little annoying at times there were no real problems. It was a super hot day. 

We stopped several times to dip in a river or stream, riding in wet clothes felt good. We also used Frog Togs around our necks to help cool us. I think the hot yoga we did helped some too. It was a climb for most of the day, and about 26 miles from where we planned to go there was a campground. We decided that this is our party and we could stop if we wanted. The campground was pretty empty so we set up the hammocks at one of the sites and rested for about an hour. 

We felt pretty good after the rest so we decided to go on. We had to stop and catch our breath several times, but we made it up the last climb - 4 miles.  Then we had a fantastic long descent where we went to Peshastin where Jon, a WS host said we could stay even though he wasn’t there. All we had to cook was Ramen, but luckily, just a few blocks from his house we passed a taco truck, small miracles. 

Jon’s property was right on the Wenatchee river, beautiful. We stayed in his “she shed”, very awesome. The next day Bliss’ back tire got a slow leak. I pumped it up every few miles, then gave up and had to change it. Those tires are so hard to get off and on. Good part was we stopped at an orchard that had the sprinklers going. Stayed in a cheap hotel in Quincy.

Next day rode through a lot of farm land. We ate some snap peas off the vine at one farm (don’t tell), so good. We planned to camp at Cascade Park in Moses Lake, so of course my back tire got a leak, but I was able to keep it pumped up til we reached the campground. It was pretty windy so Bliss asked a lady camping next to us if we could use their BBQ grill to cook our steak. The lady snidely replied “well, that’s an odd request”. We cooked our steak on our own little stove and it was delicious.

Next day was full of BIG rolling hills and… MANY of them. But maybe our favorite day so far. We met Edward Stahl, a Hutterite minister that truly blessed our lives, well, really our stomachs.  (see previous blog post). We stayed in a Best Western in Ritzville. 

Next day, flat roads and a tail wind, WHAT IS GOING ON. A little bit of rain, but we didn’t get too cold. Passed through the town of Sprague, a pretty depressed city, many buildings falling apart. The one interesting thing was there were several fields that were filled with very old cars and trucks, rusted, but in good condition. That night we wild camped at Fishtrap Lake recreation area, where we basically slept on lava rock. 

Our 9th day of riding was again a tail wind and mixture of a road with a great shoulder and little traffic along with a paved path with beautiful views.   We planned to ride through Spokane to take in their River Front Park… unknowingly to us the world’s largest 3 on 3 basketball tournament was going on.  400 fields with 16 teams each.  It was insane so we didn’t stay too long.  We arrived at Katy & Ethan’s  home ready to rest and take a day off.  They are hosting us through Warmshowers and have been so gracious.  New friends are the best!