I've been on the road for two weeks.
The odometer on my bike reads 732 miles.
Last May I had the opportunity to spend eight days at a Jesuit retreat house called Eastern Point, in Gloucester Massachusetts, for a silent retreat. During the retreat God gave me the words "Begin each day with gratitude. Spend each day in humility. For now, that is enough." This ride has been a practice of that lesson.
THE CASCADES:
Wow.
266 miles, 19,064 feet of ascent. Indescribable beauty.
After a time I realized that I needed to stop taking pictures or I would never complete the ride. My last post contains some of those photos. The climb up Washington Pass was the most challenging ride of my life. That day I rode 34 miles up hill and a total of 57 miles. I climbed 5,569 feet. With me I carried 90 pounds of bike and gear.
the Cascades, but not the most difficult. (Notice
the rain gear. It rained at the top of every pass.)
Each valley held a wonderful little mountain town providing a great place to stay.
Republic, Washington with my now to dear friends
Karen and Alan Crossley (more on that later).
Republic is located between Wauconda Pass and
Sherman Pass. There is a bakery in Republic that
has the best cinnamon rolls and has a breakfast
special of eggs, sausage, coffee and two huge
buttermilk pancakes for $4.75.
The camping has been great at public campgrounds. Most of the campgrounds have bear boxes to store food so that one doesn't get visited in the night by an un-welcome guest.
campground.
THE PEOPLE:
A trip like this is so affirming of human nature, the basic goodness of people.
Bill and Barb Bochner, whom I met in Anacortes, caught up with in Mazama and now seem to be keeping a day ahead of me. Wonderful folks from California who are riding to raise awareness for Canine Companions, a dog training program for the disabled.
Tracy, who has worked at Boeing Aircraft for 30 years, loves to spend every moment he can with his wife in the Cascades fishing at Colonial Creek Campground, awaiting retirement to allow them even more time.
Jessie, the young man who grew up in Republic and is committed to staying there and making a difference in his community rather than moving away.
Eian, who, one minute after meeting us in Sandpoint, Washington was on the phone to find us a place to stay.
Sharon, who offered us the use of her backyard in Sandpoint free to camp.
The gentleman, name unknown who pulled up beside us and offered us to stay at his RV park for free and stopped by to check on us and chat the next morning (ok he told me his name, but I forgot it before I could write it down.)
The couple, names unknown, who pulled up beside us in a car to let us know of a free place to stay for the night.
And then there is the Crossleys. On May 27th the Crossleys introduced themselves to me at Pedro's, a Mexican food wagon, apparently of some renown, in Tonasket, Washington. I asked if I might ride with them for a while and we have ridden together until today when we said our tearful goodbyes. They are headed south from here and will reconnect with the Northern Tier Route further east. Karen and Alan are, well to say it simply, wonderful people, interesting, engaging, thoughtful, funny, caring. They have been ideal traveling companions and I will miss their company greatly. We have promised to meet again in Maine.
Barley in Sandpoint.
And all the other folks with kind words and good wishes.
FROM HERE:
As mentioned, I head out over the Rockies tomorrow. I had planned on a route that took me over Logan Pass, what would have been the highest point of my trip at 6,664 feet, but the road is not expected to be clear of snow until June 20th. Instead, I'll take an alternative route over Marias Pass at 5,236 and the Continental Divide. From there I head out over the high plains of Montana and North Dakota.
In the meantime, I have a loving family and wonderful friends back east awaiting my arrival. I am truly blessed, grateful and humbled by my experience.
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