Month: May 2011

Last day before we start.  Off early from Salem up I5, we arrived in Ocean Shores, WA in the late morning and Linda and I declared yet another new state.  The weather was surprisingly nice so we made a beeline for the Ocean Shores Golf Course and set up a tee time.   It was a fun round for us all even though at times we declared the course to be in “ratty ass” shape. The staffer at the golf course suggested we try out a nice restaurant up the coast called Ocean Crest, so we had our hotel book us

Today was dedicated to driving, and we covered again over 600 miles.  Jack and I took turns careening up Interstate 5, while Linda took her throne as queen of “Name That Artist.”  In California, above Redding, the scenery gets very beautiful, windy and cold.  We were looking forward to seeing Mt Shasta and were not disappointed. Entering Oregon marked a new state for Linda and me.  Appropriately, we got hit with rains, which again got us thinking about the potential weather riding through Washington in the coming weeks.  <sigh>  Tonight we’re holed up in a motel in Salem, OR.  

Today’s theme was golf and then some more golf.  As part of a stay-and-play deal at the Best Western, we played and suffered and worked and enjoyed our way through 36 holes at two Diablo Grande courses here in Patterson, CA. We played the Ranch course in the AM, featuring some particularly nasty tee shots into narrow fairways.   Even from the short men’s tee, this course is rated around 72 with a slope of 130 – one tough layout.  But it is surrounded by gorgeous stark hills of brown grasses dotted with trees.  Nothing too stellar about any of our

Jack, Linda, and I are off at last!  Early departure, then IHOP breakfast this morning in west Phoenix.  We hit the freeway parking lots around LA by early afternoon, then plowed our way up I-5 towards Sacramento.  On the way we played “Name That Tune” with the satellite radio, and I learned that guessing “Slayer” or “Scotty McCreery” was a rewarding strategy.  And let’s not forget about that oldies band called the “Flaming Os.”  A long day in the car, around 12 hours and 680 miles. Tonight we’re at a Best Western in Patterson, California.  The three of us had

Jack is here!  T-minus 2 days before we leave, and 6 days before we pedal.  We spent the day visiting Viasat-AMP, reassembling his bicycle, and staging our gear.   The plan is to play some golf tomorrow, and Jack will also plan to visit his son here in Phoenix.  One last day of civility at home. By the way, the gates on SR20 in Washington opened up today at noon!  So now we’re watching the next planned passage through Glacier National Park in Montana (likely closed until mid-June).

Neither Ed nor Jesse could join me this morning, but I decided to get in one last conditioning spin.   As a show of how distracted I am these days, anticipating next week, I rode off from home and down King Kong hill before realizing I wasn’t wearing my helmet.  Slogged back up the hill to get it – bonus miles! Halfway to the lake I spied a beautiful bird by the roadside.  As a closet birder, I knew right away it was a western tanager but I’ve never seen one in the wild.  They are fairly common in some wooded

The eastbound and westbound teams plowing SR20 in Washington have finally met.  They are scheduling official opening between Tuesday and Thursday this coming week, some 10 days prior to our passage.  This is very good news! Above is a photo from the plowing crew’s website, to provide an idea of the work involved.  Yeah, I want to ride through there! The website also posted photos of a few ‘friends’ they saw on the route.  But we’re not planning on any “bear problems.”              

Leaving the full ‘practice pack’ in place, I sluggishly rolled out this morning and down Bush Highway.  At the river bottom, a beautiful buck deer strolled out onto the highway in front of me.  I stopped a good 200 yards away, but he saw me before I could arm my camera and sprung off into the desert. Nearly to Saguaro Lake, I passed another loaded down touring cyclist going the opposite direction and waved.  Another cyclist soon came along too, so I again waved, and he called out, “Hey!”    Pretty soon, he’d turned around and caught up with me, and