The bug under the microscope

I have lost track of how many times I've told our story. There are the storytellings I expect - when we pull into a campground or host for the night - and the storytellings that don't surprise me - like when we ask for directions, bikes loaded down with food and panniers full and tents in tow. But there are also the times when I feel like a rather curious looking bug caught under a scientist's magnifying glass. My favorite such moment was when we were in Portland; Zac had run into a bakery to get some bread for our picnic in the rose garden. I was waiting outside with the bikes...no tent, only one pannier...nothing to really mark me as a touring cyclist. but lo and behold, a gentleman walks up to me and asks if we do tours on our bikes. I told him our story...turns out he recognized the Surly mark and knew them to be reputable touring bikes!

Anywho. I digress. Portland was absolutely wonderful. The food was wonderful...woodfire pizzas, strawberry honey balsamic vinegar with black pepper ice cream, vanilla yogurt pancakes Zac couldn't quite finish...We had very happy tastebuds and tummies! The city was a feast for the eyes, too. We were staying with a family in the Hawthorne neighborhood; when we had dinner in Colorado with Felix and his friend Cyn, she got in touch with her friend Dori in Portland who welcomed us with open arms. Sidenote: the hospitality we've encountered on this trip has been amazing and has restored my faith in people. Again, I digress. The houses in Portland are shorter than those of Chicago...two story bungalows reign over the taller apartments. But they're so pretty! And it's a very green city, literally and metaphorically. in addition to a recycling bin, each home also has a yard waste bin so that grass clippings and weeds can be composted!

 oh, and the major bridge into the city has a tally of how many bikes had crossed it so far...!

So we spent our days wandering the city, taking in the experimental rose garden (where all the roses were in bloom and the air smelled divine), having dinner with the one and only Erin Kouwe (a high school friend who also moved to Chicago and also happened to be in Portland!), enjoying a live blues band (where of course we showed off our dancing. but only a little, I swear!) and resting weary muscles.

 He is oh so dapper!

My favorite...looks like fire!

one of the places to lock your bike outside Powell's Bookstore

I can't say I was exactly excited to get back on the trail. Those damn hills just about broke my morale. But we reworked our route to create shorter, more leisurely days...And so far, so good! We took a bus from Portland to Tillamook in order to get back on the coast; the campsite we were planning to stay at was only about 15 miles away. This is mainly due to the 1000 foot climb we get to tackle first thing in the morning. eeeek! But we pulled into camp around 330...a solid 4 hours earlier than nights past! Which meant we had time to shower, hang out around the fire with other cyclists, go swimming...

Yep. You read that right. The water was nowhere near warm enough for such shenanigans, but that wasn't about to stop me from seizing the first opportunity I had to swim in the Pacific ocean! It took three tries to get in the water, it was so bone-chillingly, teeth-achingly, skin-burningly cold. But third time was the charm...I channeled all my years swimming at the Jersey shore and dove through a wave! Felt a lot better after that! And Zac has given me permission to tease him mercilessly here on my blog...for being waaaaaaaay too chicken to take the plunge! He made it out to his hips, but couldn't bring himself to come out any further. I sure enjoyed giving him ice cold hugs!

also, I decided those are not rocks. They are kissing dinosaurs!

So. trip take two. Pre-Portland was characterized by a whole lot of frustration, pain and tears. while I still anticipate more of those things to come, I think we've better set ourselves up for fun now :)

And hopefully we'll make it to San Fran three days before our train goes back to Chicago!

Revisiting our plans

Day 4 was...a mix.

We had a minor setback in the morning when the patch Zac had put on his front tire didn't take. Fortunately, there was a bike shop half a mile from where we were having breakfast. We got him a new tube and tire (the gal at the bike shop pulled glass out of his tire. He figured it was time for a new one!) and were on our way only about an hour behind schedule.

There was thankfully no headwind this time, so the morning was pretty smooth sailing. Well, as much as it could be since there were, you know, hills. I'm pleased to report that for the most part, the gorilla was downgraded to somewhere between a chimpanzee and an orangutan. (sorry for all the simian metaphors, but I like 'em. I hope you've gotten used to my rating scale!). The sun was shining, but the air was a cool 65/68, so we were comfortable! We pushed on for a few hours, determined to cover as much ground as possible before stopping for lunch.

The promise of a bed, a shower, and a Great Dane kept me going. Zac had emailed Cas and Ian, a couple in Bremerton who hosts Warm Showers bikers. They mentioned their Great Dane James in their profile...and come hell or high water, I was going to make it to Bremerton!

Unfortunately, the hills started catch up with me shortly before lunch. The orangutan was growing again, and I could tell Zac was getting frustrated. I don't blame him. It's no fun to have to stop at the top of almost every significant hill and wait for me to either walk up it, or watch me pedaling furiously in a low gear and barely covering any ground. Side note? I now know how hamsters in wheels feel...

But we made it to lunch, refueled and rested for a bit.

Our spirits were low. I cried. It happens. Even the alphabet backwards in FRENCH didn't do the trick.

But then we met some highschoolers selling cupcakes on a street corner as a fundraiser. We bought a couple cupcakes, struggled over one more hill...and then the landscape flattened out. We (well, I....) could move at a decent clip again. We covered miles in the time it took us to traverse one hill.

When we texted Cas to let her know we were about an hour away, she responded that she would have dinner ready for us when we got there! ...Have I mentioned Cas and Ian are AWESOME?

We made it to Bremerton around 7.30, tired, grubby, and hungry. But they fed us AMAZING homemade Indian food, I got to cuddle with a Great Dane, and we sat around swapping stories and chatting for a few hours.

Zac and I had also decided that day 5 was going to be a rest day. Earlier than anticipated, but our bodies, minds, and spirits needed it desperately. Our hosts were gracious enough to allow us to impose upon their hospitality for one more night, so we spent day 5 watching a movie, walking around downtown Bremerton, doing laundry, and most importantly - resting our aching muscles.

We're on the train to Portland now. We decided that it was more important to enjoy this trip than barrel through for the sake of doing exactly what we said we would. Portland is something we both had our hearts set on and there's no reason to skip it! So we're gonna hang out in, go dancing, explore the used bookstore that covers an entire city block and get back on the trail on the 17th!

(I also feel the need to comment on how wonderfully patient and caring Zac has been through all of this. He hates seeing me struggle and lets me set my pace, rest when I need to, reminds me to drink water, and manages to coax a smile out of me even through tears)

The Day the Alphabet Saved my Sanity

Day 3 (I've decided to go by day, rather than yesterday/today/Tuesday, mainly because I can't for the life of me keep anything straight any more!) was wicked. I don't mean that in a positive, "wicked! gnarly!" kind of way. I mean that in the, "wicked, vicious, downright evil" kind of way. Why?

Because we were fighting a headwind. Uphill. ALL. DAY. LONG.

That gorilla I mentioned in my last post? It had me in tears during lunch, frustrated because I'm so bad at this, afraid Zac would get sick of me holding him back, muscles in pain from so much forced work.

I didn't know how I was mentally going to make it through the afternoon, and this time we were on a deadline. There was a 6pm ferry we needed to catch in order to make it to our campsite.

At first, I started trying to conquer the hills by counting reps. 8 sets of 8, every time my left foot pedaled down. I told myself that once I finished "8, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8" I could pause and wait for the burning to subside. That worked...for a couple hills. But it only worked for so long. Then I started singing an old warmup from highschool...the alphabet, sung in fifths (do re mi fa sol fa mi re do kind of thing). And then I decided to give my brain something to worry on instead of my legs.

I taught myself to sing the alphabet backwards.

And you know what?

We made it to the ferry at 5.30

Dear Chicago: why are you so flat?

Hello again friends! It's day two of our journey (when I'm writing this) and we're happily back in the US. We've logged (officially) 87 miles, but with various exploratory adventures on our first day in Vancouver and various... accidental adventures (okay, okay...misreading the map and getting friggin' lost!!), we probably have close to 110 miles under our belts already!

Backtracking a bit: Vancouver was awesome! We stayed with Devon and Karen, a fantastic pair of blues dancers. They were amazingly hospitable (fed us, gave us a comfy futon to sleep on, that sort of thing) and were a heck of a lot to hang out with! We even went to see a musical in an outdoor theatre! Legally Blonde, the musical. And you know what? I think even Zac enjoyed it ;-)

Our pre-trip day in Vancouver consisted mostly of getting to know these things called "hills." Thus the title of today's entry. I knew the hills would be a shock. I knew nothing in the flat Midwest that is Chicago would prepare us. But...Owww. Hills HURT. It doesn't help that we were bike-less and on lazy vacation for the week and a half leading up to the trip. Doesn't exactly lend itself to being prepared! But it was great to ride the city, hills notwithstanding. Their lakefront trail blows Chicago's out of the water! Not only is the mountain backdrop way more picturesque than our endless lake horizon, but there are two separate paved paths - one for bikers, and one for pedestrians. Brilliant!

Our first day on the trail went pretty darn well. There were some weird twists and turns on the map that got us lost a few times and my legs were horribly sore from the wicked Vancouver hills...but there were way more upsides than downsides! Our tasty picnic lunch - cheese, sausage, crackers and cranberries - and my favorite visitor who embodies the phrase "speak softly and carry a big stick!"

There was the giant suspension bridge that gave us a beautiful vantage point (though I confess I forgot to take a picture...). It was a long, steep climb, so I did have to give up and walk most of it. can't wait to see if the Golden Gate Bridge feels easier in a few weeks!

And the feeling of flopping down in the cool grass in the shade of a giant tree on a hot day...that's pretty heavenly.

We stayed with a warm showers host in White Rock that night. Warm showers is a hosting program specifically for people on bike tours. The host is only obligated to offer us a warm shower and a lawn to pitch our tent in, but sometimes they offer so much more! Patrick, our White Rock host, took us to the best fish'n'chips in town, took us on a tour down the promenade, showed us where the real Italian gelato could be found, and walked and talked with us all evening. It was absolutely wonderful...And after a long day biking in the hot sun and a full evening of good food, better conversation and seaside air, we passed out as soon as we hit the ground!

The White Rock for which the town was named...and our shadows!

Today was a little...rougher. Zac warned me that the second day would be harder. Well...he was right. For all my legs hurt yesterday, that was nothing compared to how they felt today. It was basically the feeling of doing three pushups too many...and that was on flatlands or gentle inclines. On proper hills? That was more the feeling of doing three pushups too many...while a gorilla is sitting on your back! Needless to say, today's overwhelming feeling was one of discomfort and pain.

But that's not to say today was all bad. We had some beautiful countryside to bike along. It reminded me a lot of upstate New York...which I suppose makes sense - Washington and upstate are both major apple producers...

One of our accidental adventures took us to a roadside stand selling the most delicious raspberries, so we ate incredibly well at lunch...

And did I mention this was our view?

 And our first (little) mountain took us through a rather majestic old-growth forest. Because of the hills (and therefore the gorilla on my back) I didn't think to get a picture...but even if I had, I don't think it would have done it justice.

Can't wait to see what adventures (accidental and intentional) tomorrow holds!

Rocky (Mountain) adventures

I thought I was antsy to be on our way the day before we left Chicago. That feeling is, in fact, negligible compared to the day before we fly to Vancouver.

But as antsy as I am to start the next leg of our journey, I have to pause to appreciate the time we've spent in Colorado. We got to enjoy small town America for the fourth of July - Felix, Zac's grandfather, was elected Grand Marshall of the Cherry Days Parade!

(The library's summer reading program was mining themed. Made me smile!)


We had a picnic in the park, got ice cream, took long, lazy naps in the afternoon...it was quite the delightful 4th by my standards!

And have I mentioned this is the view from the living room??

We also explored Marble, CO. Zac has been going out to Marble ever since he was a little kid (oh man. The tiny-Zac pictures I got to see...SO CUTE!!). It's a marble quarry where huge chunks of raw marble lie strewn about, discarded toys dropped by giants long ago. Parts of the Lincoln Monument came from Marble! But we went to Marble on a mission. Over the course of almost 2 decades, Zac has been carving a "Z" into one of the giant chunks of marble, so we wanted to find it to refresh it...and find it we did!

Other than those little adventures, we've mainly been lounging around reading (I've already read through Barbara Kingsolver's First Flight and am almost done with Caitlin Moran's How to be a Woman) and enjoying each others' company. Felix, who just turned 95, is a captivating storyteller. I don't know that I know anyone else who was born in 1918! But I enjoyed listening to stories of cross-country road trips in the late '20s or how things changed after the Depression, or his service in WWII. And he makes a mean Martini, too!

So now it's time to part ways and strike out on this crazy adventure! We finally bought return train tickets, so we'll be back in Chicago on August 15th. I can't wait to find out what happens between now and then!!

Tales from the train

Louise (Zac's mom, for those of you playing along at home) had joked that with any luck, I would fall asleep in the prairie and wake up in the mountains. When I woke up at 6:15 after fitfully "sleeping" for (maybe) 5 hours, I was a little sad to be greeted by flatlands still. Oh well. I read for a little while, had some breakfast, enjoyed the (flat) view. and then...I took a nap. Zac and I curled up in our seats, pulled the blinds closed, and passed out for another hour. And then I woke up to this:

Cue John Denver, I was feeling the Rocky Mountain High!

I have to say, I infinitely prefer train travel. The US has a long way to go before they catch up to Europe's, but I'll take it! Yes, the train ride to Colorado is taking a full 24 hours and it was only barely cheaper than flying, but for me, it's way more fun. The seats are more comfortable, there's access to real food rather than just soda and peanuts, and the view...oh, the view makes it worth it.

I haven't been to this part of the country since I was 12 or 13, but it all feels so familiar still. The rocks have a reddish quality to them; the mountainside is covered with conifers. I love the random rock outcrops, as though someone had punched through the earth from below and the rock stayed put!

We have four hours left on the train and I'm suddenly reminded of a passage from Le Petit Prince. The Prince is trying to understand trains and the people in them. The adults are indifferent to the world outside, the children have their noses pressed to the windows. The Prince remarks how sad it is that "les enfants seuls savent ce qu'ils cherchent." (children are the only ones who know what they're looking for)

Here's to keeping our noses pressed against the windows!

Packed and ready to go!

Oh, Mary Poppins would be proud! We went from this:

To this!

I mean, we're looking at biking clothes, cold weather clothes, dancing clothes, tent, sleeping bags and ground mats, toiletries and meds, kindles and cell phones - all packed into two panniers!

It's a good lesson in simplicity, in a way. Everything must have multiple purposes, especially technology. My kindle is my book, my CD player and my computer (as is my phone, I suppose. Technology is fascinating and terrifying...). The frisbees? Something to toss around and entertain us, but also plates for dinnertime!

And what you see is what we'll have for 6 weeks on the road! We've been planning this trip for so long...it doesn't seem possible that we leave in less than 24 hours! It's time, though. I'm ready!

As the Doctor would say...allons-y!