Astoria Bridge: Not for the faint at heart

No one stops on the bridge! but we do!

So we made it to oregon, over the astoria bridge, 4.2 miles long with a super small shoulder with two way traffic speeding by at 55mph! it was tough. and you proabably shouldnt stop on the bridge, but we did! aaaahhh! we had been leap-frogging a really slow couple for the fast two days and of course they were ahead of us on the bridge. so instead of passing them, which could probably kill us, we stopped and waited as traffic flew by. pretty scary. but at least there wernt logging trucks, it was sunday, even loggers have days off.

t

Highlights from the Washington leg...

Get us out of Aberdeen!

Largest Sitka spruce in the world (that little bump is leah!)

Big Ass cedar tree

Hoh

Hoh Rainforrest!

backcountry, usa

Lake Cresent

Orcas Island

Orcas Island

Thanks for checking in guys! the pics arent in order (reversed) but at least we got some up! in oregon now! its great to be out of washington!

finally on our way again

After not finding fuel in Aberdeen, getting a flat on busy highway 12, pinching the patched tire at least twice (only time will tell if we got it this last time), loosing my favorite water bottle (the only one that doesn't tast like booze), and realizing that my mp3 player turned itself on at some point and completely drained the battery, I am ready to get out of here and as far from Aberdeen as possible. Lake Sylvia was alright but lots of noisy children. I used to go there as a kid though and at first I didn't remember anything but all of a sudden memories of running around beneath the dam came back to me and when I went exploring things were just as sweet as I remembered. I made Taylor get up and check out the walkway under the water but he was kind of "humph" and just wanted to sleep in the sun. I had plans to mend pants, write letters, and take care of other odds and ends but instead we pretty much just lounged around all day.

It seems we are at war with the chipmunks. And I think the crows must be in line with them. The one night we didn't hang our food in a tree a creature chewed a little hole through my pannier and got some of our bread. Taylor retalliates with all sorts of noises and when there are rocks we throw them. Last night the bag was properly hung which might be part of the reason a big crow perched on that same branch and 'Ka ka'd' at us all morning. And unfortunately that campsite was devoid of rocks.

So today we are off. We are doing a bit of a shorter ride to leave us plenty of time for laundry. (Neither of us can wear our cycling shorts at this point and i know that i at least am out of clean underwear). But I can't complain too much because the weather has been amazing and promises to stay good, at least for the immediate future. And tomorrow we should make it to Oregon, which is totally awesome and promises to be beautiful. We have been seeing all kinds of super beautiful places. The trees especially have been amazing and I highly reccomend them.

then they rested...

So we made it to Montesano, washington. ten miles east of aberdeen. After the last post, we took hwy 12, which has 4 lanes of FAST traffic and lots of debris strewn across the shoulder. one big obstacle course really! we suffered 2 flats (one each.) and fixed one on the hwy shoulder! amazing, funny, and tiring. but we made it. and we finally found a place, after 2 big towns, that has camping fuel! weve been trying for 2 days and finally ran out, and ate a cold dinner. thank you, montesano hardware store!

at the moment, we are nursing our body aches from a week of not much rest, leah has a bum knee, and my heel is acting wierd. so hopefully in the morning we canmake it a short 40 miles to the next park on the coast. then one day left in washington and its oregon and cali all the way!

i wanted to let peeps know that if anyone is thinking of good camping this summer. they should definately check out the hoh rainforest and/or lake quinalt. SO pretty, and the hoh has primitive (free) camping by the river. i was amazed by the forrest there, very lord of the ringsesque. ill try to find a place to post pics soon!

t

Coasting the Coast?

wow, aberdeen washington, eh? if anyone has been here it feels like its name should be Anytown USA. one long long strip of grocery stores, walmart, and rite aids. but needless to say the trip so far has been amazing of course, and very ecclectic!

Orcas island was so beautiful, and the weather has been sunny ever since. leah and i started the trip camping in moran state park. we stayed 2 nights to get our bearing and hiked a good 6 miles up and around mt constitution. had the best view ever of the san juans from the summit... theres hundreds of islands up there!

sunday we left our camp at about 6am! (wow, wasnt ready for that.) to catch the only ferry to sydney, canada that day. after the ferry we took a breezy 20 mile bike ride down to victoria city. we spent a bout an hour and a half there, ate a $5 hot dog, saw a castle, and desided we should be heading to the land of the free again. victoria doesnt have too much going for it, as far as we could see. our eyes were set on the olympic hot springs, far across the straights. ....

weve been staying since victoria in beautiful olympic campgrounds: some with water, some without, but most with composting only toilets. its been a rugged smelly trip! ive yet to have a shower for 5 days! i smell, BAD! ("sorry" to the woman and her baby next to me at the library.) leah took one in lake quinalt last night, and i decided to wait for the state park we are staying in. too cold for me. but one day soon ill bath in the lake!

our trip since the hot springs area has dipped up and down from 1000 feet in elevation twice. which i find myself saying out loud: " i am a machine, im a well oiled machine." its been my mantra on the hilly parts and really works! i kinda had this idea that i'd be "coasting" on my coastal bike trip... btw weve biked about 290 miles this week. average rides are about 60 miles a day!

the food has been sustaining, mainly convenience stores and cans of quick camping food, precooked rice, fruit and veggies. i do want to note my most interesting meal so far... yesterday in kalacola on the pacific coast we ate a lunch of: cold wheat bread with cream cheese (from the victoria ferry,) one cold can of pork and beans, cheetos handi-snacks, one strawberry pop tart, and some trail mix. now thats a well balanced meal of over 200 ingredients!

the only meal that comes close to that weird is when we dropped pasta on the ground while draining it and had to sift through all the leaves and pine needles. the meal had a nice earthy quality...

so, yes we are having a blast! and yes, everyone should bike the washington coast. im surprised at how easy it is and how many places there are to camp and see the beauty of washington. its a great state to be in. looking forward to one days rest. then 100 miles to the oregon border.

until later! hope everything is well!
to the theonistas out there i need some more chocolate shipped out to me ASAP. ill let u know my whereabouts!
and Audrey rocks for lending me her awesome panniers! xo

Already the tour tour has taken its own path

Leah and i decided within the last half an hour to skip the vancouver leg of our trip, seeing that our accommodation fell through. yes, we could probably have tried to find another place to stay. but the cons out weighed the pros. why start an out doors adventure in a city anyways? as soon as we decided the feeling of our trip exploded with even more adventure...
san juans here we come! afterwards we will be going to victoria and then continue as planned from pt. angeles down HWY 101.
im leaving at 9am to bike to woodinville in my 1970s raliegh touring bike, "white lightning." hope she makes it down the 101! after woodinville we'll be heading by car (yeah i know,) to the anacortes ferry terminal and orcas island!
more soon!