(Picking up where I left off..)
With three days of riding before the long awaited dip in the ocean, emotions were running high. Going into that last week and those last few days, everyone said at least once : 'I don't want to get one my bike today.' This was mixed in with the nostalgic lamenting of the 'lasts'..last camp site....last dinner together...last grocery trip...last time to set up and break down my tent...last plunge into an ice cold mountain lake for a 'shower' and to do laundry...last time to put on a cold wet chamois in the morning because it did't dry the night before..last game of hearts and bottle of wine...
8.2 - Darrington, WA - 55
Our last trip to the grocery...a parade of cyclists meander to camp with bags on handlebars. One cyclist crosses the road to take a picture and ends up gracefully riding off the road into some bushes... Wine, beer, sharing food, stories, playing cards... Our campground was pretty cool - featuring the tall, tall trees that the northwest is famous for - looked like something out of one of the Twilight movies...
8.3 - Snohomish, WA - 65
Snohomish is called 'Snoho' by the locals. We would camp on a soccer field on the night before our final ride.
Kate's family came to visit and brought pizza, salad and beer for the group. After dinner, we passed around index cards with each person's name. The idea was to write out superlatives that apply to that person...and we would take turns reading the cards out loud and guessing the name. To give you an idea of what could be on these cards....here are some of mine:
Most likely to ride for wifi
Most likely to hack your wifi
Best attitude
Most likely to go to breakfast
Most knowledgeable
Most likely to buy a sports bra with a pocket. (Note: this particular comment may seem kind of random...unless your name is Karen and you golf with me on a regular basis, or you are related to me..... On days when I wasn't wearing a cycling jersey with those nifty pockets in the back, I would carry my iphone and map...elsewhere - in a ziplock bag - let's just say...'close to my heart'. I have also found that this comes in handy in my regular life...convenient for extra golf balls, keys, cell phones etc. My sister is also a fan - great place to stash energy bars and energy shots for road races...if you ever run with her, she totally carries extra if you run out - just ask her)
After dinner and superlatives, my sister, Molly, and my husband, Ben, came to Snohomish..with Molly's kids in tow. They brought some requested items with them. First up - two 6 packs of Fat Tire.
The first six pack - renamed FLAT tire, went to Ron, who got 15 flats during our journey - more than anyone else. (Thankfully, although I had a late surge, I only ended up with 12 total...Bethany was right behind with 11). The second six pack, renamed NO FLAT Tire, would be split by Rob and Joe...an amazing accomplishment to go nearly 4300 miles without a roadside fix!
They also brought a cake for Richard. Richard would turn 69 years young a week after the trip and we wanted to celebrate with him the night before the end of our 69 day journey. We sang happy birthday.
I also got Richard an IPA - Descender Ale. He read the write up on the beer label out loud which got many of us tearing up....as it perfectly summarized a lot of our trip.
We stayed up having drinks and listening to music while chatting on that last night. I went to bed sleepy and a bit sad as our last ride would be tomorrow....I was also glad that my sister was there - after riding the first week, Molly would book-end the trip by riding the last day into Seattle with me.
(One more blog post to go)
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