Wheres Vickie 2010, Volume 1

Washington Pass

Yours Truly at Diablo Lake

Spring in the Cascades

Misty morning in the cascade foothills

Dipping our tires in the Pacific

Wildflowers

Bigfoot crossing

This is what we did on Day 3

Volume 1

Day 1 - Sedro Wooley, WA
40 miles, 1000 feet cumulative elevation gain
Cool and cloudy - perfect biking weather!

We started the day by riding 5 miles WEST, to dip our tires in the ocean at Washington Park. Then backtracked through Anacortes and on through the Skagit Valley. This was a very easy, flat, short day.

Out of Anacortes we took a beautiful trail on a trestle across Fidalgo Bay. (I’m happy that they’ve re-opened this as an arsonist burnt part of it down last year.) Then headed north a bit, along Padillla Bay, before turning east again through Skagit Valley farmland.

Two of my biking buddies, Cheryl and Liz, came up last night to attend our send-off dinner. Cheryl spent the night and rode with us today all the way to Sedro Wooley, then turned around to ride back. She is training for the STP (Seattle to Portland ride) and wanted to do at least 70 miles today.

Day 2 - Marblemount, WA
52 miles, 1500 feet cumulative elevation gain
Cool and cloudy - perfect biking weather!

A pleasant day, mostly through green tunnel-like back roads along the Skagit river. Fern-covered rock walls, little waterfalls, the music of Swainson’s Thrush and the buzz of hummingbirds, wildflowers lining the road..

I biked for most of the day with three friends from the Underground Railroad tour, Rebecca, Christine, and Debbie. On this tour I also know Joanna, from the Southern Tier, and our guide Michelle from several previous tours. We only have a couple of WomanTours virgins on this trip. Youngest is 42, oldest is 70.

I feel like I still have a rubber band connecting me to home. Hopefully it will break once we’re over the mountains.

Day 3 - Winthrop, WA
90 miles, 6630 feet cumulative elevation gain
Sunny and warm - perfect biking weather!

Oh. My. God.

Today was HARD. Definitely the hardest ride I’ve ever done. Yes, well over a MILE of elevation gain. Miles and miles of 6 - 9% grade. I am SOOO glad I had mountain bike gearing put on my bike before this tour!

Still, I pedaled every mile!

We started the day in clouds again, but by lunchtime we had sunshine and clear blue sky. I was worried about cold and sleet at the top of the pass, which has been common in recent weeks, but this was shorts and short-sleeve weather the whole way.

Our chef and nutritionist advised us to stop every hour for a snack, which really helped. Towards the top (Washington Pass, 5500 ft) I was stopping every 200-300 feet of elevation gain. The only thing that really got sore was my feet, which I was sorely tempted to plunge into one of the remaining snow banks.

The mountains are, of course, so beautiful as to be nearly indescribable, especially this time of year. Many, many roaring creeks of snow run-off. Wildflowers everywhere. Blue-green lakes surrounded by tall evergreens. Thrushes singing: Swainson’s, Veery, Hermit, Wood, Varied.

Then the long, thrilling coast down from the top… 20 miles at 20-30 mph, Yee-Hah! And at the bottom, what do I find but a latte place in Mazama! Just fuel enough for the last 15 flat miles through a lovely valley into Winthrop

Did not get in until just after 7pm -- 12 hours on the road. As I rode past one of the restaurants in town I heard “yay Vickie, way to go!”. Tour group #1 ( we are #2, traveling one day behind them, and we overlap on rest days) was there eating dinner. Then on to our hotel for a cold beer and spaghetti dinner. I think we were all in bed by 8::30.