Monday, September 12

Final post

The ride is over now but the overall project is not! Over three thousand dollars have been fundraised which makes for a sizeable grant for a creative expression project. Thank you everyone for your support!

Day Nine

For the last day of cycling I started in White Pass and would continue homeward to Ellensburg. There was some construction occurring on White Pass and as a result I luckily was able to cycle most of the White Pass area without traffic. The route follows the Tieton River which looked like it sported some great river rafting opportunities. From Naches I took a back-route that went through the orchard country of the area and continued to climb over the Selah Ridge and onto the Yakima Canyon. The canyon itself was hot though apparently not as hot as it has been the past couple of days! In Ellensburg I had a warm reception from a number of close friends.
In the morning at the Mt. Rainier scenic viewpoint

Zoom, zoom, zoom!

Near Naches on SR 12

A view of the Yakima Canyon facing toward Selah

Near the end of the ride in the Yakima Canyon

Another biking photo!

Finished!!!

Day Eight

Day eight was the kind of day that started out tough but ended up being rewarding. I started out in the coastal town of Raymond and started along an eastward highway toward the Chehalis area. As a whole the highway was characteristic of south-central Germany, like other parts of Washington as I've mentioned, with its rolling green hills with intermittent farmland. I then cut across the small towns of Napavine and Winlock to get to SR 12. From there the road followed the long valley toward the ascent to White Pass - I passed through the towns of Morton, Randle, and Packwood. There must have been a cycling event in the area as I saw larger number of cars with road bikes than in other areas. Unfortunately as I was climbing up White Pass I began to run out of sunlight and had to stop at the Mt. Rainier scenic outlook. As a whole this particular day turned out to be the longest day of the tour and also the longest ride I've ever done at 143 miles.
Cruising east toward Chehalis

More biking

Climbing

I didn't get too excited about this - NOT

Climbing up to  White Pass - in the dark!

Saturday, September 10

Day Seven

Having finished in Neah Bay yesterday, I began in Forks this morning. I also picked the perfect weekend to be in Forks: apparently the author of the popular series based in Forks has a town holiday composed of scavenger hunts and other activities that happened to be the weekend I was there. Of course, I rubbed myself down with garlic shortly before arriving. The morning portion of the ride was absolutely amazing with the morning sun piercing through the morning mist of the Olympic National Forest. I was also rewarded with many views of coastal beaches and like yesterday, there was hardly a cloud in the sky! I made it down to Aberdeen earlier than expected and so I continued on the route to the old logging town of Raymond. Only two more days!

Near Ruby Beach at the Olympic National Forest

SR 101 in the morning

Zoom!

I made some friends in Raymond who agreed to give me a lift

Day Six

Day Six covered the entire northern border of the Olympic Peninsula following mostly SR 112 and 101 from Port Townsend to Neah Bay. Although I initially planned to head south to Forks on SR 113, I was having such a good time cycling on SR 112 that I decided to go out to Neah Bay at the most northwestern point of the continental United States. At first the route to Port Angeles had a ton of traffic (even for a Thursday!) but I was relatively secluded on SR 112. In terms of scenery, the Strait of Juan de Fuca Scenic Byway is one of the best  with rolling hills that periodically descend next to coastal tidal zones. I couldn't have lucked out more in terms of weather - I only saw about three (small) clouds the entire day! To end the day, my dad and I hiked the Cape Flattery Trail that ends in amazing views of Tatoosh Island, sea caves, and the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately when I pulled out my camera it was out of juice!

Near the docks in Port Angeles

Zipping through on SR 112

The Strait of Juan de Fuca!

Lost my power cord!

So I left my laptop power cord in Port Townsend and I may not have enough battery power to upload pictures from the past couple days but I'll try! If not, I'll have a big update when I get back on Monday. But rest assure - everything is going great!

Thursday, September 8

Day Five

I thought that the west side of the mountains was supposed to be cloudy all the time... I've been so fortunate this entire time with weather - I haven't seen a single cloud this entire trip! In the morning I biked to the Bellingham neighborhood of Fairhaven and met up with Kyle's dad and uncle before heading down one of the most scenic roads in the nation. Chuckanut Drive definitely lived up to its reputation! We then had lunch in the small town called Edison at a roadside cafe that for some reason had a lot of '80s rock ballads playing on the radio. At that point in the trip Kyle's dad and uncle as well as my uncle Lothar departed from Kyle and I. For the next portion of the ride I followed a series of backroads to Bayview State Park and then reconnected with SR 20 just outside Fidalgo Island. I eventually reached Whidbey Island through the Deception Pass Bridge and made my through Oak Harbor, Coupeville, and onto Fort Casey where a ferry to Port Townsend was waiting. My dad is joining us tonight and will take over sagwagon duties - a big thank you to Kyle Unruh for all your help during this adventure!

Along one of the many scenic outlooks on Chuckanut Drive

An awesome view of Chuckanut Bay

I was hoping to see some oysters - I get hungry while riding

Cruising along the salt flats near Bayview - the North Cascades are in the background

Hungry again for oysters... at Deception Pass

Arriving at Port Townsend!


Wednesday, September 7

Day Four

I decided to extend this particular day by 40 miles as I wanted to stay in Bellingham rather than Lynden. I left Rockport at a little before 7:00 am and headed west toward Sedro-Woolley through the same valley that follows the Skagit River. We then headed north toward Mt. Baker on Highway Nine until we stopped for lunch in the bordertown of Sumas. That portion of the went through some beautiful farmland not unlike some areas of south-central Germany. The burger joint we stopped by in Sumas apparently didn't my order too seriously as they only gave me one when I ordered three chicken burgers! The next part of the ride headed due west through agricultural areas that reminded me of the farmlands of Ohio and Indiana. Eventually the road opened up to reveal the beautiful coastline by Birch Bay! The open water was a welcome site as a new type of landscape encountered during the ride. In Bellingham we are fortunate enough to stay with the mom of another CWU alumni - thank you!

Starting out in the morning - chilly!

The real secret to cycling success

Cruising north near Mt. Baker

At Birch Bay!

Day Three

Day Three would prove to be one of the most scenic rides of the entire tour - the North Cascades Highway. This particular ride sports many attractive characteristics - tall mountain peaks, evergreen forests, flowing mountain streams, glacial lakes - all of which can be seen along with highway. The ride began with a climb to Washington Pass at about 5,455 ft which is followed by a steep descent before climbing once again to Rainy Pass at approximately 4,800 ft. From there, the highway has an amazing view of Ross Lake and shortly after, the Diablo area. Throughout there are some amazing descents on the bicycle which are great for practicing going around corners at high speeds. Beyond that the remainder of the route followed the valley containing the Skagit River until we reached a small town called Rockport. We found a great camping area along the river that even had a showering area!!!

A neat section of the road!

Up, up, up!

A great view of some rocky peaks

Kyle and I toward the top of Washington Pass

At the highest point of the entire ride!

More pictures from Days One and Two

Zooming along the Coulee Corridor

The Owart Clan in downtown Winthrop

Tuesday, September 6

Day Two

I left Grand Coulee at about 7:30 AM and headed north on SR 155 into the Colville Indian Reservation. We made our first stop in Nespelem at the Chief Joseph Memorial and from there Kyle and Lothar drove ahead to Omak where Lothar would bike to Twisp and Kyle would cycle toward me and join me for the rest of the way to Omak. Before reaching Omak I climbed over the scenic Disautel Pass - the area along SR 155 has these amazingly open, bucolic landscapes characteristic of eastern Washington. The route descends into the Okanogen Valley where one can take a glimpse of the Loup Loup area and  North Cascade Range behind it - areas that I would have to climb through. The ascent to Loup Loup is a challenging 18-mile climb to 4,000 ft - at this point the afternoon heat was becoming an issue. From there I descended into the Methow Valley to continue on toward the tourist town of Winthrop. There we were fortunate enough to stay with the local veterinarian and once again my parents were able to join us for dinner in downtown Winthrop. On my car, since it's possible to set off the car alarm with a remote signal, I toyed around with the idea of surprising cute girls that would walk past with it but that idea will have to wait for another day!

Climbing out from Grand Coulee.

Descending into the Okanogan Valley.

The home-stretch to Winthrop!

Day One

Sorry about the lack of updates over the past couple days - if anyone is interested in learning how to reduce the amount of time they spend on a computer, all you have to do is ride your bike all day!

Anyhow, I started what will be the most cycling I've ever done in a nine-day period two days at 6 am from downtown Ellensburg.  I had a warm receptive from some close family and friends and Kyle's dad accompanied me to Vantage. There was a Dave Matthew's Band concert that day but luckily most of the people going to that concert don't usually wake up by the time I got in the area! From I went through familiar territory - my father is a horticulturalist in the Quincy Valley - and I made my first stop in Soap Lake. I soaked in the lake for a bit and stopped at a roadside burger joint for lunch though we would have much preferred to eat at Mom's - a small Ukrainian grocery and deli in downtown Soap Lake. The ride through the scenic Coulee Corridor was largely uneventful though I made sure to stay clear of the motorcyclists going 140 mph! My parents Norbert and Julie Owart joined us in Grand Coulee where we had a nice dinner before camping on the south side of Lake Roosevelt.

Downtown was deserted at 6 am Sunday morning except for us! From left to right, my father Norbert, Kyle Unruh, sister Hanna, Josh, and Rick and Angie Unruh were kind enough to see me on my journey!

Rick and I by the wind farm - Mt. Rainier can be seen in the distance.

My uncle Lothar and I at Dry Falls on the way to Grand Coulee.

Media press!

Over the past few weeks there has been some great coverage of this event in the local media - check it out!

Thursday, September 1

A few more pictures from Colorado

Only three more days until the ride! The following pictures are from the Mt. Evans climb:



Sunday, August 28

Colorado! More

Yesterday we cycled up the highest paved highway in North America! We cycled over 6,000 ft to reach the summit of Mt. Evans at about 14,240 ft. The weather was pleasant as we ascended however ran into a thunder/hail/rain storm as we descended which definitely made things interesting!
Climbing to Summit Lake

There were about 30 mountain goats toward the Mt. Evans summit

On top of the world at over 14,000 ft - from this angle the Denver metropolitan area can be seen in the distance

Saturday, August 27

Colorado!

Now don't get me wrong, I love Washington state but Colorado is amazing! I've been here the past week and have had a ton of amazing experiences not limited to seeing the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in-person, sitting VIP at a Colorado Rockies game, climbing above 14,000 feet, and of course, loads of cycling! Photos:
At the Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs with Gus (left) and Kyle (middle)

One of the time-trial cyclists during the Prologue of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge - they may look like space aliens with all the gear but at one point during the course they reached speeds around 60 mph!

Meriwether Lewis pose on top of Gray's Peak at about 14,250 ft above sea level

It's a good thing we're on the same page in terms of physical activity plans - we cycled for a few hours before climbing this mountain pass and then watched the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Vail, CO