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

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!

• Daily Record
• Yakima Herald-Republic
• CWU

A few more pictures from Colorado

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