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!

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!

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!