Bridge engineering cruel joke: the narrow walkway on the Hoquiam-Aberdeen bridge leads to a dead end with no alternative but to walk the bike backward to the start of the bridge.
I covered 480 miles riding the roads of Washington -- slightly more than planned. There were 14 riding days and three days were spent gunk holing.
Traversing the Olympic Peninsula makes minced meat out of your muscles unless one is in Olympic shape. I was not. The plan was to train along the way. The muscles in my legs strengthened along the way. My knees which tended to buckle after each day's ride initially, survived, and became stronger after about 10 days. After sitting on the bike seat about five hours each day, the pain started to subside after riding a few days. A few rashes in places but we won't talk about that.
The Trek needed a bit of attention. I replaced the chain from the original equipment when I bought the bike in 2,000 and replaced a lost bolt holding the rear rack to the bike.
The Big Agnes Copper Spur ultra-light tent worked very well. It is advertised as a three-person tent but it feels more like a two person tent ... think sardines in a can for a three person fit. Even with two, most of the gear has to stay on the panniers. The Mont-bell ultra-light goose down sleeping bag kept me warm at night.
I estimated that I typically burn about 400 calories an hour on the average while riding...or approximately 1,500 to 2,000 calories per day. A side benefit of the tour is that I will shed some pounds and improve my fitness level. I will weigh myself twice: once in Santa Cruz, California and once when the tour is completed.
I am a seafood person and riding through Coastal Washington villages, made you aware that you are in clam chowder, fish and chips, and salmon country. The local dives and diners proclaim "World's Best Clam Chowder," World's Best Fish & Chips," "The Oyster Capital of the World."
A final note on Washington is that, even in August, the weather was colder than I anticipated, especially along the coast where the Pacific Ocean has a cooling effect. In the colder mornings, I started with three layers (excluding my yellow visibility vest) and shed one or two layers depending on weather conditions. Still have to sort out the bike shoes to keep them from getting soaked from the rain and the ground splash. The other alternative is to find quick-drying shoes.
Traversing the Olympic Peninsula makes minced meat out of your muscles unless one is in Olympic shape. I was not. The plan was to train along the way. The muscles in my legs strengthened along the way. My knees which tended to buckle after each day's ride initially, survived, and became stronger after about 10 days. After sitting on the bike seat about five hours each day, the pain started to subside after riding a few days. A few rashes in places but we won't talk about that.
The Trek needed a bit of attention. I replaced the chain from the original equipment when I bought the bike in 2,000 and replaced a lost bolt holding the rear rack to the bike.
The Big Agnes Copper Spur ultra-light tent worked very well. It is advertised as a three-person tent but it feels more like a two person tent ... think sardines in a can for a three person fit. Even with two, most of the gear has to stay on the panniers. The Mont-bell ultra-light goose down sleeping bag kept me warm at night.
I estimated that I typically burn about 400 calories an hour on the average while riding...or approximately 1,500 to 2,000 calories per day. A side benefit of the tour is that I will shed some pounds and improve my fitness level. I will weigh myself twice: once in Santa Cruz, California and once when the tour is completed.
I am a seafood person and riding through Coastal Washington villages, made you aware that you are in clam chowder, fish and chips, and salmon country. The local dives and diners proclaim "World's Best Clam Chowder," World's Best Fish & Chips," "The Oyster Capital of the World."
A final note on Washington is that, even in August, the weather was colder than I anticipated, especially along the coast where the Pacific Ocean has a cooling effect. In the colder mornings, I started with three layers (excluding my yellow visibility vest) and shed one or two layers depending on weather conditions. Still have to sort out the bike shoes to keep them from getting soaked from the rain and the ground splash. The other alternative is to find quick-drying shoes.
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