String of Friends

So much snow! So, so much snow. I’ve had to revise the start of the journey because the awesome Palouse to Cascades Trail is covered in mile after mile of snow. The Snoqualmie Tunnel, which you have to use to cross the Pass on the trail, is closed. I connected with a cyclist who lives at the Summit at Snoqualmie and he said the only way would be to ride I-90 from North Bend or Exit 38 to the Summit where the best camping spot would be in a parking lot or an underpass only to wake up and bike along I 90 until the trail cleared. That’s not fun and not safe so I’ve had to make a new plan. The New Plan I’ll start with my own personal STP (Seattle to Portland ride). I’ll take the more direct way to Tacoma which goes through … Vashon! I’ll go through Olympia and along the I 5 corridor trying to keep away from I 5 itself. I hope to connect with friends in PDX then it is on through the Columbia Gorge to Hood River. There’s 10 miles of bikng on the Interstate which isn’t great, but ...

I am leaving May 16! Less than three weeks from the time I am writing this. I am ready to go but still making unnecessary trips to REI and almost buying stuff online. Consumerism is how I deal with trip excitement and anxiety. Some folks have asked what I’m taking. I’ll enumerate the camping gear below, but first I want to post pictures and video from the Beverly Bridge Ride. I had to ask Gavin if it was OK to share. He's going on another bike trip around Coeur d'Alene this weekend. Please journeys! The video is unedited and kinda long. The bike stuff will be another post. This post is too long already. https://photos.app.goo.gl/7tKWnWJN3fjibHZR7 This week’s training ride was riding literally around Seattle. Although a lot of it was familiar territory, linking it together this way gave me a whole new view of my hometown. When I needed to push myself physically along the road I could feel the connections between places in my bones. I could understand how ...