Don’t Get Murdered! Or Lose Your Brakes

This morning started early.  The rabbits multiplied overnight, so that was interesting. We left the site before 6 am to get back to the location Joe finished yesterday.  Not nearly as much traffic, although there was some Canadian geese and their goslings crossing the road.  As Joe was getting ready to head out for a grueling day we were approached by a woman with car trouble.  One of the first rules of a true crime enthusiast is to never pick up strangers.  So I did and one of Joe’s last words to me was “Don’t get murdered!”.  Luckily, I was giving Amy, the Park Ranger, a ride.  I asked about the moss on the trees and wondered if it was invasive. She explained that on that side of the mountain the clouds came over and dumped the rain, so it was basically a rain forest with all the ferns and moss and greenery.  She said that once you get to the other side of the mountain you will see many more pine trees where it is sunnier and dryer. And that is the truth – a whole new world on the other side of the mountain.  I got back to the campsite and gave Neptune a good walk around.  There was a mini chapel across the road from us that is open during the day.  I followed my list of RV take down procedures and apparently it was too boring for Neptune.  Shout out to my friend Cari for being available for more RV questions!  Neptune and I headed out from the site about 3 ½ hours after Joe left.  One of the reasons for Joe leaving so early was to avoid some of the traffic.  There was definitely a lot more traffic at 11 am.  We were running early for the 2 pm check-in at our next site so Neptune and I were able to stop and hike for a bit.  Funny thing was that Joe and I both took a picture at the same place that Neptune and I went hiking.  You can see in a couple pictures that Neptune is contemplating his current nomadic lifestyle and wondering if it will ever end.  Also, “Where’s Joe?”  I didn’t get a picture- but he was attacked by a swarm of butterflies that seriously disrupted his zen.  I know that there are people who will understand his butterfly aversion.  You have to love sunny, warm hikes with patches of snow. We made it over the pass and we went from rainforest, humidity and 50 – 60 degrees to sunny, dusty and 80+ degrees with low humidity.  Neptune and I made it to the new site about 15 minutes after Joe.  I can not tell you how happy I was to see his bike leaning up against the railing of the office.

Joe was a powerhouse today!  He rode 63 miles starting with a 5 mile climb to warm up his legs.  After that, the serious work of a 22 mile climb began.    Nothing like that 5 mile climb to warm up the legs to get ready for the 22 mile climb.  Joe did stop to take some photos, aka- a well deserved break.  The first 32 miles was uphill and lasted almost 5 hours. And, as you know, what goes up must come down.  The next 32 miles he traveled in almost 2 ½ hours.   Joe tried to keep the miles per hour under 25 – until he smelled the brakes on his bike.  He thought going uphill was hard… down hill was downright terrifying. 

Today was an epic ride. It had it all – agony, amazing scenery, 70% humidity and cold on one side of the Washington Pass and on the other side it was 30% humidity and 80 degrees. 

Once we made it to Winthrop, WA we took some time to walk around and enjoy a beer at Schoolhouse Brewery.  There are A LOT of bikers here.  There is an extensive mountain bike trail as well as many road bikers traveling through.  Neptune didn’t know what to do with so many bikers.  He’s used to only looking for one.

Planning a 53 mile ride tomorrow and then a well deserved rest day. 

Happy Father’s Day!!!!