Category: 2016 Northern Tier: The ride

We got up and were on the road by 6:40am We climbed until we reached Washington Pass at 11:30am. Tough climb with breaks every mile. I iced my knee in the snow a few times. Even though the ground is still covered with a thick layer of snow, the temperature reached 94. We filled up with water, took a few candid photos at the top and started the steep descent. I was freaking out, it literally felt like I was about to go over the first drop of a roller coaster, only I was the motor, the breaks and not fully strapped in. After the first ½ mile Matt had pulled off to take a pho

to and I told him I could not stop and he said, you must and so with a bit of courage I squeezed the breaks and slowly came to a halt, pulling the bike slightly off to the side so it wouldn’t continue to roll downhill. A flood of emotions came up and I started sobbing and shaking. I have never done anything like this before, and was scared to death, literally facing it as I looked over the edge. Once my nerves settled and the adjustment to the height, the grade and the other cars set in, I was ready to go. The horrifically beautiful view, I would have to ignore, because for the next 12 miles of descent I was highly focused on speed, balance and the white line in front of me. Any drift of my eyes and it would throw the entire trio off. We stopped every few miles to let our feet and hands regain blood flow. Having our entire bodies weight now thrust forward on our arms, and having to apply a steady pressure to the break, caused our hand muscles to weaken. Luckily we had very little traffic and almost no wind, however the steep grade with little shoulder and lots of switch backs had us testing our biking skills. To focus and calm my panic over the next hour, I began reciting a yoga mantra out loud with deep slow breaths. Once the grade became more manageable, our bikes flew downhill and I was able to peak to the right over the ridge and to the mountains beside me. We ended up stopping for a quick sandwich at a grocery/gas station/ motel for skiers that was all in one. We then biked the last 7.5 miles into a biker barn where we were able to camp in the back yard of Jim and Jan Gregg’s house. They had made a quiet oasis with a solar shower, a composting toilet and two friendly dogs. The Australian Shepard, Stout, came right up to me as I was passed out on the grass and woke me. He had just come out of cooling off in their pond and the wet fur and gentle eyes made me miss Cali and Lily. Jim said there was also a fridge/freezer we could use, which was a plus for the humira shot that I have to keep under 70’. Up until now I have been having to put the freezer pack in the rivers at night and dump snow in it to keep it cold enough with the days in the 90s.  We ate an early dinner of ramen and were in bed by 8pm.

My left knee is now completely tight. I stretched in the morning and walked on it, but it is aching when I bend it. To start we had a nice climb, and so I popped two Advil and road off. I tried putting a wrap on it, but that made the throb turn into shooting pain all down the front side of my shin. After about ½ hour, the pain went away. We climbed most of the day and found a nice spot around 4pm to set up camp next to a trail head fully equipped with picnic table and restroom. The temperature was 91 and the wind was light. It was perfect for riding. I was able to walk down to the gushing creek and soak my knee again. We will stealth camp and sleep out under the stars tonight, so no one will know we’re here.

We made it to the grocery store to stock up for the next 3 days. Being Sunday, it didn’t open until 10 am and so we had to sit and wait for a while which gave us ample to time to make a food list and go over the maps. The guide book said this grocery store in Concrete would be the last main supply for 80 miles, so we estimated we would need to take at least three days’ worth of food. It turned out they didn’t have the avocados I had been eating since we got to Seattle (one of my staple snacks), but they did have an old vegetable bin. So for .49 cents I was able to get zucchini, cauliflower, a potato and some mushrooms! Best bargain so far. I also couldn’t help but splurge on a kale salad mix, which I consumed over the next few hours. We made a slow climb toward Rockport and went to stop at the top of the hill to rest. I was shaking, our first major climb. As I pulled beside the shoulder of the road, I could barely snap my foot out of the clip and at the last second it released and I was able to grab my bike from falling. Just as I was straightening my bike, Matt came up beside me and had the same issue. He tried to pull his clip out, but he went straight over with the bike on top of him. I helped him up, but the chain had come off. He put it back on and we tested the gears. Everything was okay. I couldn’t help but laugh a little at our clumsiness. We rode off and took a right onto Rockport Cascade Road, a long 12-mile road that we had all to ourselves. We crossed over the Skagit River and stopped at a small gas station to fill up water for the night. I had phoned the campground where we were staying and they said there would be no water, and so we filled our empty vitamin water bottles, ate a quick tuna and avocado wrap and looked at the local weather report. Today reached 95 and is somewhat a heat wave to the locals. With that news, we headed toward our campsite. We stopped at the Cascades National Park entrance sign. There, a young girl was sitting on the side of the road with a cool towel over head. Her friends seemed a little distressed. I asked if she was okay and the friend said she overheated in the car. They were without air conditioning. I gave her some peanut butter and an emergency C and told them to take her back to the town of Marblemount to cool off in the single airconditioned restaurant. That is one thing Matt and I are prepared for, the hot weather. Maybe not the mountains, maybe not the biking, but definitely knowing how to keep it cool in 100 degrees. Our campsite was gorgeous. It is right along the Skagit River and getting into camp a little early, we both jumped in. The water was freezing, but refreshing. A two-minute soak was all we could handle and then we laid out in the sun to dry ourselves and our clothes and recharge our phone using the solar panel (still not much signal). My left knee started hurting during the ride, and so I raised my seat 1mm and now tried to soak it for as long as I could stand it. We went to bed again before the sun went down.

Anacortes to Rasar State Park

44 miles

I woke up early with anticipation. I made coffee using the leftover denatured alcohol stove to quickly heat the water instead of a fire. We showered, broke camp and rode our fully loaded bikes down the steep hill toward the starting point of the Northern tier. For a good omen, we decided to dip our back tire into the ocean once last time, but instead of using the paved boat ramp, Matt thought that the shot would be better over the deep sand and slippery rocks. After a struggle of getting the bikes close to the water without falling over, we both did a quick dip and slowly rolled our coated tires back to the road. Perhaps the ocean wasn’t ready to say goodbye as well. For a brief moment before getting on the bike to start the first mile I had a tiny panic attack full of tears, anxiety and fear. The bike seemed too heavy, much more so then during training and gazing toward the distance of the snow covered peaks of the Northern Cascades I felt unsure that I’d be able to do this. Like normal during a stressful thought I began reorganizing my pack and frantically throwing out items, like a half bottle of wine I was hoping to finish that evening, my Tom’s deodorant, an olive garden gift card that still had a few bucks on it, travel size shampoo and conditioner bottle, lotion and my good Sam’s membership card. Even though the total of that weighed less than two pounds, I felt satisfied that I had lessened the load enough to gain the confidence to get on the bike and start the tough climb out of Washington Park.

After winding hills and slow descents, over bridges and past farm houses, we officially left the coast and headed due East toward the mountains. After a quick break at the Sedro Wooley Market, we started the slow incline towards the Cascades and our intended campsite at Rasar State Park.