Doc made arrangements to have a Rental van delivered to the Coupeville ferry dock on Whidbey island Tuesday morning so another late start. After unloading off the Ferry, we got a final group shot before leaving Doc behind for his Rental. We’ll see him later tonight in Bellingham.
Day 2 start from the Coupeville Ferry Dock by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
We revised our route to make up some time. Soon we are in Oak Harbor and Mark has found a kindred spirit in a Bike shop there. He plops down on the shop floor and replaces his brake blocks and the shop owner and him begin talking shop. Uh Oh! This could take a while…. (It didn’t - whew!)
Gugie replaces worn brake pads and swaps trade show stories with the shop owner. by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
With new brake pads, Mark is ready to roll. Soon we are crossing the bridge at Deception Pass.
Mark by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
Deception Pass by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
A weather front is moving in, temperatures drop and the winds pick up after lunch. I know the next section of Highway 20 was gonna be harsh with traffic so we took some backroads to avoid the worst of it. We search for and find USBR 10 route signs that help us get safely across the high bridge over the Swinomish Delta. The concrete wall separating us from the Traffic Lanes on the bridge helped block the gusty 20+ MPH side winds as we made our profiles as low and small as possible on the lee side 80 feet above the water.
We revised our route again once it became apparent we were running out of daylight. We’ll have to save the scenic Chuckanut Drive for another day. Our new course being shorter with fewer road sections that will take us into the teeth of the wind. We arrive at the rental house at Lake Samish before dark and just as the rain begins.
Doc….God bless him, has prepared a cheese plate and beer for our arrival.
It rains overnight but stops when Neal and I get underway for the trip to Vancouver. The roads are wet and the shoulders messy with biomass knocked down in the wind the day before. Thank you fenders! The bikes stay dry and relatively clean.
Day 3 start at Lake Samish, Bellingham. by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
The route north is relatively flat and we make good time to the border. As you can see, we are happy that Border inspection didn’t include cavity searches :-)
No cavity searches at Border Inspection by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
Straight off, I gotta say it was a pleasure riding with Neal into Canada. He’s game for any challenge that we encountered.
One rather wet trail section by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
Crossing the Fraser River by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
It’s amazing how extensive the bike infrastructure is in BC. Signposted bike routes, paths, ramps and dedicated traffic lights from the border all the way to Downtown Vancouver. The BC Parkway in particular was very cool, snaking along underneath the elevated skytrain taking us into the City at times felt like an urban flow trail. No pictures because I was enjoying it so much.
End of the line was the Sheraton Hotel at Wall Center downtown where his Conference was being held.
Our digs for the night in Vancouver by
Matthew Pendergast, on Flickr
The weather got really raw later that night and it didn’t stop the next day when it was time for me to catch the train back to Seattle. Wet ride to the Train station in Vancouver, wet night ride from King Street Station in Seattle back to my car on Capitol Hill. Of course it was to be so! Neals not riding today.