The First 3 Days

Hey Everybody! Sorry for the lack of posts starting out. It was a tough few days partly due to weather partly do to something I ate as well as not being accustomed to the mileage.

I was lucky enough to stay with my friends Eva and Ray as I transitioned into tour mode. They were wonderful hosts and all around lovely people. And I set out from West Seattle on Saturday May 9th on a journey that will be filled with new experiences every day.

So long for now Seattle, it’s been a good run since i rolled into town 16yrs ago looking for rain.

But, I am excited for the now and what the future could hold for me. So now I am off in search of more experiences the things that breathe life into everything i do and feel.

Day 1 brought me to Everett and a warm welcome from my friends Jeremy, Jessica and Jordan as well as Alix and Dave. It was good to start with a short day and to see friends i won’t see for a long time (and the brisket Jeremy smoked was to delicious, i only wish i wasn’t too caught in the moment and took some pics).

Day 2 started of wet but all in all pretty good. What does one do when a cop tells you the road you need to get on is closed for a Half-Marathon? You just go around him and navigate the runners like spy-hunter of course.

Then it started to really rain as I was getting into Snohomish, WA but not before I got a picture of there little downtown strip. I’ve always liked this town.

It continued to rain most of the morning. It stopped raining around the time I stopped for lunch (the same lunch that gave me food poisoning and that I am still reeling with today) in Arlington, WA and ate by the river.

The path to Larabee State Park is quite nice (Washington does have some beautiful trails to enjoy. Here is the Centennial Trail between Arlington, WA and Lake McMurray.

And as I was feeling the pain of my not so delicious lunch as well as failing the fitness test on an 85mi second day I was able to snap this pic of the infamously beautiful Chuckanut Drive.

I not exactly sure where I took these few pictures but I do know they were between Larabee State Park and Blaine, WA 🙂 I know that doesn’t help pinpoint them at all but hey they are nice photos.

Going through Bellingham, WA I was feeling terrible and after a long break just wanted to get to Blaine and rest. I was bummed that I missed my old touring buddy Eric who lives in Bellingham.

I also turned down a nice lasagna dinner with this young cycle touring couple (In hindsight I should have taking them up on their offer and joined them whether I ate or not, as this whole trip is about the experience meeting and talking with people). Plus Bellingham is a pretty cool town much better that the boring lackluster town of Blaine but alas I need to rest so truck it up to the border.

The best news of the day came in a phone call from my friend Eric who was awesome enough to drive up and meet me in Blaine, WA for a catch up and chat about lots of things (He also was kind enough to let me record him for the podcast and I will post it soon). We went to a beach he knew in the area and had a little fire it was a great way to end the day and my last full day in America for the foreseeable future.

Until next time…