It may not have been the most auspicious start to our trip. As we rode toward the Anacortes ferry, I couldn't quite decide if I was feeling the enormity of the day and what we were beginning or just the opposite.
We had decided that because of the expense of taking a car across to the island, Nancy (our support driver) would stay on the mainland and Fred and I would just get on the ferry with our bicycles. However, we were running sufficiently behind and the ticket cost for a vehicle and extra passenger was close enough to the expense of two bikes and two riders to even go across on bikes, that we ended up taking the Edge to the island.
Probably a good thing. We parked the car and started loading up our bikes...a process that in our inexperience and disorganization took over an hour..... That's right.. More than 60 minutes. We could have cut a lot of time off that if 1) I hadn't realized right then that my rear tire needed more air, 2) I actually knew how to fill my own tire instead of having had Adam do it every time and not having paid attention to how he did it and 3) we hadn't inadvertently got the pump end stuck on my valve and let all the air out of the tire in the process. After 20 minutes of sit-com ineptitude, I got out the "emergency" CO2 tube of air and attached it to the valves that Fred had finally freed from the pump. Three seconds of Zzzzzzzzzztttt and the tire was full. Amazing.
Once we had everything set to go, Fred realized he had to go to the bathroom again. I told him we'd stop as soon as we saw a place. Four blocks (yes, blocks) later we pulled over at Criminal Coffee. Fred went in to use the bathroom, and I decided I should order something so we weren't just gratuitously using their facility. And that is how it was that 5 minutes into the ride we were enjoying our first break, complete with a latte and pastry.
It was actually delightful if not deserved. The proprietors were an elderly couple who were drinking.. .coffee (what else?) and enjoying the newspaper. Another senior couple sat on the sofa in the shop. We chatted with them about our plans and Fred told them a corny joke. (Polite laughter.) What struck me about the two couples and the two young employees was that they were genuinely glad to see us and happy for our adventure. It was the kind of raw, natural hospitality that cannot be put on...it comes from the heart. Great way to start the day.
We did make more progress after that... Incredible scenery. Lots of green, water, gently rolling hills, really steep hills (one of which we ended up walking), and a really cute resort town called Roche Harbor, where we had a sandwich and watched all the boats rock gently in their docks and passerbys stroll around the piers. We even saw a camel (!!) named Mona and a bunch of alpacas.
We also saw a winery that had a wine tasting going on, but we didn't think we were advanced enough of cyclists to manage the traffic, hills and curves while inebriated. (Yikes!)
After the enormous hill I referenced above, the last seven miles seemed to fly by...easy peasy southern breezy. And that said, I was so happy to see the car when we turned the corner and saw it waiting for us right where we had left it.
We took the ferry back to the Mainland, endeavored to pack better and smarter for Day Two, played some cards with Nancy and voila, it was time to sleep.
I would like to say I had all this time to think deep thoughts and strategize for a better life, but much like Cheryl Strayed in the book Wild, my riding tme was pretty much dominated by watching the road, watching traffic, watching the scenery, and watching Fred weave back and forth across the white boundary of the shoulder from my careful vigil behind him.
Nonetheless, it was a great start to what I hope by Friday can only be called my epic adventure.
No comments:
Post a Comment