Name the Movie 2

''Look at the birds up in the tree.''
''Yeah? Well we're not birds, we're a jugband.''
(Ask my brother-in-law if you're stuck.)

The Hills Are Alive

These huge rocks were all along the roadside. I was hoping to see one fall. The coolest were the enormous ones in the middle of the stream. (No pictures of those.)
The other pic here reminds me of ''The Sound of Music'' for some reason.

Procedural Note

I'm not trying to keep these entries in chronological order, so try to figure it out for yourself.

Does my hill look flat?

Miles of this, not flat. I'm not sure how good it shows up, but the light band across the mountain is part of the road. The switchback is just up ahead, but it's still miles to the pass.

Vocab Lesson

The sign reads ''Rocks.''

Night04 Leavenworth WA (Coordinates)

This little motel was quite a cheap find in this resort town. I'm not sure what people do here for vacation, but there's a Bavarian-style village, and possibly a lake nearby. The other picture is a miniature golf course designed to play just like a miniature golf course. The golf carts looked like a bitch to squeeze into, though.
n 47 35.510, w 120 40.189

Day04 Stevens Pass

The first 20 miles this morning were either flat or downhill. Downhill? Normally that's nice, but expecting to climb to 4000 feet, I was hoping to do it gradually all day. Every descent not only added elevation I would have to make up later, but it also meant that the inevitable climb would be steep. Route 2, also known as Stevens Pass Highway, was beautiful. Huge pines, tall rocky faces on the mountains, snow caps, mountain streams, and no development.

High Point Literally (Coordinates)

n 47 44.717, w 121 05.382

Gassing Up

Today is a day I've been thinking about for a couple of months- ever since I planned this trip. 3800 feet in 35 miles. One pedal stroke at a time.

Stats

Day01: 97.5 miles
Day02: 75 miles
Day03: 42 miles
Total time on bike: 16 hours

Night03 Gold Bar WA (Coordinates)

The eastern view out my motel window. Stevens Pass is about 35 miles away (and 3800 feet up). Yes, there is snow on those peaks. The good news is that, after 225 miles on the bike, I can head directly east.
n 47 51.187, w 121 41.623

Deep Thought

I asked Von the meaning of life, the universe, and everything.
He thought, and said, ''42.''
That's my nephew.

Day02 Recap (Part 2)

The cop helped me across the highway and sent me back down the mile I had just climbed. I had no idea where I was going to go. It was getting late.
I found a gas station. A very friendly lady let me charge my phone, and looked on some maps with me to see if there was camping close by. In desperation I called a couple of hotels in Issaquah, ten miles away, but no luck. So I rode down to a state park that I saw on my phone's Google Maps, found a flat spot to sleep, and bedded down for the night. I was completely undisturbed except by a dog (or what I thought was a dog) that never came closer than 100 feet. In the morning a few hikers passed by. One older man told me I was crazy and that I should take up hiking. He then told me about all sorts of hikes he'd done... blah, blah, blah. I should have told him to start a blog and send me the address.

Day02 Recap (Part 1)

After leaving the Conley's Bed & Breakfast (bed = huge and soft, breakfast = cooked to order omelet, bacon, biscuits, fruit, and juice), I set off on a much different day than Monday. Not just because I ended the day in the woods instead of fancy private room, but because I finally hit the foothills. The morning wasn't too bad, but after stopping for lunch I called Dan to consult with him on route options. (Dan opens up Google Earth, and says ''Wow'' at least half a dozen times as he explores it. I agree. Google Earth has played a big part in my prep for this trip.)
From Enumclaw I decided to take a route swinging closer to Seattle than I had planned. I say ''decided''. Really I was forced, since what I thought was a direct route essentially went into a gorge. The terrain started rolling, bigger and bigger. My altitude rose and fell from 400 to almost 800 feet more than a couple of times. But this was good since I'm more used to the foothills of home.
About 8 miles from my goal for the day I started climbing Route 18, a steady incline. About a mile up I pulled over to rest just as a cop pulls over on the opposite side. I was just about to tell him I was all right, just tired, when he shouts over, ''You can't bike on this road.'' I said, ''I don't have a choice.'' He got out of his car and crossed over. He told me if I continued up, I'd either get arrested or get killed. (Killed by accident that is. I don't think he was going to shoot me.) TBC (To be co...)

Fake

No. It's real. Mt. Ranier was beautiful today. I was talking to a man on vacation. He said he'd been in Washington for a month, and this was the first day he could see Mt. Ranier.

Parking It

I hadn't meant to be camping tonight. This isn't even a campground. It's a Washington State Park. I pretended not to see the signs that read ''No Camping''. This phone's battery is low, so I'll have to keep it short and catch up tomorrow.
Here are Night02's coordinates:
n 47 28.921, w 122 03.140

Thanks to DDFF. There's no way I would have gotten this great start without him. As we were leaving the beach, Danny noticed that a horseshoe crab we had seen earlier had moved. He told me that it was alive. I told him to nudge it. When he did, it flipped over, revealing... its empty shell. Dan can be really convincing even though I've known him for almost 30 years.

Name the Film

'The kid wasn't sick. The kid wasn't sleeping. The kid was dead.'

Delayed by Llama

I actually would have gotten to Yelm sooner, but about 8 miles out of town I had to stop to take a picture of this llama (and horse). Yes, I've seen llamas before, but my class studied Bolivia for our recent multicultural festival in school, and we pretty much based all of our work around the llama. (Bolivia has more llamas than any other South American country, including Peru. It's one of the few animals that are both ridden and eaten.)

Staged

I rounded up these horses to stand in the foreground of Mt. Ranier.

Schmancy in Yelm WA (Coordinates)

After 95 miles on the first day, here's where I ended up. I was maybe a bit too ambitious trying to make it this far. I rolled into Yelm at 9:00pm, and was lucky to find thid bed and breakfast after the one hotel was booked up. If I had had to set up the tent it would have been tricky since it was getting dark quickly. It was a good day, and I'm glad to make it here, but I think I'll plan to stop around 7:00 if I can.
Anyway, here are the coordinates for Night01:
n 46 56.548, w 122 36.242

June 25th 10am

Seafood

A young man who works at the hotel suggested Alec's for dinner. He said it was expensive, though. After we ate we realized he was truthful, but he meant to say 'overpriced'.

Ocean Shores Washington (Coordinates)

Here are the coordinates for the Pacific:
n 47 00.404, w 124 10.459
I look happy because I haven't started pedaling yet. But there's a hell of a breeze blowing west to east. Sweet.

Fanny

I see Danny Danny Fat Fanny at the baggage claim. A friend who puts up with my idiosyncracies- driving me all the way out to Ocean Shores so I can get a true ocean start. It's really a mini vacation for him, getting away from Spokane for a couple of days.

Luck

Good luck to start. My flight out of Albany was delayed a little- the pilot tried to explain that it had something to do with missing paperwork, that flying the plane without the paperwork would be illegal, and that his career was on the line. Paperwork in, we were about 15 minutes late, but luckily my flight in Washington is delayed as well, so I had time to eat. And what to eat? Subway! Right in the terminal, right by my gate.

Albany Sunrise

A6

I suppose the time I decide to say, 'Scr#w it' and get to the airport shortly before boarding time will be the time I get scr#wed. It's 4:44 am, and I'm sitting at Gate A6, waiting for my 6 am flight. And McDonald's isn't even open yet.
My Rubbermaid luggage made it through check-in, and I made it through the maze that is security. They scanned my flip-flops.
Speaking of the flip-flops, they're my only footwear besides my bike shoes. I can't walk around in the bike shoes. Will my feet get very cold? That is my worry. Not 'will the plane crash?' or 'will I get eaten by a bear?' Probability says the cold feet is most likely. Cold feet. Huh- I just realized the symbolism of that. Right now, as the Sun rises at Albany International, my feet are warm.

Pre-trip Legs

Here's my legs on June 23rd. The after shot will be in August. You can't see them there, but I ran to WalMart today to pick up a lightweight pair of shorts, for modesty in stores and restaurants. (Sort of like putting a diaper on a monkey.) Wait- I will be covering bike shorts, for those who took the monkey analogy too far.

Outward Bound

Portraits of me and my luggage just a few hours before the start of this trip. I leave early tomorrow morning from Albany, headed to Spokane. Monday, the ride begins.

Meet You There

Boxed and shipped to Washington.

Riding with Jim

My homemade safety flag, and my tribute to a great friend who died a couple of years ago. He was a mountain biker, and he would have loved to read this blog. He was amazingly supportive and dedicated to friends. We miss him much.

C.O.

If you're reading this and you know of any music teacher positions available, hire this woman! She's as wonderful a teacher as she is cute.

Going Away

Drew and Jody threw a little surprise 'Happy Trails' party for me. A bunch of friends from school showed up, and Kristen, Jay, and Von Reno, too.
Just over a week to go.
This same day I found out that I'll be moving back to third grade. The news made this summer's trip that much sweeter, since I'll be returning to school in the grade I've always loved. Deb and Fay, it was great working with you, and I wouldn't have minded staying.

Catching Up

Laziness and a dead phone have caused this lapse in posts. I'll sum up the last week.

Last Wednesday I had the bike out in the rain for the first time this year. Additionally, I took a route that I've never traveled before- out Route 23 to Catskill. A nasty shoulder full of glass (the road's, not mine) caused my first flat of the year. So, cold, wet, and incapacitated, I changed the tire and continued on my way. This may not sound like a big deal, but either of these things are not pleasant for biking, rain and flats, and in combination they should be worse. And yet I enjoyed it. It's nice to be beat on a little by the weather and the road and prevail.

Friday night I saw the Yankees win in the Bronx, and Saturday (today) I was back on the bike. I had a late snack last night, so I started today's ride by just eating one pack of "gu" (100 calories). I was risking a headache and fatigue, but I didn't know how much, and wanted to find out. I figure there will be more than once that I'll be starting a day with little to eat- until I can get to a foodery. So, into the wind and uphill to begin, I stopped at Lawyer's in East Durham to pick up a sub. And then I comfortably made it 26 miles to Middleburgh, stopped, and ate. This time, at least, my body didn't have to eat itself first.

I've biked 500 miles in preparation for this trip, and will probably only get maybe one more ride in before I ship my bike to Spokane, to Danny Danny Fat Fanny, one of my bestest friends for the last 27 years. His fanny is not fat. Well, not anymore.

The blog phone has gone dead, completely dead, for no reason, and will have to be replaced. Fingers crossed it doesn't happen on the road.

Peanut

Von Reno snoozing on Kristen's first Mother's Day.

Unusual Ride

This is like no view I've had before. It appears as though the road ends, like a cliff. The view in the distance is of low mountains. And yet they're not low at all. I've learned that when you're having lunch after a particularly hard climb it is not advisable to say 'Whoo-hoo' under the impression that it's all downhill now. In fact, lunch was at 1700 feet, but I was to climb another 500 before I saw any downhill. And what a downhill. As the picture implies, the descent is sudden and wicked. My bike weighs 60 pounds, and I personally add another 165, so gravity grabbed us with pleasure. At a top speed of 47 mph, I equaled many of the fifty or so motorcycles that came up behind me. Later, as I passed a local bar in Durham, most of the fifty or so riders were on the front deck. They started waving and cheering wildly as I passed, and I waved back like some conquering hero. I
don't what I had done to deserve such a reception. Perhaps it was that I simply failed to crash, burn, and die. I will joyfully ride this 36-mile, 1700 foot climb and descent again this week.

Back on Bike

So excited to be riding again I took off from home and got a mile away before I decided to take a sip from my Camelbak. Trouble is it was back at the house- hard to reach from where I was. But no matter. The bike is running phenomenally with the new deurailer and tune-up. (Thanks, guys at the bike shop in Coxsackie.)
Now I'm sitting in a Subway (my favorite road food) in Windham at about 1800 feet. Home is about 500 feet. Whoo-hoo!