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...)