The day started out crossing a bridge into Washington on the interstate. There is literally a walled bike path in the middle of the highway. That is a bike friendly town. I ended up on hwy14 that was very active with 4 lane traffic for a bit, but settled into two way road with moderate traffic for the remainder of the ride. Roads were good. Bridge, pass, and tunnel crossings were narrow, but all good. Tunnels were nerve racking. I will show more pictures of today's route when they are easier to upload. I want to spend just a second talking about people I met so far.
Several people have been interested in what I am doing and have asked for the blog and donation site. From Sherean, who owned the Italian restaurant in Portland. Neal Beitelspacher, who is from Fargo, ND and offered to get me discount lodging there. A group a 8 at the big creek coffeehouse. There have been several others, but I want to mention three special people today.
First, I stopped for an egg sandwich at Robbie's "all things good" antique shop and cafe in Stevenson, WA. We got to talking about the trip and why we were raising money. Robbie employs 6 adults with disabilities in their small town and is a leader for their community. Check out here Facebook page and make sure you stop in if you ever find yourself there. Thy recently had a ball for the adults and it was a huge hit.
Second. I mentioned the tunnels were a bit harrowing. They are narrow, dark, and dangerously for bike riders, have no shoulder. There were seven total and most of them were thankfully relatively short. I knew about them from the information in the Adventure Cycling maps, but had also been warned about these from a guy earlier in the trip. Before a bike enters, you are to press a button on a roadside pole several yards from the entrance that starts a flashing light that is supposed to warn drivers that a cyclist is in the tunnel. The light did not scream a bright enough warning for my taste. It gives me great pause and concern that motorist actually pay attention to them. They should add sirens and a barrier, but I digress. As I was about to enter a series of the longer tunnels, a truck pulls off the road behind me. Startled a bit and unsure as to why he has pulled in behind me. Nevertheless, as I pressed the button to enter, he turned on his flashers and safely escorted me through. With a simple wave and a nod of the head, he was then on his way. Impressed. Good people.
Finally, as I set up camp in the state park, I must have looked pretty tired or pitiful. (I was). The family from New Orleans in the site next to mine insisted that I eat hamburgers and ribs with them. I refused at first, but was thankful for their persistence. Far better than the PBnJ that I was going to have on a tortilla. They even walked me over a s'mores. It was delicious and I hate marshmallows. Little did I realize at the time, but I think the literally saved my trip.
