September 26
44mi/70km
3200ft/975m elevation gain
It’s our last night in Washington, and we’re camping again after 4 nights in hotels. But that doesn’t mean we didn’t get a shower!
Although we are camping, and it’s a nice campground and our spot is private, we are far from being anywhere remote. We were basically riding through a (wealthy) neighborhood to get here. That has been our experience with our route through Washington. It’s the first time on this trip we’ve really been in the front country for any extended period.
We’ve enjoyed the perks of civilization. Lots of food, easy access to water, plenty of cell service, and easier riding. We particularly liked camping on the beach for three nights, and considered following the coast down through Oregon.
But, we haven’t loved the traffic, the lack of solitude or wild camping, and all the money we’ve spent. It would definitely be really fun to take the Pacific Coast Bike Route all the way down to San Diego. But we’ve already seen it, and this trip is about seeing new places. Plus, it’s almost October and I’m not sure how long the weather will hold. And I don’t care to ride for days in the rain. And of course, we miss being on dirt roads and public lands. So, inland we go.
Today was like the past few days but with some actual climbs. The worst one was 8-12% for 1.6mi/2.5km, with a small segment at the end over 14%. My knees can feel that tonight. As we rode, we were often close to the freeway, which was noisy, so we both had our headphones in for most of the day.
Before heading out of town this morning, we grabbed a couple things from the grocery store.. Midday, we stopped at an empty little league field to eat lunch at their outdoor tables. In the afternoon we stopped at a bakery and grabbed a slice of cake to take to camp. At the campground, we got root beers from the concession stand.
With clear weather, we finally got a view of Mt. Saint Helens and Mt. Hood. I’ve seen a few new birds for the trip list: Spotted Towhees, a Hairy Woodpecker, and Mourning Doves. Also: does Ostrich count? (No, but we saw that too). Sunset tonight was 6:59pm!