| What a great day, perfectly clear and sunny, warm but not overly so, and
great company. This was also my first century since Bedford-to-Gettysburg on
August 11th of last year. See the
RSVP site for
more details about the ride itself, and think about joining us next year!
The day started when I picked up Erin at her brother’s house and met the
rest of the riders at Magnuson Park around 6:00am. Our group consisted of
BR2004 riders Gerry Rawlings, Erin Abbey, Courtney Searls-Ridge, Alan
Thompson, Beth Light, Steve Reed, Brian Jacobson, and Ash Dhanani, as well
as Gerry’s friends Mike Dolan and Bruce Zornow. We left around 7:00am,
riding up the Burke-Gilman bike trail with a bathroom stop in Kenmore and
another in Woodinville. I stopped at the mechanics van in Woodinville to say
hello to John Carver, who I know from riding and staffing ALAW rides. We
climbed the famous Woodinville hill which is my return route when I commute.
The group split apart as we all had different riding speeds; I rode with
Erin, Steve and Brian. We met Alan and Beth in Cathcart and after fixing a
problem with Beth’s bike we headed through Snohomish. There I saw Joe Basta,
another former ALAW ride staffer who was providing mechanic and medical
support for RSVP.
Upon leaving Snohomish we rode the Centennial bike trail off and on to
Lake Stevens and the rest stop. Beautiful views of the mountains accompanied
us through this section. After snacking and refilling water bottles
(unfortunately with semi-chlorinated water, not as bad as
the water from Midland, SD but
unpleasant nonetheless), we headed through rolling terrain to Mount Vernon,
stopping at a small store along the way to buy their last gallon of cold
bottled water. I rode much of this stretch with Alan and Beth, and had lots
of time to converse with these great Big Ride friends.
At the rest stop in Mount Vernon we met up with most of the rest of the
group again (Jerry, Ash, Bruce and Mike had passed us earlier). There I saw
Craig Tamura and Arlene Carter, more old Trek Tri-Island friends. We rode
out of the rest stop as a group but the different riding speeds made us
stretch out again. I spent more time riding with Beth, Alan and Brian,
through farmlands and past quite a bit of corn. We stopped at the Bow store
for popsicles and water refills, then headed up
Chuckanut Drive. That stretch of the route has the most incredible views
of the San Juan Islands, water, and rocky cliffs, the downside is that it
starts almost 90 miles into the day and is very hilly. But the views are so
beautiful that the hills aren’t quite as noticeable. At the top of the climb
a local family had set up a lemonade stand as a fundraiser for college for
one of their kids, so we helped out and enjoyed the refreshment. After this
impromptu rest we continued on the short ride into town and Bellingham high
school where ice cream snacks awaited. Gerry’s wife Catherine and daughter
Robin came down to drive us and our gear to Robin’s house where we were
staying; Erin’s parents were there and also gave some of us a ride.
Refreshing showers and a wonderful pizza/salad dinner followed, and after
some great conversation we went to bed around 9:00. Slept great and really
enjoyed the hospitality shown us from these extended members of our Big Ride
family!
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