8th September - Silverdale to Elma

Earlier start today at 8am. Around 10.30 we stopped off at a Starbucks in Bremerton for coffee and met up with Rod and his partner who were on a little motorbike tour and then entered Mason County. (picture below)

After lunch at 12.30 we passed through Shelton – known as Christmas Town USA because of the large number of Christmas trees grown in the area.  Shelton was not memorable for anything other than its surrounding pine trees.  There were several long inclines to climb today, but only two steep sections.  Later in the afternoon we encountered strong headwinds, but thankfully these died down before the end of the ride.  

We crossed from Mason County to Grays Harbour County and ended the day at Elma having completed 122kms.

The cycle lanes throughout our journey so far have been so good. We estimate that out of 350kms completed so far about 70% have had decent bike lanes. If only in the UK we had the space the states does!

Thanks for your interest in our ride – we have had 1417 page reviews so far. You can leave response comments on our blogs.

Additions from Mr Rowe:  Our daily TWIT of the Day award ceremony takes place during our evening meal.  After yesterday’s meal Tom who was ‘Keeper of the Kitty’ announced he had lost ‘Kitty’  Consequently, he was awarded several points towards TWIT of today.  Nobody came close to catching him so Tom is today’s TWIT of the day.  He has been ‘sacked’ and no longer holds the post of Kitty Keeper.

A few pictures from the ride below, including a Bradley Wiggins sideburn competition update.  You can decide for yourselves who has the best sideburns!!



Where are we going today?



I thought the UK roads were bad !



I think we're lost !




Rolling along



Coffee at Starbuks, Breveton

Meet Rod, motorbike tourer

This bike would be quicker than our's Brian

Mason lake



Left or right boys



Think we better stop

Brian (Bradley) Rowe

Chris (Bradley) Goulder

Tim (Bradley) Trimble

Tom (Bradley) Tichler

 

Dinner venue - Elma

Tom - Saturday 8th TWIT winner



Taylor - our drive through ice cream server in Elma 



Lake something or other in Washington

Mount Baker

Vancomex team

Views of San Juan Islands

Views of San Juan Islands

Views of San Juan Islands

Views of San Juan Islands



Lardy cyclist family in Washington state





Maurice (Bradley) Brear



7th September - Anacortes to Silverdale

Should we really be drinking 4 pints of IPA ahead of an 85 mile day?!

Left Anacortes at 8.30am. Easy cycliung to Deception Pass bridge - wonderful view points. Chris punctured at Whitbey naval airbase while watching a naval aicraft takeoff!! Cycled on to more wonderful views of West beach looking out to San Juan Islands and then 3kms from ferry Chris punctured again ! Arrived just in time for 30 minute ferry ride to Port Townsend. Nice off road cycling for a few miles then very lumpy ride to Hood canal bridge (including another puncture for Maurice) and on to end point of Silverdale. More kms today and bigger climbs (see stats page)

Well done to Tom for more excellent navigation - putting pressure on other riders for later in the tour. Once again several people stopped to offer help and encouragement during our journey - not sure this would happen in the UK. 

Great weather today - unbroken sunshine for whole day - temperatures in mid seventies.

Met up with Dan and his partner at our dinner venue. They cycled Oregan on a tandem. We shared a few cycle stories with them.

Another great day - a few pictures below capture the day.

Aditions from Mr Rowe:  There were several candidates for TWIT of the day award.  After careful consideration Maurice and Tim were the main contenders.  However, Maurice got the vote for cycling past turning and admitting he had the latest Garmin but no instructions - so he and it were useless at navigation.  Maurice was also awarded 'Outstanding Cycling' as he had an operation on his knee four weeks ago but today survived manfully a tough ride of 83 miles and climbimg over 4400 feet.  

Tomorrow we will publish pictures of the Bradley Wiggins sideburn competition - Chris is looking the best - but time will tell!!

Keep pushing boys - another big climb



Keep the peleton moving




Park to the left as you board the boat you bikers




Chris punctured at naval base Whidbey




Offroad after ferry at Port Townsend




View of Hood Canal bridge




The team on Hood Canal bridge



Dan and partner who we met up with after dinner. They cycled Oregon on a tandem!

Tom feeling very small after losing 'kitty'

Islands Inn - our stay on 6th September



View of Pass lake



Our wonderful waitress - Erin - at Silverdale

Deception pass view




 

6th September - Vancouver to Anacortes

Repacked trailer and drove to Canadian / US border – took an age to get through. Picked up Scott, our driver, who stayed in US overnight and then started the ride at 1.45pm after a good lunch.

Tom took on the role of navigator for the day and did a great job – only got lost once during the day which cost us about 5 miles. Good job Tom.

Great riding rolling along road surfaces we can only dream of in the UK. Went through towns of Blaine and Bellingham and then followed two bays (Bellingham and Samish) with magnificent views of the San Juan Islands. Met up with a local guy who rode with for a few miles and helped us through Bellingham.  

After our late start we pushed on hard for 108kms with only a couple of quick brief stops. Ended up finishing at 7.30pm and headed straight to the bar for a beer and then out for dinner and some tasty local fish. 

WOW – a great 1^st day.

Additional note from Brian Rowe:   Whilst at border control Chris was excited to spot another group cycling from Canada to Mexico. They had a similar trailor to ours.  He was disappointed when Brian pointed out it was in fact our van which he had spent the last two hours riding in.  After lunch and a final check of bikes we set off.  Within less than 10 yards of cycling Chris fell off his bike. Only damage to his pride!!  These events won him TWIT of the day award – well deserved.   



Packed up and ready to go




Caught my eye and made me smile!




At US border - happy bunch!




Our trailer and landdrover



Lets get pedelling!

On the road - with Mount Baker in the background

The guy we met up with on route - commerical fishermn who rode with us through Bellingham.

Views across Bellingham Bay to San Juan Islands

Only 1 puncture for the day - but not on one of the bikes!

A family we passed who are travelling through Washington

An off road path round Samish Bay

Dinner at a local fish restaurant

A few more pre cycle photos



Dinner with Maurice, Margarita and Brittany.




Maurice's house in Santa Fe

Add caption



The Californian state bird - Brown Pelican. Diving for dinner

Get off the rail track - there's a bloody train coming!

Pre 1st day ride pint (or two!)

Brian found a new friend

The dog looks happy, so does Brian. This is Princess one of Maurice's daughters dogs1

Change of plan for Day 1 !

Well we said it was an adventure! We were on the way to San Diego airport yesterday and Maurice picks upa 5 minute phone message from our driver Scott who had problems entering Canada. So we're in Canada but our landrover and trailor are in the states ! So we taxi from Vancouver airport to hotel and Maurice goes to border to get the landrover and trailor!

Team meeting last night concluded that we will drive out of Vancouver closer to the border and start our journey from there. That way we will miss the Vancouver rush hour and get the car back to Scott who stayed in the states last night.

Interesting start! Anyway, it's 6am here and we are just packing up before breakfast and head off in an hour.