Less than Two Weeks...

I know donations are trickling in after talking to some family and friends, which is wonderful, thank you everyone (I'll get some totals from FHSSA soon).

The 'practice run' weekend went well. Dave's 3 day, 198 mile trip had tons of rain, a flat tire in a downpour, and a kind local offered a dry garage to fix it in, but he had no hitches with his gear, which is great. (I'll update this post with his pics/thoughts when I get them).

My ride was 2 days and totaled 162 miles, with rain for about half of it. I weighed my gear when I got home: bike without bags: 30 pounds. with bags: 65 pounds. I'll make some adjustments, but the weight will likely increase for the full ride.

The island route I posted a map of last week was gorgeous, even in the rain, but the return trip down the I-5 corridor into Everett and sprawling towns was terrible; beyond the Skagit Valley I don't recommend this route, especially due to the one foot shoulders across the 529 bridges between Marysville and Everett (a biking map suggested this route).

I was fortunate to stay at an organic farm near Mount Vernon, through an old Camp Reed connection. The stay was quite educational for me, and I encourage anyone who is into farming with a heart check out their site here. They are a newish company, and will be coming down to Seattle weekly for share deliveries. Also, their chickens get a new pen location every 8 hours, which you can't say about any other farm in our area.

I don't expect to have as hearty a breakfast throughout my trip, but I can dream of it. So a big thank you to our hosts for their backyard, discussions, breakfast, and my gigantic sandwich for the ride home. And thanks to Mike and Allison for doing the trek with me.