April 19, 2012

23.2 miles

Through Silverdale to Paulsbo

Lunch in Silverdale

More Rain; soaked through.  We have some wet weather conditioning to do.  We are still figuring constant rain out.

Hotel tonight in Paulsbo.

April 18, 2012

15 miles
Dewatto Road to Scenic Beach







We pitched out tent right in the middle of a small trail, just outside a campsite, but we waited for sundown to do it.  We were just off a closed loop of the state park campground.  It was very private and very quiet  and the price was right (free). 

April 17, 2012

12.2 miles 
Clifton Road to Dewatto Road


We rested for  a day off of McCormick Road, back in the broom with the hummingbirds.  We had some rain in the night and found out the floor of the tent is no longer water proof.  Water running in underneath the tent had us suddenly picking gear up out of puddles in the middle of the night.  


It stopped raining long enough the next day to dry out and re-weather proof; that is, string the tarp we brought along for heavy rain above the tent.


It was very cold when we broke camp this morning, early (43 F).  My feet felt like blocks of ice and I am having a very hard time getting them into the clips.


We are on Day 2, heading through Gorst, WA, making for the wilderness. 


-Heidi

April 15, 2012

A weld on my rear rack broke, and we have returned to Gig Harbor to lighten up the bikes. Some electrical tape and a few hose clamps and the rack is ready to go again. 

I'll replace the rack as soon as I can find a good one.

I had about 67 pounds of gear on my bike, so I had to make some choices.  I fought for every gram of loss I could arrange.  I even bought a cheap camera that takes AA batteries so I could ditch the camera charger.  I saved almost 200 grams from that one item alone. My water bottles weigh 1,500 grams and that's not even enough water for a whole day.  Water is one of the heaviest things we carry.

So we will start out again today, for a second time. We'll shoot for another 7 or 8 miles and hopefully get stronger from day to day. The weight kills on the hills.

Scott

I realized one of my pedals was broken and so had to replace them. I put the pedals that were on Evan's old Specialized on my bike.  I had taken the pedals off  before we  sold it.  So now I am peddling on pedals that all 3 of my boys used from 2002 on. I miss my boys but feel a connection to all of them, riding on their old pedals.

Heidi & Her Bike

Heidi ready to go...

A more sensible load...

 

My home town... .

Update:

We are at 15.6 miles at Lider Road and Deep Lake Road making for our goal for day one.  There will be no cell service for quite some time after it goes away, not until we reach Poulsbo in a few days.  I expect we could be out of touch for 3 to 5 days.

Five miles to go  today yet. 


I'm turning off my phone to save battery.

Scott

April 14, 2012

We finally left today.  I say finally, because it has seemed like it has taken forever to tie up all of the loose ends, but we have finally finished making all of our arrangements- given up our apartment, prepaid the post office box and the storage space, given away or packed up all of our belongings, and finally, packed up and augmented our gear.  

We made the decision in February that we were really going to do this and here we finally are- ready to go (though we still feel like we are forgetting things).  In two short months we have changed our lives completely.  We are 'homeless' and we are going to ride across the U.S.  Where we will go after that, we don't know.

Today, we pedaled down the hill from the apartment complex where we have lived comfortably for the last year and a half; we became tent dwellers, on the road, looking for a new place to sleep every night. Now, we are journeyers.
-Heidi

We rode only 7 miles today, but we did finally leave.  We're tucked into the woods where nobody can see us. 

I think we have too much stuff!

You don't get to choose how your're going to die.  Or when.  
You can only decide how you're going to live.  Now.  
                                                                       - Joan Baez