Moustache Ride 2009: Blaine, WA to Deception Pass State Park
In the summer of 2009 I rode my bike 2100 miles down the Pacific coast from Blaine, WA to San Ysidro, CA. I started riding on Aug. 12th and reached the border on Nov. 22nd. This is my ride diary. The prelude to this diary can be found here.
Blaine, WA to Deception Pass State Park
-
Day 1 (8/12)
-
73 mi.
-
12 mph av.
-
5:28 hr. ride time
-
1754.9 odo
First day of the tour! I was pretty nervous this morning. Woke up at 6:30 and finished getting things packed up. I was very scattered. I kept starting tasks then moving on to something else before I finished. My girlfriend Colleen made blackberry pancakes that were delicious. Thom came over at 8:00 and we all drove up to the Peace Arch park. We dorked around there for a while; took pics and made fun of Canadians. I had forgotten my helmet so Thom let me borrow his. I got on the road at about 9:30.
The day was perfect! Warm, some clouds,and really bright. I didn’t follow the map in Blaine because I started in a different place. I ended up taking a strange route to Bellingham, it was based on vague memories of training rides and hunches. I went and had lunch at home because I forgot my helmet. While I was there I grabbed some other things I forgot and posted this morning’s pics on Facebook. It was good to be home. I saw my roommate Brian and said goodbye to him. Every thing I did felt very significant and final. So I also took one last poop on my home turf. The ride out of Bellingham was about to begin but first I had to return Thom’s helmet.
While at his place I chatted with him and his brother Major. Thom gave me some delicious blueberries then it was time to hit the road!
The ride was absolutely gorgeous. I stopped several times to tag my ‘stache alongside the road and take pics. The entire route was on familiar roads. I’ve ridden them many times to train and for fun. I got to Bay View State Park and decided to push on to Deception Pass SP. I figured I could score a free campsite and I wanted to push myself a bit. As I got closer to the park the weather started to turn cloudy so my spirits dropped a little. There was construction on Hwy 20 going to the park so I was forced to take a detour on my way there. The detour put me right on the water so to get back on Hwy 20 I had to climb a giant hill. It took me forever and I was exhausted when I reached the top. On my way to the campsite I spied a service road with a gate across it. I quickly turned onto the rode and glided around the gate. I found myself in a large, empty group camp at the back of one of the campsite loops. I stealthily pedaled my bike with giant bright panniers past a bunch of motor homes including the camp host to the hiker-biker camp.
I unloaded my bike and set up camp for the first time. When I was getting ready to make dinner I met a guy named Dennis from Chicago. He’s been hitching from San Francisco. We traded stories about parts of the world we knew. He told me about a good hostel in S.F. I told him about the area and the islands in particular.
For dinner I made orzo soup with parsley and sauteed onion with a little squash on the side. I got the produce at an organic farm just outside of Bow on Chuckanut Dr. and Colony Rd. It was tasty! I talked to mom for a bit then to Colleen. It was good to talk to her but it made me miss her. I told her about how I snuck in the park using the service entrance and didn’t pay for the site. She was happy for me to start my journey. All considered it was a great start even if I am a bit chilly now.
-
0 Bananas eaten.
-
$1 spent
