Front Tire Dip On Pacific Coast!

Front Tire Dip!
Originally uploaded by TourForLife.org.

In the late afternoon we cycled over a bridge to Fidalgo Island and reached the Pacific coast town of Anacortes, Washington. At the beach we were greeted by Greg's wife, Lori, and Lori's father and we dipped our front bicycle tires into the Rosario Strait to signify the successful completion of a 4,943 mile coast-to-coast bike tour!

We thank everyone who supported us and made it possible for us to successfully complete this tour and we thank everyone who contributed to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

Day 89 Recap: 5 Miles West of Concrete, WA to Anacortes, WA (57 miles)

Self-Kicking Club Inductees

Induction Into The Self-Kicking Club
Originally uploaded by TourForLife.org.

This afternoon we inducted ourselves into The Self-Kicking Club in Rockport, WA. Having just completed an arduous trek through the Cascade Mountains, we figured we deserved membership status in this elite club.

We Thank Today's Fans For Life:
John - Allowed us to camp on his property along the Skagit River.

Day 88 Recap: Colonial Creek Cmpgrd, WA to 5 miles west of Concrete, WA (52 miles)

North Cascades Scenic Highway

Ascending To Washington Pass
Originally uploaded by TourForLife.org.

Today we cycled the North Cascades Scenic Highway over Washington Pass and Rainy Pass. After a long ascent, we finally reached Rainy Pass by late afternoon and at this point we relished the thought that it is basically all downhill from the pass to the the Pacific Coast.

After relishing this thought, we set off on an unforgettable descent through a deep and narrow gorge. As we winded through the gorge, the perspective was fantastic as we saw steep, jagged mountain peaks high above and a bottomless ravine far below . . .

We Thank Today's Fans For Life:
Holly & Andre - Encouraged us to continue the long ascent to Washington Pass and invited us to visit their bakery on Lopez Island once we reach the Pacific Coast.

Day 87 Recap: Twisp, WA to Colonial Creek Cmpgrd, WA (74 miles)

Pocket Fuzz Collection

Pocket Fuzz Collection, Riverside Grocery Store
Originally uploaded by TourForLife.org.

After riding through a heavy downpour this morning, we stopped at the grocery store in Riverside, WA to dry out and while waiting for our things to dry, we felt obligated to contribute to the grocery store's pocket fuzz collection. We also hoped to contribute to the belly button lint collection, but unfortunately we did not have any offerings at the time.

We Thank Today's Fans For Life:
Sarin at "The Bike Shop" - Let us borrow the shop's pump so we could pump up our tires.
John - Customer at "The Bike Shop" who told us to keep "spinning and grinning" as we left the bike shop in Okanogan, WA this afternoon and started a long climb over Loup Loup Pass.

Day 86 Recap: Tonasket, WA to Twisp, WA (64 miles)

Cycling Into A Snow Storm?

Sherman Pass - Elevation 5,575'
Originally uploaded by TourForLife.org.

This morning we broke camp in a cold, misty rain and set off on a long ascent to Sherman Pass. During our ascent, we tried to stay as warm and dry as possible, but as we climbed higher the temperature dropped and an increasing wind started blowing the rain sideways.

When we finally reached the pass we checked the temperature on our themometer. The themometer read 34°F. At this point we realized if the temperature had been a couple degrees lower, we may have been cycling into a snow storm!

We Thank Today's Fans For Life:
Clif Brown - Enjoyed chatting with Clif and his wife, Melissa in Republic, WA as they were on the last day of a week-long motorcycle tour and they encouraged us to continue over Wauconda Pass, our second pass of the day.

Day 85 Recap: Canyon Creek Cmpgrd, WA to Tonasket, WA (78 miles)

Preparing For 5 Mountain Passes ...

Preparing For 5 Mountain Passes . . .
Originally uploaded by TourForLife.org.

While eating dinner this evening we looked over our maps and tried to mentally prepare for the upcoming challenge of cycling over five mountain passes in the next three days . . .

Tonight we will camp in the Colville National Forest near Kettle Falls and tomorrow morning we will begin an ascent to our first major pass in the Cascade Mountains, Sherman Pass.

Day 84 Recap: Ione, WA to Canyon Crk Cmpgrd, WA (67 miles)

Where's Washington State?

Where's Washington State?
Originally uploaded by TourForLife.org.

Our anticipation of reaching Washington grew this morning we looked at our map and determined we were only 20 miles away from Newport, which is a town on the Washington state line. We looked forward to reaching the thirteen and final state on our bicycle tour and we planned to take a picture of the state welcome sign to document this milestone.

However, when we rolled into Newport this afternoon, we did not see a state welcome sign. So we wandered the town streets looking for a welcome sign and after searching unsuccessfully for a couple hours we began to wonder if we were even in Washington! As a last resort, we questioned a local man and he confirmed that we were in Washington State, but then told us with a big grin that there isn't a welcome sign since as he put it, "they did not want us to know we were in Washington . . ."

We Thank Today's Fans For Life:
Karen - Offered to get us a room at Riverview Motel in Ione, WA.

Day 83 Recap: Round Lake State Park, ID to Ione, WA (82 miles)