Spokane, Washington - Day 5

I know that I promised daily posts, but coming across internet access has been very difficult. However, I will try to capture as much as I can whenever I can. So I will do a few day by day recaps while including pictures I have taken.

Day 1 - Jaime drove me over to the University of Washington campus and dropped me off. Seeing as I did not know anyone at this point, I was pretty uneasy and felt very awkward while everyone else was surrounded by their family and friends cheering them on as they left. The ride started out on the Burke-Gilman Trail and after our first rest stop I joined up with two guys from Maine (Noah and Simon) and we rode together up through some hills towards Snoqualmie.

The climb into Snoqualmie

We were on and off I-90 for a while, which really sucked, but eventually we began a climb to Snoqualmie Pass (the lowest pass in the Cascades). By this point, my phone (which was incidentally my camera as well), had fallen out of my rack bag. There was snow still on the ground and what looked like white water rapids rushing by just feet below the edge of the road. Sorry, but I do not have photos of this amazing part. After this, we started a long descent into Easton, where we stayed that night.

Day 2 - Within two miles from the start, I got a flat. And then twenty feet after replacing it, I got another. So I was pretty upset at this point, but two guys from California, Austin and Ed stayed with me while I fixed it and eventually we sped through and caught up with the pack at the next rest stop. During this stretch, there were some seriously beautiful countryside farms with mountains in the background and while everyone stopped to take pictures I kind of just kicked myself. After the rest stop, the ride into Vantage was pretty simple. The land along this section was pretty much just light brown dirt and walls. There was a long and steady uphill followed by a fun 11 mile descent into the campground. A few of us got burgers at a place called Blustery's. Wonderfully, Stephanie, another girl from North Carolina, found my phone and returned it to me. During dinner, the ride leaders brought me out a birthday cake which was very nice.

The view across Vantage

Day 3 - We began the day with a quick climb out of Vantage. After that, there were a lot of steady hills and beautiful countryside. I met up with Joe, from Chicago who works for Orbitz, and we rode together for the entire day. Although most of the day was fairly monotonous, it was beautiful still. Joe and I stopped a few times to take pictures of anything sticking out, and it was curious to hear near complete silence. The climb into Odessa was pretty much never ending. There was a whole lot of nothing on either side of the only road. We kept on thinking that after the crest of the next hill we would see the town. We met up with Barbara, who used to row and works for Intel, and we all rode the last two miles into Odessa together. After making it to camp, the three of us went into town and got a burger. After some ultimate frisbee post-dinner, it was time for sleep.

Day 4 - There was a huge group of us that set out together from the start. Before the first checkpoint I was riding with Noah, Joe, Reuben (from Minnesota, enrolled at Lewis and Clark), Ed, Austin, Tracy (strangely enough, also from Raleigh, and works at Ligon!), Dewayne, Greg and Chad (both from Omaha, Nebraska). There was a vicious tailwind and speeding along at 22 miles per hour, we sang Lion King, Queen, Tenacious D and bunch of other fun songs under a great big blue sky.

(left to right) Noah, Austin, Ed, Dewayne, and Tracy

After the first rest stop, we regrouped a little differently and set out again. We stopped in Davenport for breakfast/burgers at a small restaurant and then started riding again. I started out with Reuben and Joe, but when they stopped to take a picture, I sped off and caught up with Dewayne and Doug and we bolted up a long hill at 22-26 miles per hour, mainly due to the screaming tailwind through some more farmland. After the next rest stop it was into Spokane and to Gonzaga through some sticky traffic.

Almost into downtown Spokane

Currently, I am in a library at Gonzaga University. Today is a rest day and we have the luxury of staying in a dormitory for two nights. Spokane is a pretty nice place and parts of the Gonzaga University campus are really beautiful. Tomorrow, I will be in Sandpoint, Idaho. The trip has been amazing so far and I can honestly say that I have never seen so many beautiful places and I hope that it will only get better.

I miss everyone to death and I will update as soon as I can.