7/11/17 Ride C2C: Wrapping up Leg#1 - Our top lists

I had a few people ask me, a little perplexed, as to why I wasn’t still on my bike and did we already dip our tires in the Atlantic?

The answer is - we “only” had 4 weeks to ride (as we will in every summer), so no, we did not ride 3,000+ miles in the time we had and we have not yet dipped our tires in the ocean on the other side of the country.  That will come over the course of several more summer rides!

We officially ended “Ride C2C Leg #1” on Day 22 after 1,043 miles pedaling from Bellingham, WA to Great Falls, MO.

We had:

• 0 flats
• 0 mechanical issues
• 1 Day poor health (Doug’s bad-belly)
• 1 Brown Bear (near Rockport, WA - sad, no other big wildlife)

Looks so real!

• 2 Days of Rain (leaving Bham, of course)
• 2 Days of NASTY headwind
• 3 Rest days (Riverside, WA;  Sandpoint, ID; Lake McDonald, MT)
• 4 Knees that worked just fine for the whole trip (minus a few grumbles here and there)
• 6 Nights in Motels (Duck's Brand in Winthrop, The Honeymoon suite with the red heart-shaped bathtub at the Prospector Inn  in Republic, WA; cute K2 Motel with fresh baked muffins in Sandpoint ID, Stump Town Hotel in Whitefish MT, Lake McDonald Lodge “the Cobb House” in Glacier National Park, MT, super new and cute Buffalo Wallow Motel in Depuyer, MT.)

Who could forget the love tub?

• 6 Other Cyclists on the “Northern Tier” 3 heading west, 3 heading east
• LOST:  one short fingered glove.  I'm pretty sure a squirrel made off with it at The Cobb House at Lake McDonald (lesson learned - always attach your gloves to your helmet, always attach your helmet to your bike)
• A bunch of cool encounters with people along the way who shared their stories with us.

We did cut off 5 planned days of riding because it was simply too hot to be enjoyable and the forecast was for more...hot.  Once we hit the east side of the Rockies, the temperatures reached 95-100 by mid-day.  We found that after 10am we were in misery while riding and instead of enjoying the journey (which was the whole point), we were riding to get to the next stop so we could hide from the sun.  That’s just no fun.

Since this trip is our rules, we decided to stop in Great Falls, Montana.  We also decided that we don’t HAVE to ride the crappy parts.  AHA!  So next year we may not start in Great Falls, but maybe somewhere like Jackson, WY so that we can ride through the Tetons into Yellowstone which was our target anyway.

Was it worth it?  Oh yes.

My 6 favorite things were:

1. Finding out that my husband and I loved all that time together. He really STILL is my best friend (we’ve been married 29 years this year).  It was fun working as a team, depending on each other, sharing the experience.  Riding bikes was the added benefit.
2. Having the time to talk with people we met along the way.  We heard some awesome stories about their lives, their travels, their work, their worries and their joys.
3. Learning that I can still do it: dig deep when the time came, give support when it was needed, crawl out of a tent with some grace.
4. Seeing a beautiful part of our country, reviving my belief that Americans are inherently good and hard workers- even though we may have vastly different political viewpoints.
5. Riding my bike to new places!  Being under your own power, with all the things you need to be self-sufficient (well, as long as we could buy food and find a water source) is freeing.
6. Being timeless is priceless.  I only looked at the clock to note the time we started and ended our ride each day.  Otherwise the sun was our guide and we had no need to track time.

Driving a U-Haul is not as much fun as riding bikes.

We stopped at the Lewis & Clark Caverns on the way home. If you ever get the chance, do it!

Our last campsite in Coeur D'Alene ID on the way home...

The cool thing?  I always love coming home.  Bellingham is the most beautiful place in the world and I feel so lucky to return to the home I love and that I get to own/run a business that helps so many people live healthier lives so that they, too, can have their own amazing adventures.

Thanks for tuning in!  You've heard all about mine, now what is your next adventure?

To good health and a strong body,

Robin Robertson

PS - What’s next?

I’ll keep writing every week about how to keep your knees healthy.  If you are interested in being on THAT email list, leave me a comment and I'll get you signed up!