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MRT Tour - 2009
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Day 48: Concrete to Bay View, WA: 48 miles
July 31, 2011 - 10:55pm — Katie St.Clair
We did it!
We started off today with a "fantastic" breakfast in the room, donuts, cereal, yogurt, same ol', same ol'. I have come to realise that the only thing that I have became really sick of on this trip is the food, there's just nothing great. I miss your cooking mom!!!!!!!
We stayed in the Hog Heaven room. All of the rooms had strange names.
Today was also my last full day of being the navigator! Tomorrow we will reach the end of the map and Chris will have to take over again. We started the day pedaling away trying to get to the Jack in the Box restaurant where we planned to meet Al Lens, Chris's friend.
We were making great time and all of a sudden I look in my mirror and say, "umm, Laura? Everyone has seemed to disapear." They were there one second and the next, they were gone. Come to find out there was a flat, not just one but two, TJ and Chris, of course their back tires. That slowed us down probally between 30 and 45 minutes.
After we got that fixed we started making good time again and we met Al at the Jack in the Box. After lunch, we went to the Bay View State Park, with Al, he is joining us. It was about 8 miles to the campground, but Al made us bike 6 more miles around so he could hit a century (100 mile) day. Also, here we have a beautiful view of the water. We all saw the water at about the same time and all raised the roof to the view that we made it! (Even Al!)
Then we dipped our tires in the Bay, almost the ocean! We are pretty much in Anacortes currently, we can see it from here. We are camping at the Bay View State Park with Al.
Lastly, I would just like to say how happy I am that we made it here! I can say now that I had my doubts, expecially when we had to wait for Chris's bike rim to ship. We, as a group, have definatly seen enough of each other but we also have become closer. I am so proud of all four of you, not just for making it here, but for helping me achieve another one of my goals, you all say its "my" trip but now it's our trip and we did it! Thank you guys!, I love you all! :)
48 miles (2089 total)
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Comments
Honoured
By the spelling of my 'subject,' you can probably guess I'm the Canadian that joined this group for a day. It was great to finally meet the strange character who has been sending me random emails for many months. Such a great group of people to travel with (okay, I only travelled about 14 miles with them so maybe my opinion would change if I stayed with them a while longer). Thanks to the group for going the extra (six) miles for me to do my century. Although, if it hadn't been for Chris making me backtrack, it may have been an elusive century. Chris, equipped with a GPS, could not figure out which Jack-in-the-box I had meant for us to meet. So I arrive at the one that I meant (and had given him the address for) and listened to his voicemail saying they were heading to the one I had passed miles earlier (okay, two miles). They claim to have never been to a Jack-in-the-box restaurant before, so I'm happy to be a part of history. Oh, and there was the thing about finally reaching the West Coast - more history made. And they met a Canadian.
Great day
We had a great day. Thanks Al for taking the group picture, good thing we met up! Al biked almost 100 miles to meet us, and is biking 100 miles home tomorrow.
TJ did not want a tire dip picture without the group, he says he couldn't have done it alone and doesn't want a picture alone. Maybe I can get him and rog in a picture or two if we can find an easier place to dip tires in the next couple days.
All my pictures today are heavily katie laden, more than normal. She was in great spirits today, at the midpoint I know she was struggling with the fact that we might not succeed. I am so glad we didnt let her down.
Actually, it has been a long time since I have seen Laura and Katie in such giddy spirits all day. TJ and Rog seem more relieved and proud, while the girls are more goofy. I couldn't imagine a better group of people to have shared this with.
Oh, and TJ got another flat tire when we got back to camp. I came so close to making the entire trip without a flat! Darn.
Who doubted you'd finish?
Not me. That's for sure. Because the one thing I know is that.................................what Katie wants, Katie gets; and Miss Katie WANTED this!!! She wanted to finish, and none of you wanted to disappoint her, and so you simply FINISHED!!!!!! "Great job" to you all.
I love the picture of "the dipping of the tires". Thanks Al for the assist.
Now turn around and peddle home.
I was hoping at least one of
I was hoping at least one of them would have been eaten by a mountain lion. That is the entire reason we tried to stay on the east side of the Mississippi whenever possible during the MRT....because according to some stats Chris and i found, no one riding a bicycle has ever been attacked by a mountain lion east of the mississippi.
Lions
We are not out of the woods yet! Really! This area does have them. We plan 2 more days in the woods until the ocean.
Not many bears now though. A Racoon unzipped one of the bags on my bike last night and ate my snacks! I assume it was a coon, it could have been Roger.