Got Weather?

Riders at Deception Pass, bikes in the barn in Langley, Jack's rain gage outside our tent, the last supper (with Susan practicing her yoga?) Ranger Tommy's first farewell, a view of the sky that caused a day of grief. 

Oh my gosh have we got weather!  After gorging themselves on the all you could eat sea food feast, the tribe headed to the beach for a stellar sunset and then a snooze in their tents.  It was up early for french toast and scrambled eggs, then on the road for a long 75 mile day traversing the ups and downs of Whidbey Island.  The day started out with a little cloud cover, not hot and not too cool.  Kind of like a Goldie Locks story......ok bad analogy.  But not for long.  About the time the tribe hit Deception Pass the skies broke loose....kind of like the God's Must Be Crazy......with no coke bottles, (did I just date myself or disclose my love for obscure films?)  just thunder, lightning, rain and hail.  We thought that it would pass, but the crazy weather continued all day long.  The tribe was soaked, cold, and pretty well beat by the time they peddled into Langley.  We offered up got chocolate and cider to take the chill off as they set up their tents.  Many opted to just camp in the barns at the fairgrounds that we stayed at.

My best friend Susan showed up to help us finish out the tour.  She and I started our catering business 19 years ago....The Wylde Thyme Catering....but she wised up and found a real job.  (We named the business after a really large bottle of wine sitting on the floor of my moms kitchen.  Not that we have been known to do crazy things....my husband cringes every time we get together.  Our road trips are infamous....at least the parts that we admit to.)

So, tonight was Ranger Tommy's first last farewell.  We served up a dinner of marinated vegetable salad, honey spiced pork chops, Eastern Indian vegetable stew, reheated orzo with pesto sauce and fresh rhubarb strawberry shortcakes & whipped cream for dessert.  Following dinner was the final presentation of awards for this hard cycling tribe.....youngest riders Zach & Keilan, oldest male and female riders, (both over 70!!!), heaviest luggage, lightest luggage, most mechanically challenged....then the final first goodbye from Tom.  Some ask, why Ranger Tommy?  While in Bryce Canyon one year Tom heard of a midnight hike that the parks offered during a full moon through part of the canyon.  Tom inquired at the park office if he could sign up 65 people for the tour.  Sorry, too many and the tour was full.  Could he, Tom, hire a ranger to guide our group?  Sorry, we don't work that way.  Could Tom make a donation to the park to make an exception?  Are you trying to bribe an public official?  Ooooops.  Tom backed off.  Could he, Tom, take the group in? After all, he was leading them on the road tour... They guessed so.  So that was the plan.  Tom would lead the group, in the dark with headlamps, through winding trails along treacherous terrain, into the canyons of Bryce.  At that nights map meeting, he put forth the plan.  Then, two of the tribe interrupted and questioned him, expressing concern that he was not a park guide.  To remedy that, they provided him with a certificate of completion of the Junior Ranger program for Bryce Canyon.  There, Tom was deputized as Ranger Tommy.  Complete with the hat.

It has been an amazing 17 years of working tours with Tom.  We have had our good times, our challenging times, our happy times and sad times.  We have made friends for a life time with people from around the world.  We have watched each others families grow and spread their wings.  We have lost some close to us and seen new babies been born.  We have helped cyclists from every reach of the continent experience an adventure on their bicycle.  He has led them, and I have fed them.  Quite a legacy.

Tomorrow is our last day.....we will be up bright and early to get them on the road.  They will head to the ferry to cross the sound to Mukilteo and then peddle their way back to Redmond.  We will head back to home base, re-up, and get ready to do this all over again on Monday.  It was a great tour, awesome people and amazing rides.  We will see you on the other side Monday.

Peddling for Bivalves

Taylor Seafood harvesting in Samish Bay: the tribe partaking in the feast: A contented staff: full seagulls lounging on the lawn: my family of foodies.



So the motivation for today's ride was the feast waiting for the tribe at Bay View State Park.  I am sure that the ride itself was part of the motivation: after a long day yesterday they had just 56 miles of gradual downhill, one little climb, and an amazing ride along the Samish Bay.  And, what a feast they were about to hold!

One thing I forgot to mention is that we picked up a couple of strays at Rockport.  Two young men are just finishing their self contained tour from Vermont to the West Coast.  They happened upon us and  were happy to partake in last nights feast, as well breakfast this morning and sandwiches for the road.  I did make mention the seafood feast happening tonight, and if our paths crossed, they were more than welcome to join us.  I think their path changed from their original plan.  We did see them at dinner, breakfast and lunch once again!

Before arriving at Bay View Jack, my mom, and I sped up Chuckanut Drive to Taylor Shellfish Farms to procure tonights delicacies.  Oysters, clams, and mussels all from Washington waters......fresh for the grilling and steaming for "happy hour" with the tribe.  We then sped back to Sakuma Farms to get our paws on fresh strawberries, tayberries and raspberries to mix with greens right out of my mom's garden for the salad du jour! (A tayberry is a cross between raspberries and blackberries.  Where the name tayberry? Simple.  B + R = T.  B is the 2cnd letter in the alphabet, R is the 18th letter in the alphabet, T is the 20th letter in the alphabet.  2 + 18 = 20.  Oh, my mind doesn't work like that.....)  We already had the salmon on board, so it was back to the campground and hard at work to feed our tribe recently christened "the seagulls".  And, they ate like seagulls!

I had a couple of visitors tonight.  Well, many, but these 3 stood out.  We had a reporter and photographer from the Snohomish County Herald out to do a feature on the catering on this tour.  They joined us for 4 hours, happy hour and dinner.  They interviewed most of the tribe and staff....I have no idea what is going to be written, but it will be published in the Monday's addition of the paper.  You can find it by googling the Snohomish County Herald.  We also had my mom, sister, all 3 sons, Erin that used to work for me on the tours, and her 2 little guys.  It was quite the reunion!

The tribe had an awesome dinner..the happy hour, berry and fresh greens salad, steamed fingerling potatoes, steamed fresh vegetable medley, bourbon salmon, and fresh home made cookies for dessert.  They fueled up for another long day tomorrow across Deception Pass and down Whidbey Island for the last night together.  The first of Ranger Tommy's Farewell.

Over the Top

Bright and early up in the sky: happy tribe members getting ready to head out for a long day: pics from the climb: tribe members at the top: Aaron off the bike after the climb: pics from the top: lunch at the top: Keilan at Diablo Lake Overlook

What a day!  Day 5 is the longest of the rides for this tribe.  Everyone was up EARLY.  Fortunately Jack and I had the sense to get even earlier and have coffee and breakfast ready to go by 5:45.  I think everyone was out of camp by 6:30.  With 95.1 miles and two mountain passes to ride over this was a good idea.  Plus, they were trying to beat the heat.  It wasn't as hot today, but still in the 80's.

Today's route took the tribe West out of Winthrop along the Methow River, a gradual uphill to the base of Washington Pass.  Then the fun began.  A 10 mile climb of up to 8% grade and topping out at 5,477 feet.  Lunch was at the camp ground at the top and the tribe got to go out to the overlook and see what they had just accomplished.  Good job tribe!

We stopped in Mazama on the way by, and if you are on highway 20 ever it's a great little time out.  They have a fabulous general store and deli and a new sports outfitting store with bike rentals, maps, hiking & camping gear.....worth the time off the road.

A funny thing happened at the lookout.  Our friend Jim from Baltimore, who thinks it's a vacation to take time off from work and wash dishes on our rides, walked out to the lookout to take some pics.  A couple was there with a minister and some friends and asked him if he wanted to witness their wedding!  Of course he did, and now he has another story to tell!

After the tribe left the campground they had a screaming downhill for about 10 miles, then another shorter climb up to Rainy Pass, elevation 4,855 feet.  After that it was downhill most all of the way into Newhalem, with a stop at the Diablo Lake overlook. (Except for Jim from ACA, he didn't want to waste the downhill by stopping!)  From Newhalem it was another 25 miles into camp, riding along the Skagit River into Howard Miller Steelhead Park.  Our last rider came in at 7:30 to a round of applause from the whole tribe!  It was a gorgeous day and a fabulous ride.

Dinner tonight was a pasta feast to refuel the tribe.  Linguini with meat sauce, Orzo with pesto cream sauce & sun dried tomatoes, sautéed zucchini, green salad, and Aaron's Oreo pudding surprise for dessert.  (The surprise is that it didn't end up on the floor of the truck as it has in the past!)

Lot's of beer and lot's of stories tonight then everyone was off early to bed.  Tomorrow is and easier day into Bay View State Park.  Everyone is eager to partake in the seafood happy hour and the salmon bbq.  I'll let you know how it goes!

Too Hot to be Cool

Rocky Reach Dam on the Columbia: a view of the Columbia: bikes at rest: the bell that sounded the fire that leveled Twisp in 1924: the B&B in Twisp: Aaron on the road: the cyclists laundry line.

As cyclists we like to think that when we are all decked out in our coordinating spandex shorts and jersey, rolling along on two wheels, that we are really cool.  Not so in Eastern Washington.  It's to hot!  Actually, today wasn't quite so bad: the temps ranged into the 90's.  Felt like a cool wave after the last couple of days!

Today's ride was a beautiful roll through the Methow Vally, winding along the Methow river the better part of the way.  A short 43 miles with very little climb.  Makes up for day 5!  One of the highlights for some today was a stop in the town of Twisp.  Not too much there, but there is a great bakery: the Cinnamon Twisp.  If you drive through this part of the state this is a must stop!  Jack and I explored a little and viewed the GORGEOUS B&B just off of the downtown area, and read about the fire that leveled the town in 1924.

Most of the tribe was in camp before noon.  They relaxed, showered, and then headed into the western theme town of Winthrop.  There is a great brew pub that many cooled their heels at, as well one of the best ice cream stops on the tour.

The tribe has begun to bond really well.  It was a night of socializing and enjoying a dinner of spicy cabbage salad, curried chicken, tofu in a peanut yam sauce, basmati rice, stir fried snow peas and dessert.  Dessert was supposed to be delicious pecan pie bars.  Someone, not that I would be the guilty one, put a bag of ice in the dessert cooler.  Soggy pecan pie bars.  I was able to save about 30 of them, but Aaron had to make a quick trip to the grocery store to supply us with dessert.  Drats.

One of the groups riding with us this week is called the Reel Team.  They are a family out of Boise, Idaho.  8 in all: mom and dad and offspring and spouses.  There are quite a few family units on this tour!  Ranger Tommy has kept the tribe entertained with nightly stories of rides from the past.  I think that he should blog his tales!  I will dedicate one page to his shenanigans at a later date.

Tomorrow is the big kahuna: a few worried soles among the tribe.  But, we know they will do great.  It is a long day of climbing and a long 96 miles.  I'm sure they will be up and out early!

Go Cheetahs Go!

A view up the Columbia River: ACA's head honcho Jim Sayer with daughter Keilan enjoying a smoothie: tribe members doing the same: The Cheeto's Cheetahs Jack and Kevin: aahhhh.....soaking the toes in the brook after a long hot day.

I find it great fun to pick on certain staff members while on these trips.  What can I say? They're easy targets!  So Jack P and Kevin have been the targets for quite awhile.  I haven't got Joe around to tease, so I needed to find someone.  I you haven't noticed, I like to take pictures of Jack and Kevin while they are lounging.....which is quite a bit of the time.  (Not really, but I like to think so.) It's gotten to the point that Kevin's wife thinks that that is all he does when he's out here.....sorry Kevin.  But, as Jack and Kevin have explained to me, they are Cheetahs.  They lie in wait for a tribe member in distress then jump into action as fast as a Cheetah.  Yeah right.  So, to fuel them while they are waiting to jump, I presented them with a bag of Cheetos.  If you're a Cheetah, you need your Cheetos!  Hehehe.

Day 3 of Cycle Washington was another scorcher, combined with a long day.  The tribe broke camp early and headed up highway 97 along the Columbia River, then headed North over to Lake Chelan.  After a gorgeous lunch stop at Riverside Park, they headed up and over to hook back up to 97 to the little town of Pateras.  Just after their turn up the Methow River they stopped at the Rest Awhile Fruit Stand for a smoothie and a piece of pie.  A much needed rest!  From the Fruit Stand it was a quick 5 miles to Alta Lake State Park.  Unfortunately the last 2 miles included a mean climb up.....

At the camp ground many of the tribe soaked their feet in the babbling brook that runs through camp and many made tracks for the lake for a cool dip.  Someone asked if we have anything but glacial water in our lakes.....nope.

Dinner tonight was a spring green salad with french dressing, broccoli salad, bbq pulled pork, Opa's famous sausages, sauerkraut, steamed Yukon potatoes, creamy polenta with parmesan cheese and Nana's rum cakes for dessert.  (The secret to the polenta for those who asked is 1/2 a gallon of heavy whipping cream and 2 pounds of fresh parmesan cheese.  Hope no one has a cholesterol problem.  They may now!)  It was so hot cooking dinner my loving son doused me with ice water...the future physical therapist was just trying to look out for me.  Hmmf.

Tomorrow is a much easier day, and hopefully not so hot.  We'll see.

And the Weather Is........

Yes, our stellar crew hard at work......the tribe at dinner night two...remnants of our canopy..here comes the sun, again.

Holy heck!  The weather is crazy! We left a gorgeous, sunny day in Seattle and traversed over the mountain to what we knew would be some hot weather, but after record rainfall on our side of the mountains for the month of June we were not prepared for a searing 105+ degrees.  Brutal is the word that describes it!  The tribe fared pretty well, but it was hot, hot, hot.  We had two crashes today, but nothing serious, thankfully!

The tribe shuttled up to the top of Stevens Pass, unloaded, geared up, then headed down the East side of the pass.  The water level in the Wenatchee River that they rode along was higher than I have ever seen it: more white water than you could imagine.  There are usually raft tours on the river, but we didn't see one.  The tribe rode through the quaint Bavarian town of Leavenworth, then rolled through the orchards of ripe cherries, peaches and apricots,  into Cashmere (home of the Applettes and Cottlettes) then down into Confluence State Park in Wenatchee.

We set up camp along the river: we were set up on the asphalt and I swear it was another 20 degrees hotter than on the grass.  We prepared a dinner of bleu cheese wedge salad, Greek lemon chicken, sprouted beans & basmati rice, fresh asparagus, corn on the cob, and home canned peaches from the Methow Valley with pound cake.  Plus, leftover pea and pasta salads.  It was a hungry bunch and I think they ate well.  So did the mosquitos:  After dinner we all played a game of dodge the mosquitos to get to your tent: this is the worst day for mosquitos!  The only other day that we have had this bad is in Montana.  The little buggers camp on the outside of your tent and wait for the perfect opportunity to invade.

At about midnight we all woke to the most outrageous thunderstorm!  It was like the clouds were fighting each other with thunderbolts!  The wind came up and ripped our canopy over the kitchen down.  Our chafer boxes were returned by tribe members this morning, about an acre away.  I high tailed to the front of the truck and wouldn't come out. Jack and Jim tried to salvage the canopy and threw all of our equipment that wasn't nailed down into the back of the truck.  (I also understand that Daryl and Kim ditched their tent and burrowed in the ACA van, not that I would tattle...)  Then all of us that figured there was no need for a rain fly scrambled to stay dry!  It was quite the storm.

The tribe was up and off early this morning, trying to beat the heat.  Today they will ride along the Columbia River (dodging forest fires) into the lake town of Chelan and then up and over to Alta Lake State Park.  It will be a hot ride, hopefully not too much smoke and no headwinds....we'll see!

Ranger Tommy's Farewell

Oh my gosh: I really can't believe that we have participated in 17 years of Ranger Tommy rides on the Washington tour!  My youngest, Scott, was not even one, and now he is graduated and on his way to the Marine Corps boot camp in 2 weeks!  Tom was just retired with two at home and one in college: now he has two married with children and the last one finishing up college.  Grandpa Tommy!

SO: tonight was the kick off for the first of two Cycle Washington': the Farewell Tours.....and Tom has brought on his stellar players to augment the tours.  Daryl and Kim on lunch: Leo and Sue on water stop: Marker Bob leading the way: Kevin keeping those wheels turning: Jack P packing those bags on luggage, and finally Linda on massage.  Quite the crew.........the tribe shall be well cared for.

AND: what a tribe it is!  At the first map meeting Tom asked the tribe how many had ridden a Tom ride? Roughly 75% of the tribe stood up...one member (We love you Bob) has been on 7 of his tours.  We have quite a few adult families with us, as well Zach and his dad....Zach is quite a young athlete: now competing in the juniors races on the East Coast...way to go Zach! And, he has such an amazing outlook, or maybe insight, to cycling.....his comment tonight was that this is something that he can do for his lifetime.  Wow.

The weather right now is gorgeous.  After a month of record rainfall we have been blessed with the sunshine.  Here in the Seattle area it is in the 70's.  As we head East over the mountains we will hit 100's......dry and arid.  We have had reports of fires in the Chelan area....hoping to avoid those.

I am excited: the berries in the Skagit Valley are in full production:(I made 60 pints of strawberry jam last week for the tour; using it at lunch and water stops and then for sale at the end of the trip...you haven't had strawberries until you've tasted these)  the soft fruits and cherries the same on the Eastern side of the state......and the seafood is abundant!  We will be doing the "happy hour" at Bay View State Park on Thursday....steamed clams and mussels, oysters on the grill, and salmon on the bbq.  YUMMMMM......can't wait!

So: dinner tonight I tried something new: a salad buffet.  Quite nervous about how it would be received; but I think it went well.. We offered a tossed green salad with, on the side, ham, turkey, 3 cheeses, chick peas, dilly beans ( a home made favorite) olives, curried chicken salad, pea salad, pasta salad, home made corn muffins, cookies, brownies & watermelon on the dessert side.  One rider commented that it was "salad central".  Well received.

Tomorrow's ride starts with a bus shuttle up Steven's Pass, then they hop on the bikes and it's a down hill ride through the quaint town of Leavenworth and onto the State Park in Wenatchee. (Where, I must warn you the mosquitos are horrific!)

I will catch you up tomorrow on the day's ride......and the food in the making..

Fresh Berries from the Skagit Valley: Awesome t-shirt: Kevin and Jack "hard at work" the tribes first meeting.