We have been blessed to have travelled to many parts of the globe. The allure of the American Experience has, however, remained within us. Now in retirement with plenty of time, we decided to see more of America at the leisurely pace of one spoke at a time.
In 2018 we travelled from Seattle to Savannah. In 2021 we rode/drove the East Coast from Canada to Key West. We are now crossing the U.S. to make our way from Vancouver, Canada to Tijuana, Mexico.
We completed our drive across the country. Before arriving
in Vancouver where Jay will begin his ride down the West Coast, we stopped in
Bend, OR to visit the last Blockbuster on Earth (really, in the whole
universe!), then on to Eugene, OR to visit Jay’s cousin Max and his wife
Valerie. Next, we headed north to Anacortes, WA for dinner with Bryn and his
wife Shelley. Jay and Bryn met 45 years ago when they both attended university
in Malaysia.
We signed up for a bus tour for Vancouver. It was a great
way to see the highlights of the city (Stanley Park, Granville Island,
Chinatown, etc.) and not worry about parking! One highlight was lunch at the
Sandbar Restaurant. Jay ordered a gin & tonic and it was purple! We learned
Empress Gin is made in British Columbia from blossoms that make the gin purple.
We found a liquor store and bought a bottle. Not sure any of it will make it
back to Atlanta.
Vancouver, BC to Ferndale, WA
On Thursday, July 27 Jay started the ride in Hadden Park in
downtown Vancouver. The city streets had very little traffic and in some places the
bike lanes or sections of roadway are closed to vehicles. There were a few
sections of real city biking, but nothing too bad.
Jay’s crossing of the Port Mann Bridge was accomplished by a
protected bike / pedestrian walkway. Unfortunately, once he reached the bike
path entrance for the Alex Fraser Bridge, a big “Access Closed” sign appeared.
Jay was on an island and the bridge path was the only way off the island for a
cyclist.
A call was made and Helen came to the rescue. Jay was on his
way again. Today’s ride included a crossing of the Canadian – US border. Jay
had learned earlier from another cyclist’s blog that the crossing guards want bike
riders to move to the head of the line. With volumes of cars, trucks, and buses
crossing the border, getting a lone cyclist out of the mayhem is a good policy.
Helen, on the other hand, ended up spending over 90 minutes
in line with other motorists waiting to cross the border. She did get a good photo
of the Peace Arch that signifies Canadian-American friendship. The only thing
she had to declare was the bottle of Empress Gin 😊.
Jay’s ride continued without further incident. We stayed at
a Super 8 hotel in Ferndale that had secured underground parking. A first for
us.
Ferndale, WA to Anacortes, WA
The next day, Helen drove and Jay rode the scenic Chuckanut
Highway. The road, once part of the Pacific Coast Highway, has it share of
climbs, scenic views, and downhills. After passing through Bellingham, Jay had
a lovely ride along Birch Bay.
We stayed at the Cap Sante Inn that has a catchy tagline
“Best Value and More Fun.” Why would anyone stay elsewhere?
Anacortes, WA to Port Townsend, WA
The next day, Jay had a short 35-mile ride from Anacortes to
Townsend, WA. This ride had its scenic elements, but one common characteristic
of riding in this part of the country is the hills. Jay has put 145 miles on
this 1,800 ride down the West Coast into the books.
One of the reasons we came to Port Townsend was to attend a
Saturday night potluck dinner with a group of UUs called the Tomato Soup Group
(TSG). Jay was the guest speaker and made a presentation that covered long
distance bike riding, his book Used to be UU and his take on the state
of affairs within the Unitarian Universalist Association.
With lots of correspondence before arriving, we were offered
home hospitality by Doug and Pat Rodgers, members of the Quimby UU Fellowship
and the TSG, and a lovely tour of downtown Port Townsend after the dinner
by Joyce, Nils and Ron. Ron and his wife Judy invited us to attend a BBQ at
their home on Sunday afternoon and we had the opportunity to socialize once
again with a wonderful group of UUs.
The continental United States is big! We have been driving for six days. We have logged over 2,400 miles and we have still not reached the west coast. Sunday (today) we are in Eugene, Oregon, 60 miles from the Pacific shoreline. We are visiting Jay’s cousin, then we'll head north for another visit with Jay’s college friend in Anacortes, WA, then finally to Vancouver, British Columbia. After a day of touring in Vancouver, Jay will begin the ride on July 29.
There are two strategies for a cross-county drive. One, drive until you get there. Two, drive until something goofy catches your eye and stop. We are pursuing the latter strategy.
Below is list of goofy things that caused us to stop and smell the “whatever.”
Crane’s Country Store
As we drove on I-70 west of St. Louis, we fell prey to the allure of an interstate advertising campaign. “Boots, Bullets, Britches, Bologna.” True to its advertising, this country store in Williamsburg, MO had the goods.
Truckhenge
We drove another 225 miles to Topeka, KS where we visited Ron Lessman’s Truckhenge. We have visited the real Stonehenge in the Salisbury Plain in England as well as the dismantled Foamhenge in Centerville, VA. So, a henge of trucks was right up our alley. The visit was a bust. Ron, known for his engaging humor (e.g., a boat OAR inserted into the KNOT of a tree with the punch line of “do you like gorillas in thong underwear, OR NOT. . .ha!). Both Ron and the henge have lost their luster. Ron was pleasant, friendly, inviting and engaging, but could manage only a whisper of a voice. The graffiti spray-painted three trucks, long ago planted tail end in the ground, have been overtaken by vegetation. The acres of eclectic chainsaw carvings and beer and wine bottle displays in concrete are also losing the battle of time. We are glad we can now include Truckhenge in our henge experiences before time and nature reclaims this wonder.
Evel Knievel
Those of our age remember the daredevil Evel Knievel and his motorcycle jumps of buses, tanks of sharks or pits of vipers. Anything to get attention and put on a show. The museum in Topeka did justice to this showman, but a line on a closing display captured the fate of this unique man who died at age 69 in 2007. “Robert (Evel’s birth name) never made me a dime. Evel made me $33 million, but I spent $35 million.”
Abilene, KS – Ike’s Hometown
We visited the hometown and museum of a war hero and US president, most likely known now only by senior citizens, Dwight David Eisenhower, or Ike as he was affectionally known. We did not have time to visit his library but toured his burial site and museum. The museum depicted Ike’s humble beginnings, his time at West Point, his marriage to Mamie (nee Doud), the well-heeled daughter of a Midwest meatpacking magnet, his time as Supreme Commander in World War II, his presidency, and post presidential years. Very glad we stopped here!
Oakley, KS
Two hundred miles later we stopped for the night in Oakley, KS. In 2018 on our trip west for our Seattle to Savannah bike ride, we stopped in Oakley to visit the nearby rock outcropping known as Monument Rocks. Now the draw of Oakley, KS for us was the Annie Oakley Motel. The motel’s large signage is irresistible, offering direct dial phones, queen-sized beds and color TV. The signage also offers a more than life-size illuminated visage of a miniskirted Annie Oakley. We dined at Buffalo Bill’s Bar and Grill, followed by a visit to the county fair.
Before leaving Oakley, we visited the huge sculpture of Buffalo Bill riding a galloping horse and shooting a buffalo. Social commentary aside, the sculpture was impressive in size and detail.
Loveland, CO – Family
We spent the evening of July 19 in Loveland, CO visiting family. Gathered were three generations of the Borland family. We had a wonderful meal, excellent conversation, and confirmation that if you are family by birth or marriage, you are always welcome.
Lincoln Statue
Just outside Laramie, WY on US I-80, we visited the Lincoln Memorial Monument. Built in 1959, the 30-foot granite spire with a 4,500 pound bronze bust of Abraham Lincoln commemorated the 150th anniversary of the 16th president’s birth. It was originally located on the highest point of the Lincoln Highway. That highway, conceived in 1912, was the first transcontinental highway running from New York City to San Francisco.
Idaho Potato Motel
Before concluding our day’s journey to Ontario, OR, we detoured about five miles off the highway outside Boise to visit the Idaho Potato Motel. While Idaho supplies almost a third of the country’s potatoes, in 2012 the state’s Potato Commission, knowing it couldn’t rest on its laurels (or is it spuds?), commissioned the construction of a giant, hollow, fake tuber as the centerpiece of its 75th anniversary celebration. Borne on the back of a massive red truck, the 28-by-12-foot tater travelled the country for seven years, finally retiring in 2019. The travelling spud was then renovated to an Air BnB for $200 a night option equipped with an outside silo-bathroom. Call us crazy, but we continued to drive for another hour and stayed at a Clarion Inn in Ontario, OR. Our spirit of adventure stops at outside silo-bathrooms.
We are in the final preparation for another long-distance bicycle ride from Vancouver, British Columbia, down the coastline to the Mexican border. This adventure adds to our other epic biking trips, our 2018 Seattle to Savannah and 2021 Canada to Key West.
Each ride has its challenges, and this ride is no different. Helen, who is driving our Prius as a Support and Gear (SAG) vehicle, will probably log 8,000 miles. For Jay, who rides solo each day, his route of 1,800 miles is shorter than previous rides but is filled with many challenging days ahead. Overall, the route has 100,000 feet of climbing. We live in Atlanta and are taking advantage of our time on the West Coast to visit family and friends. With our late July start, we will encounter the last of summer vacationers for the first few weeks. We know campgrounds and coastal hotels are pretty much at capacity. We have made a few early reservations, but from past experience, we have found weather and riding conditions restrict our ability to plan too far in advance. We will take things day by day.
The Bike Course
Jay is following the Adventure Cycling Pacific Coast route. He has downloaded electronic versions of the route to his Android phone. However, he has converted that route to a third-party app called Ride with GPS. Unlike Adventure Cycling’s Bicycle Route Navigator app, Ride with GPS provides verbal queues on upcoming turns. Without verbal queues, a moment of inattention will result in a missed turn and a need to backtrack, an experience Jay confesses has occurred more than a few times.
The conversion of the route was supported by downloading a map of the route by another rider who also used the Ride with GPS app. With his paid subscription, Jay was further able to adjust the route. A few detours were needed to avoid road construction and road closures south of Monterey, CA. The mapping and adjustments are tedious, but the time is well spent getting familiar with the course. Understanding the hilly conditions helped with planning daily riding distances. It is not uncommon, for example, to face 2,000 to 3,000 feet of climbing in a 50-mile day ride.
Future Posts
We hope to upload a new blog post each week. The next time you hear from us, we will be in Vancouver ready to start the ride!
