alain’s dance blog

Internet access has been limited the past few days, so I’ll try to cram in as much as possible today.

It’s now Day 11 of our ride. It’s been raining on and off for the last 4-5 day, and so I’d had to keep my rain gear with me all the time. Two highlight of the past few days was crossing the Astoria-Megler bridge, and meeting Nasim and Jafar on the road in Oregon. This is the Iranian couple featured in the BBC for biking around the world for peace and environmental conservation.

And people thought we were crazy for biking from Vancouver to Mexico! These two have covered many European countries, Canada, the US and are planning to go through Korea, China and Japan in the fall. We were lucky to have them camp with us in Nehalem, and I enjoyed talking to them and sharing stories about our cultures.

Back to the laundromat!

Read more about Riding to Break the Cycle on the Agents’ blog.

Day 4 was intense. We woke up in the morning to drizzling rain.

So after a wonderful breakfast provided by citizens of Stanwood, we set off in our brightly colored rain gear. I had the full outfit. Rain jacket, rain pants and booties - all from MEC. It kept me relatively dry, although I made extensive use of the vents in my jacket and pants to keep sweat at a minimum. Unlike the riders electing to cycle without rain pants, my feet stayed warm and dry the whole trip; however my legs were damp from sweating, and I think I’d love the invention of waterproof shorts in combination with rain booties sealed to my ankles. I’ve found out that I don’t mind my lower legs wet; however, I prefer dry feet and thighs.

The ride was challenging, with lengthy hills and thrilling downhills. On the second of two consecutive big inclines that day, I gave up halfway and walked. It was disappointing, but at that moment in time, I felt that I had no more juice to pedal and told myself it was okay to admit that to myself. Riders in my pod waited for me at the top, and it was encouraging to have such a positive group cheering you on.

The ride was the longest until now, 74 miles / 118km. All in the pouring rain.

We left at 9 am and arrived in Seattle at 5h45 pm, and to be honest, I was drained at the end. The last bike trail we took coming into Seattle, the Burke-Gilman Trailhead, felt like it was a never-ending road. Partly because our directions indicated 5 miles, but the trail was actually 10 miles long, and each time we stopped people along the way for directions, they told us to keep on going. I now call it the Never-Ending Trail.

And then Emma, Isaac and I went to dance at Burn Blue at Waid’s that night with my friend Phil from Redmond. Needless to say we did not dance much.

It’s the end of Day 3. I’m writing from the United Methodist Church in Stanwood, WA, and ready to sleep!

Our hosts have been amazing up until now. On Day 1, we slept at the Peace Portal Alliance church in White Rock and got free food from friends of GlobalAFC. On Day 2, we stayed at the HUB community bike shop in Bellingham. And today, the United Methodists were kind enough to provide us with shelter and food, and Pastor John even shuttled us to his house so that we could take showers!

Here are a few pictures of the places where we stayed:

As for the cycling, it’s been as expected. As in, people told me it would hurt, and it hurts! My butt hurts, my quadriceps ache, and I’ve had occasional back and knee aches. Thank god for the shammy - without bike shorts, I think I wouldn’t be able to sit on my bike seat for another minute.

Day 1 I rode 40 miles. Day 2 was 32 miles. And Day 3 was our longest so far at 50 miles, and we’ve got 65 lined up tomorrow. We’re slowly easing into the rhythm, and I’m glad it’s planned out this way.

Day 2 drew an unexpected spontaneous dance party inside the bike shop. There will be more footage on the Global Agents for Change website, but here’s a short clip I took of Tomas.

Day 3 was full of flat farmlands, and so drafting came in handy. Drafting while cycling means to use the wind tunnel created by the front rider to save on effort, so those of us who chose to draft were cycling in tight single files along the way.

We encountered lots of roadkill - many birds and even one raccoon along the way - but otherwise, the scenery was amazing. Riding along the coastline, into the forests and down Skagit Valley into Stanwood.