Hiking the Olympics
This Spring and Summer, we are focused mostly on hiking, and have planned a 4-day trip across the Olympics near the end of June. Thus far we have done a day hike near Lake Quinault, and my first overnight backpacking trip to Dosewallips (on the eastern side of the Olympics). Quinault was amazing as always…
Read MoreBellingham to Birch Bay Bike and a Hike
This is my last catch up post! Marty had his Birthday ride and I had mine! This time we took a drive up to Bellingham and stayed at the Oxford Suites (putting our new rule “no camping in the cold” into action!). The next morning we met up with my nephew Nick who is now…
Read More5 Days for Marty’s 50th!
This blog is a bit old, but better late than never to post it! This past year has been interesting for Marty and I as well as the rest of the world. In July, I decided to quit my job, an agonizing decision since I was grateful to have amazing co-workers and a flexible schedule…
Read MoreSlow-Mo Sailing, Jones Island Land Ho!
We did it!!! Well, Marty did it :)! WE SAILED CONDOR! We set sail with a new electric motor and a de-mildewed jib sail. This was our maiden sailing voyage and we were excited to share it with my nephew Noah. For our first sail trial run, we wanted to go somewhere decently close… just…
Read MoreLopez, “Slowpez”
Ahhh, Lopez Island… Two years ago, Lopez was my very first bike camping trip. I was excited by the idea of being able to travel and “live” off my bike. That first trip was a perfect introduction. The hills not too bad (just a slow climb at the start), and our campsite at Spencer Spit…
Read MorePedal, Paddle, Posey Island
It is definitely summer in the Pacific Northwest! The clouds are at bay and the sun is shining. Sadly, neither Marty or I have been biking much this year, so it’s time to get outside again! While I’m taking a nice little vacation for what feels like the first time in a while, poor Marty…
Read MoreEaster Sunday Ride
Thinking of routes to ride I took my phone, brought up the map and found a tentative loop we could do from Michelle’s house and showed her when she asked if I had any ideas. She liked it, time to take out the road bikes. After a leisurely morning we left after 10am to start…
Read MoreBiking in Place in Bremerton
Well life is definitely different right now. Marty is “sheltering in place” with me in Bremerton, WA and we’re trying to do our part and stay home as much as possible. The weather is perfect to start our bike camping season, but parks are shut down at the moment. So, we decided a day ride…
Read MoreWindy Whidbey Quickie!
Well it’s been quite some time since our Great Divide Ride and both Marty and I have felt the yearning to get back into our weekend bike rides. Both of us have been focused on fixing the boat and fixing the house. Marty has made some great progress on the mast, it’s back in the…
Read More1350 Miles of Smiles! (Well not always…)
In total we rode 1350 miles from Banff, Alberta to ever-so-lovely Rawlins, Wyoming! We decided to recap some of our memories and reflect just a tad on our trip. Some Numbers and Stats: 1350 miles biked (almost exact mileage!) Average daily mileage: 54 miles Lowest mileage day: 5 miles; Highest mileage day: 87 miles Days…
Read MoreBittersweet…
One sore shoulder, two sore bums, bleeding money, running out of time, running out of towns and water, no real great place for Marty’s parents to pick us up, and my hair tie finally broke, so we decided to put our ride on hold in Rawlins, WY. But one little problem, how do we get…
Read MoreOh Great Basin!
So when I left off we were trying to get out of the Jackson Hole area and this we did manage to do. We climbed up and over Togwotee Pass and the Continental Divide without too much a problem, stopping at the lake on the top for a snack. Later we found out that once…
Read MoreStuck in a hole…..Jackson Hole that is
It is always amazing how days can fly by one after another. We expected to to be in Colter Bay a couple of nights and then move on, well that is not how it ended up. After Jackson we were going to go to Jenny Lake to explore, instead we decided we would stay another…
Read MoreHoly Cow, Where are We Now???
There are road blocks and there are cow blocks. After leaving Wise River, we headed toward the old ghost town of Bannack. We battled a headwind for a little while, and made it up a massive switchback hill, but after a quick rest our block was the biggest herd of cows to date. Typically, we’ve…
Read MoreNow for ME to give this blog thing a try..
Hello all, there are as we know always at least two sides to a story and I must say Michelle is doing a great job with ours, but alas, she has left out a few things or altered them to her benefit. Like for instance, drafting. Yes, I do draft off of her more than…
Read MoreHey! New Plan…
Okay so maybe we’ve been “cheating” just a little bit on our ride. Marty and I are used to planning our own routes and doing our own thing and sometimes the planned route is just not what we care for? So new plan, we do what we want! We’ve traded some of the trail for…
Read More7 Days, 335 Miles, 2 Provinces, 1 Big Montana!
Where to start?! Marty and I had a late start out of Banff. It was raining, not drizzling, raining. The terrain was alot of rock, ups and downs, fording large puddles, and basically a whole lot of not fun. We stopped at the first campground about 20 miles in and set up camp. So grateful…
Read MoreBa..Banff!
Tuesday afternoon we packed our bags, got the rental car, went to mom and dad’s house to drop off some gear we may need when they meet up with us later, and headed for Bonner Ferry Idaho. The ride was a bit windy all the way until Ceour D’Alene, but finally mellowed out. I learned…
Read MoreAnticipation!
Our normal lives are winding down, our adventure lives are ramping up and the anticipation is taking over! We’ve laid out all our gear, reduced it to what we think is bear minimum and have finally taken a ride with a fully loaded bike. It’s slightly heavier than our normal weekend trips especially with all…
Read MoreA Year-and-a-half in Review…
Marty and I met a year-and-a-half ago, that’s when I first heard of the Great Divide Mountain Bike Route and of this whole notion of bike camping. He was planning on going the summer of 2018, but instead helped me train (and ride my bike correctly…) for my first triathlon. A few weeks after my…
Read MoreA Special Thanks…
This trip is possible thanks to a lot of people! Marty nor I are independently wealthy and we both have full-time jobs. Thanks to Roche Harbor Marine and Dude Solutions for giving us the time off for our little adventure! Thanks to our co-workers who have listened to us dream about it 😊. Seth and…
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