Day 9 – Arriving Home

After being gone for nearly 9 days I pull into the driveway at home this afternoon and out bounds my lovely wife dressed in her grungy gardening attire and says to me “Hi Honey, the cat’s in the hospital again, I need $500. When you finish unpacking can you empty the ten bags of mulch from the back of the truck and drag them into the yard so you can help me spread them in the beds?”.  What can I say, but yes dear.

It’s good to be home, I’m glad we decided to bolt home via the freeways yesterday and today. We made very good time and got home as it was really heating up. Going the Snoqualmie Pass was a brief relief as the air up there is quite cooler than in the lower elevations. 428 miles today, that’s 1000 in two days. Vernal, UT to Ontario, OR yesterday and Ontario, OR to Sammamish, WA today.  I don’t know how the iron butt guys do this, my hips are jut aching.

Well, got to run, I need to go pick my other bike from DucSea so I have it to ride tomorrow and Monday.

Lates everyone.

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Update:

So let’s rewind to this morning. We spent the night in Ontario,OR at the same Roadway Inn we stayed in on night 2. Most of us gassed up last night and preloaded for an early departure. I was actually first to be packed for the only time on the trip. Anxious to get home after 8 days away I guess. We were seated and eating at the restaurant next door minutes after it opened at 6:00 (mountain time) and we were riding by 7am. We all said goodbye to Greg at the roadway as he took off on his own for Chelan for a family gathering. Jim, Mark, Bong and I rode together all to way to Yakima with only two stops. After the second stop Mark and Jim spun off onto RT12 and Bong and I continued on to I-90 and west towards home. We traveled through the pass, whose cool air felt refreshing for the few minutes we were there then spend down the west side of the hill towards home. Bong got off just east of North Bend for gas while I waved goodbye and continued on home. Getting off at the Highlands exit I was greeted by mid day stop and go traffic and drivers who how just couldn’t or wouldn’t drive over 25mph. After spending a week driving at 80+ this had to be the most frustrating 7 or 8 miles of the ride.

As you may have read in yesterday’s comments, Marv and Steve took off on their own. Steve wanted to explore some previously unridden rides, So it turns out one of the roads was gravel for 40 miles! And Steve, who seems to be cursed on this ride, ended up getting a flat to boot.  Poor guy, this trip just wasn’t meant to be for him. More details will have to wait until they return Monday.

No pics today, we just rode. I think Bong may have a picture or two from today he might want to post. I’ve learned to describe the legs of our rides in several ways. There are feature rides, there are premium rides, there are bonus rides and there are transit rides. There are also roads you encounter along the way where you make a note to never go over again, ever.

Feature rides are known really good rides, like Canyon Road between Yakima and Selah.

Premium rides and rides you pay a premium for – either in distance, cost or both and the experience exceeds features rides by (many) miles. The rides across the Hogsback on Rt 12 and and through the brilliant red canyons in Colorado are premium rides and well earned at that.

Bonus rides are unexpected really good rides, unplanned, unknown roads. Kind of a roll of the dice. Could be excellent could be the worst mistake of the day. Our ride over Rt 143 into Bryce Canyon was a bonus ride. It was absolutely an excellent ride through a small ski area in the early summer. Little to no traffic, absolutely gorgeous scenery, wildlife, excellent condition asphalt, twisties, sweepers, elevation changes, steep grades, … just a brilliant ride that you could enjoy time and again.

Transit rides are rides you just have to do. They have a purpose, to get you to the next ride described in the previous bullets above. Our last two days were major transit rides, a 1000 miles in two days, 100% freeway. It got us to where we wanted to be with little to no fanfare. I now know why its called droning. Good thing I had XM or I would still be talking to myself.

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Updated update:

I lied, there is one picture worth posting -

 

today’s GPS track (for me) 441 miles