Day #72 (7/17/24) – Bike Across America

Last night I went to the same restaurant for dinner and my meal was excellent again. The Cottage Cafe in Cle Elum is superb!

I also finished my book, “Autobiography of a Yoga”, last night. It seemed to take me a long time to get through that book, but I thought it was good. Haven’t decided what I’m reading next.

The next two days are going to be easier, and the temperatures will be more moderate on the other side of the Cascades. So, I set my alarm back to 5:30. But I still got up at 4:00.

I had a decent breakfast at the hotel and was on my bike at 7:15. It was a quiet two miles to the Palouse to Cascades State Park Trail.

The trail was crushed limestone and was in pretty good shape. It was nice to be on a trail again. Lots of pine trees along the trail, and in some places I was riding on a bed of pine straw.

The trail runs along the Yakima River for several miles.

The trail slowly climbed for the first 30 miles. There were a couple of small tunnels during the climb. The trail ran next to Keechelus Lake for several miles.

Then, at the top of the climb was Snoqualmie tunnel, which went under Snoqualmie Pass. This is the longest rail trail tunnel in the country at 2.25 miles (11,900 feet). It is a monster! I don’t like to ride my bike through tunnels, because I get vertigo. So, I walked my bike through. It took 45 minutes to walk it.

It was 11:15 by the time I got through the tunnel. Some great views from the other side.

Lots of Lady’s Glove flowers blooming here as well.

I climbed 750 feet in the first 30 miles of the day. After the tunnel, it was 30 miles and 2,000 feet of descending. It was a fun and fast downhill. I changed trails along the way, but continued the decent into the town of North Bend.

I stopped at a restaurant in North Bend for lunch at 1:00. After lunch, I talked with a small group of people outside the restaurant who were interested in my adventure. They had seen me on the trail earlier in the day.

After lunch I checked into a local hotel. The owner of the hotel let me hose off my bike. It was dirty from the dusty gravel. He also said that one of the riders from the veterans group (the one that left from DC the day I left from Delaware) stayed at his hotel a couple of weeks ago.

I could have biked longer today, but didn’t need to. It is only 50 miles from here to my hotel in Edmonds, where I’ll meet Elizabeth tomorrow. I know that you know that I’m excited to see her!

For the day, I biked 60 miles and climbed 750 feet.

Tomorrow is 50 miles of bike trails around Seattle. Followed by a rest day of visiting with Elizabeth’s Aunt and Uncle.