M here. Well, I did it. I talked Tami into joining Keenan and I on a bike ride to Vancouver. Not sure how I managed that, must have something to do with many years honing my persuasive skills in the courtroom. Now my job is to make SURE a good time is had by all, so that there can be a next time.

There is an annual bike ride called the RSVP, which stands for Ride from Seattle to Vancouver and Party. I have done it a few times. This year, however, we are doing the personal edition, slowing things down from two days to five. We leave this Saturday, July 8. By the way, note that you can zoom in on the map above, and even blow it up to full screen if you are really interested in our (approximate) route.

As part of the work to ensure a pleasant and non-whiney ride (nobody will have fun if I am whining) I have tried to plan the flattest possible route. Both Tami and I hate climbing. She has the better excuse, her knees. I just hate hauling my lard butt up any kind of hill. Keenan will probably charge ahead on the hills to get away from the panting and swearing.
I have also tried to plan overnight stops in interesting towns with good food and beer. Now I had better give Tami a chance to explain why she ever actually agreed to go on this.

T here. Hmm, why did I ever let Mike talk me into this? Well, a big part of the reason is because Mike dreams of traveling by bike and I want to try and make it happen. But geez, I sure don’t want him out there doing it alone! But I must also admit that it sounds like a great way to do some traveling as long as there aren’t too many hills and we don’t have to go too far each day. And we stop and eat frequently and find local beers because that is one sure way to keep ME from whining.

This is definitely a bit of a trial run. We did a three day trip a few years ago but did not have panniers and such back then. Now we get to see what it’s like to carry clothing and all the necessities for a week on our bikes with us, although we are not going to go all extreme and camp or anything radical like that! Mike has found us places to stay each night to try and ensure that I will actually do this again.

And why does Mike want to do this? When I asked him what he was looking forward to the most, he answered, “the food!”. Ah, that’s the Mike I know and love, my true soulmate.
We leave in three days and over the entire past long weekend Mike has been one busy bee getting bikes and gear and mapping all ready. It has involved multiple trips to various bike shops, hours in the basement with greasy fingers, and gathering piles of clothing, snack bars, lights, tools, and everything else imaginable to make this one fun bike trip. I watch in amusement, anticipation, and excitement as he prepares us for our expedition. I think he’s having fun!

Greasy fingers!

M here again. The process of planning the route has taken weeks, maybe even months. Not because I needed to, just because anticipation is half of the fun. We will be averaging maybe 35 miles per day, which we should be able to mostly accomplish by lunch time. Of course there will be some kind of food stops along the way, as Tami’s rule is 20 miles to the fill up.

Just in case there are times when no mid-ride food stops present themselves at critical times (you know what I mean), we also went through our collection of bike snacks to fill our personal stashes. Poor Keenan had to go last as we got to it first.

We will also be taking as many bike paths as possible, and back roads when there are no paths, in order to stay away from traffic (cars zooming by at high speed are NOT conducive to fun). The basic route is home to Snohomish, Snohomish to Mt. Vernon, Mt. Vernon to Bellingham, Bellingham to a White Rock BC, and White Rock to Vancouver. We will spend a day in Vancouver before taking the train back to Seattle, getting back in time to catch a Reign FC soccer game the next day!

We are probably way over packing. On a longer trip I expect we would quickly be mailing half of it back home after we learn what difference each additional pound actually makes. As noted, this is truly a trial run.

Mike’s

Tami’s

Keenan’s