Segment 9: Ride Day 46 - Gloriousness.

Route: Twisp, WA to Marblemount, WA (Marblemount Community Center)

Distance: 95.5 miles

Riding Time: 8 hours: 13 minutes (On the road by 7am... in to Marblemount by 6pm. Whew!)

Average Speed: 11.5 mph (Sweep time! :-)

Max:  44.4 mph (Wahooooooooooo! So much fun!)

Weather: Lovely. A little cool in the morning... warmer later in the day. Not a speck of rain in sight.

Current Elevation: 315 feet

Population of Marblemount, WA: 203 people

Alright, so I don't know how to describe today except perhaps to say that it was the absolute longest riding day as well as the most beautiful riding day of the trip so far (and we have had some pretty amazing days already!). Today I swept along with Alex, so this meant having lots of extra time to take pictures and hop off our bikes to stick our heads under waterfalls and climb up rocks nearby for a better view and generally soak in the Cascade mountains in all their glory. The Rocky Mountains were beautiful in their own way, but the Cascades are just plain rugged, seeming to be newer and more jagged with deep valley and straight rock walls on either side. We apparently took the most difficult pass through the Cascades on Highway 20 ("The North Cascades Highway") which gave us 5928 feet of climbing up and over Washington Pass (5477 feet) and Rainy Pass and then a lovely descent back down to 300 feet where we will spend the night. Here is what all that looked like... well, kind-of:



We started out the morning meandering through the remainder of the Methow Valley (and helped Mark repair the first flat of the day) which is a very arid region marked through by the Methow River that sustains crops and gardens along the way. As the day went on we would head from what seemed like a desert on to spotting lots and lots more coniferous trees and then, after crossing up and over the passes, descending into what can only be described as a rainforest bursting with plant life on the western slopes of the Cascades. I have heard about this desert-to-rainforest phenomenon over the mountains from east to west in Washington and Oregon in elementary school textbooks but had never imagined it would be so cool to see it in person, on a bicycle, riding over the mountains. Amazing! I'm quite sure that pictures are the best from this point on, so here is what today looked like through the lens of my trusty, little beat-up Cannon camera:

Delicious breakfast (Thanks so much Covenant Community Church friends!)

Sunrise over the Cascades and Methow Valley.

Alex, Nicole and Aaron waking up on the bikes.

And the climbing begins...

Cha-cha and Alex chugging on up... can't stop looking at those beautiful mountains!

Alex at a stop-and-look-around break.
I wish you all could see these mountains in person with us. Absolutely gorgeous.

Looking back just before Washington Pass.

Some sweetie remembered I like watermelon and saved a piece for me (since we were at the back sweeping today)

Lovely pines (or cedars or Douglas fir?) and clouds and a blue, blue sky.

Melissa by a chilly mountain river. We then soaked just about everything in the water before hopping back on the bikes. It was so great!

Diablo Lake (1300 feet). And yes, there is a cliff beside me and it is a really, really long way down to the absolutely stunning glacial lake. I can't describe how beautiful this really is. You'll just have to imagine the rest.

We got to bike through two tunnels today!! Pretty scary when you take them at 25-30mph but SO cool!

This is my typical face when I'm flying down a hill in the mountains. Can't shake the smile... even when I start swallowing bugs.

Eventually we leveled out to a more gradual downhill and sailed the last 15 miles through tree tunnels and hills into the tiny town of Marblemount, Washington.

We made it!!!!!!!!!!!

And later this evening we had a talent show which was an absolute hoot!
(this is the tire changing contest)

Love all these guys!

FCBA Word of the Day:

• Flooreos - Oreos that have fallen on the floor but are still just fine for human consumption (this was coined after a contest during the FCBA UN-Talent Show between Tom, Alex and I that involved seeing just how many oreos we could stack on our heads in a minute's time... needless to say they all ended up as flooreos... and they were all gobbled up before bedtime.)