Day 16-Home to Greet Not One, But Two New Members of the Stable

I was packed up by 8:00 this morning after sleeping quite well in the big tent. I was going to help Rebecca take it down, but she decided she wanted to clean the floor first before storing it for the season. So, we proceeded with photos. Eli was still sleeping (like any 14 year old would be on a Sunday), but the dogs were happy to be included. 

Teton on the left, and Yonni on the right. They are Great Pyrenees (brother and sister).

Teton is very friendly. Yonni was warming up to me. 

I headed out, retracing my route to the Tahlequah ferry terminal. As I approached the ferry dock, the boat had finished unloading, and one walk-on person was walking down the ramp. The dock operator said I could just ride right on. This was strange because every time I’ve taken the ferry recently, I’ve been told to walk down the ramp. Once on the boat, I can ride to the other end. One ferry employee even said that bikes have to be walked on the ramp due to insurance reasons. I did have to walk up the ramp on the point Defiance side. Curious…of course, I didn’t object to riding down the ramp. 

Not as nice of a day as yesterday. 

There’s MC down there (probably her last ferry ride).

While I was on the ferry, I checked my email. Lo and behold, there was an email from Fed Ex saying my new Priority 600X bike had been delivered. I immediately texted my husband to make sure it had indeed arrived. He didn’t get back to me. It wouldn’t have concerned me, except that we’ve had some burglary issues in the neighborhood lately (so much so, that my husband has been locking the garage door). When I didn’t hear from him, I texted my neighbor across the street and asked if the car was there, and if not, was there a large box. She said no to both. Then I asked her to go open the garage door (gave her the code…I didn’t know the door was locked at that time) to see if the box was there. Right when she was going to do that, Tim pulled up. He then sent me a photo of the box in the garage. Woo Hoo!

I still had about 33 miles to go. Now that I knew the bike was secure, I enjoyed the ride. I stopped at Starbucks in University Place for some hot chocolate and a snack. Talked to a gentleman who was interested in the bike and the trip. 

I continued my usual way of riding home from Tacoma/University Place/Steilacoom/Dupont. At the top of Grandview Dr, I decided to take the East Slope Trail down instead of Chambers Rd. 

I had come up this in the first day. Going down was way better!!!

In Dupont, I stopped at Subway for some lunch. I figured I would not want to take time to eat once I got home what with unloading, and taking care of my gear, and…new bikes waiting!

Oh yeah, forgot to mention the other bike. Before I left, I ordered a Brompton M6R folding bike to take with me when I go to Minneapolis (or Boston, or Miami Beach) to visit the kids. That came while I was gone too. So, I was coming home to two new bikes!

I was trying to beat the rain, and was mostly successful. Only a few sprinkles. I didn’t even put my rain coat or poncho on. I got home just before 3:00. I unloaded MC and piled everything in the living room. My tent was dry when I put it away, so I wasn’t too worried about opening it up. Besides, it was now raining. 

I decided dealing with the Priority bike would have to wait until morning. I did bring up the Brompton box to the living room, and set to work unboxing it. Reading the instructions, it was pretty easy to unfold. That was all I had to do. Unfold it, and it’s ready to ride (too bad it was raining out).

Folded

Presto! Unfolded!

I also got the transit case for it so I can take it with me to Minneapolis in a couple of weeks. 

So…I guess I should do a little wrap up of the “Bob’s Bakery and Beverly Bridge Tour”. First of all, this was the first time I’ve done a tour with people I didn’t know beforehand. For the most part, it was fine. There were a few moments, but things seemed to work themselves out in the end. For me, the most important thing was that I was self-sufficient. I had all the routes, and everything I needed. Prior to going on the tour, other than the routes, and the daily itinerary, I didn’t really know much else. There hadn’t been a lot of communication, but that was okay for me because I knew I could do the trip regardless. Except for the one day where the route had us going to a dead end, the routes were pretty good. I modified a couple of the days to make them more logical. I did learn to not assume the route creators knew entirely what they were doing (or maybe just didn’t look closely at what the route was…ie the dead end). I, for one, should have questioned when the route didn’t make sense. Of course, it all worked out (as it usually does).

I had waffled about which bike to bring. While I would have loved to have my new bike, Mama Cass did an excellent job. I had no issues whatsoever, and even though I was over-biked for much of it, it was great for those times when things were pretty rough. Truthfully, those super knobby 3” tires rolled pretty good on the road. 

Seeing the new bridge (but not getting to go across, or even get very close) now has me wanting to do the whole Palouse to Cascades. I know across the river the trail is far less developed, but I still think it would be fun. 

Anyway, I had a good time. Honestly, it was nice not doing huge mile days. I enjoyed stopping in at bakeries, or having a leisurely lunch. It’s really the first tour I’ve done where I’ve been perfectly happy to hop back on my bike at the end of the day to go check something out, or go to dinner, etc. 

Thanks to Bob for planning the ride, and allowing me to come. He is definitely a bakery kindred spirit!