Bellingham, WA --- PUGET SOUND!

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I wrote a blog the night we camped at Diablo Lake but it somehow got lost. That was a quite a day. Washington pass was absolutely gorgeous but it didn't come without its challenges. I broke a spoke, Ryan broke his chain, and Lee got a flat. I got to throw my first snow ball of the trip at Ryan near the top of the pass. We I was on that road, I just kept thinking that this is beautiful as it gets. Well, maybe not. We descended to Diablo Lake and stopped for water but stayed for the night because the campground was so beautiful (Colonial Creek Campground). The forest floor was soft with moss, the Lake was turquoise (and freezing I found out after running in without thoroughly testing it), and the trees just seemed to stretch forever up to the sky. Riding on the road through that forest all day was gorgeous but getting off the bike and being in it was a whole new experience.

We awoke and descended to Newhalem for coffee and breakfast. There we met 2 other tourers. One of them was on his 3rd bike. One had been stolen in Mexico and the other in LA. I'm amazed that he kept going. The other was a sweet older woman from Germany who had a pretty wild rig. She was riding a fully carbon Koga hybrid. I queried about riding a loaded carbon frame and she seemed to think that all the talk about carbon cracking and breaking was just a myth. Well, I have seen some broken carbon frames but my fingers are crossed for her. She also had a sweet saddle! It was a selle anatomica which is made in the USA. It's like a Brooks leather saddle except the leather is waterproof and has a more comfortable looking cutout.

We took the scenic route into Bellingham up Chuckanut Drive. Apparently lots of car commercials are filmed on that road, I don't doubt it. At this point, I will unquestionably say that Chuckanut RD is the most gorgeous road I have ever been on. Maybe it was the confluence of me seeing the Puget Sound and having the feeling of accomplishment of coming all this way? But probably not. That road is just gorgeous. We stayed a total of 2 days in Bellingham and have really enjoyed it. We went out for gargantuan burritos the night we got here followed by ice cream. Yesterday, Ryan and I worked on his bike till he boarded the ferry. Ryan added a lot of pizazz to our duo and his presence will be missed. Regardless, I think we've made a lifelong friend. You can check Ryan's progress at www.longhualryan.com
While I do somewhat wish I were on that ferry to Alaska right now, I am pretty excited about heading down the coast to San Francisco. There is a certain sense of security and comfort that the California Coast will probably have that Alaska very well may not.

We're meeting Nolan, UNCA outdoor/cycling guru, for dinner tonight in Bellingham. Turns out he happens to be staying the night to go climb Mt. Baker in the next day or so. Timing couldn't be better. I strolled the farmer's market for a while this afternoon while munching on a Salmon burger; what a treat! The farmer's market here is quite impressive. After dinner with Nolan tonight, we'll be riding a ways back down Chuckanut Dr to Larrabee State Park to camp. This will give us a head start on our ride tomorrow to Whidby Island where we will take a ferry to Port Townsend. From there, we'll ride down to Bainbridge Island and ferry to Seattle where to plan to stay for the night. We hear that this little trip ahead to Seattle is supposed to to be gorgeous... old out for pics!

Thanks for following along! Send me an email with your address if you'd like a postcard at heller.luke@gmail.com !