Last weekend I was fortunate enough to bounce back from COVID and hop on my bike to go pedal the 200 mile distance between Seattle to Portland. I embarked on this journey with my fiance and our close friends. Now, I’m back in Olympia and eager to share the deets of everything I shoved in my face throughout this voyage (hint: there’s a lot.)
Friday, Day Before Race Day
Frank and I opted for the train to take us from Olympia to Seattle, finding this to be the easiest and most cost-effective option. Despite a couple train delays (and an outright cancellation we had to scramble to solve – so much for easy) we made it to Seattle by the early afternoon on Friday, the day before the race.
It didn’t take long before we made our first food stop, Serious Pies. We shared a green salad and a morel mushroom pizza. After topping it off with a couple espressos, we biked our way to the hotel.
We stayed at the Graduate, minutes from the starting line. They have a fun, exclusive rooftop bar called the Mountaineering Club that we were able to squeeze our way into. We met up with friends and had a quick toast with some pre-celebratory cocktails before getting dinner.
We stumbled on Kai’s Thai Streetfood and Bar, and it did not disappoint. I dove headfirst into some Pad-Kee-Mao like my life depended on it.
Our last stop of the evening was to get breakfast from the Donut Factory, then we went back to the room for some shuteye.
Day One – Find My Route Here
Starting bright and early, we relied on donuts to power us through the first few hours. Frank’s dad supported us the whole ride, meeting us halfway through the day with burritos.
Overall, the ride was what I had expected. Loving a life of ignorance, I did not bother to download the route. Instead, I relied on signage and occasional insight from my friends that did download the route.
There were regulated aid stations every 20 miles, offering water, snacks, mechanics, and bathrooms. There were also many smaller aid stations either hosted by local nonprofits or friendly locals. I saw maybe a dozen $1 lemonade stands, not to mention free homemade banana bread, free fruit, water, and so, so many cheerleaders!
Frank had previously dropped our campervan off at the stopping point for day one, Centralia College. There we were able to ride up to a fridge stocked with cold beers, and all the gear our friends needed to camp nearby.
We immediately unloaded our gear, locked the bikes, and cracked some well-deserved beers. Dinner consisted of our choice of food trucks. I went with the BBQ truck – and it was about as delicious as any BBQ I’ve ever had. That could have been due to exhaustion, but I was thoroughly pleased!
There wasn’t much in the way of partiers, and if there was I was too exhausted to do much celebrating. We all fell soundly asleep pretty quickly – eager to get an early start the next morning!
