First day on the bike was fantastic. I didn’t know if I would be able to pedal at reasonable speed with all of my bags, and I was worried that trying to do 110km was too much for one day - turns out I blew through the distance and had fun doing it. Despite getting what I thought was a late start, I ended the day early and got to my campsite with hours to spare.  

Today was filled with lots of encouragement: I met several people who asked where I was heading, and showed genuine excitement for my trip. The encouragement can do a lot for you on a bike.

The ferry across to Bainbridge was lovely, it’s massive and goes very fast. I met a group of motorcyclists from Des Moines, Iowa who rode across Glacier National Park and into the Cascades. Like me they were headed down the coast at Olympic Park and going towards Mexico. They got a big kick out of my bicycle bags. They were stunned that I was carrying everything I would need for my journey. Ironic since they were doing exactly the same thing but motorized.

I stopped at a grocery store and a kind woman working there, Sarah, stopped to talk to me about bicycle packing and my journey. Thanks for your words of encouragement and help fixing my bike computer, it made my day.

The Pacific Northwest is a beautiful as I was told. Plentiful evergreens, snow covered mountain ranges, clear waters, and good temperatures. I passed a few logging roads and got to see the industry a bit, for some reason loggers are in a rush and come flying past you on a the roads, I’ll have to be careful.

The new terrain caused me concern before starting on this trip: Would I be able to do 800-1200m in elevation everyday? Would my legs give out? Is my bicycle too heavy? What if I have to push myself up - how humiliating. Thankfully the ride was good today and my body is happy. The grading of the roads so far have been moderate and approachable, further down the coast, Leggett, CA is my largest single climb at 600m - hopefully by then I will be even stronger to tackle it.

All day I passed friends and families taking their vans, motorcycles, or bicycles out to explore and enjoy the outdoors. Seattle is truly nestle between some of the most beautiful nature in the United States. The cascades hug it’s eastern side, with Mt. Rainer giving a stunning southern backdrop over the city. Looking west there is the Olympic range and the coast. It’s quite special and I feel that I’ve missed out exploring this area.

People haven’t been kind here too. When researching places to stay, warmshowers.org has come up again and again. It is a global community of people who offer shelter and support for cyclists traveling the world - free of cost. It is altruistic in the purest sense. One man came up nearby Port Angeles, Lonnie, who has hosted over 2000 cyclists! He lives right off the Olympic Discovery Trail bike path and allows anyone to setup camp for the night. He was kind enough to sit with me for hours talking about life, his different visitors, and the history of his property. Lonnie is 77 and by all accounts has spent his retirement traveling the world from his home. People from every corner of the globe have been here and shared their stories. I think it’s wonderful and shows that humanity has a compassionate, indiscriminate, good side.

At Lonnie’s I was able to meet some other bicycle travelers for the first time. There were two different couples from Germany, both doing large and amazing tours of the North American West. The two women studying Civil Engineering from Berlin started in Las Vegas, rode all the way up to Montana through the Grand Canyon and Zion National Park, then came through Seattle to explore the Peninsula and go down the coast like me.

Emma and Sam from the UK took a year away from work, looking to explore the world and find some meaning outside of a desk job. We got on quite well on that front. They started by exploring Vancouver Island and will eventually go down to Mexico. Then when winter comes, fly to New Zealand to chase the summer all year round.

Meeting other people traveling by bicycle made me feel less bizarre for choosing a trip like this. Somehow my circle of friends and family are totally unfamiliar with this type of adventure. But everyone else traveling by bicycle felt that this was a well know way to go. Selection bias no doubt, regardless the camaraderie is appreciated. It makes me feel excited to continue exploring the world on my bike!

Hope you’ve enjoyed reading. I write quickly and edit little. If you have a question, leave it in the comment or write to me by email or text. Let me know what you think. Enjoy the photos.

Jacob