Garrett and I had an early start to our ride this morning. We caught the 6:20 a.m. ferry from Bainbridge Island to Seattle where we dipped our tires in the waters of Puget Sound. Our journey had officially begun!
As the morning wore on, we encountered more commuters on foot on bicycle and in vehicles along the way. However, we were fortunate enough to navigate the trail system north of Seattle, which by the way, was very well-maintained.
During the late morning and early afternoon, traffic really started to pick up. Presumably, people were heading to the mountains just as we were. Approximately 30 miles into our ride today, we faced our first mentionable incline; moderate steep and about a mile long. It was a sign of things to come.
As we pushed further and further into the foothills of the Cascades, we encountered more ascents and descents. Shortly after entering the Cascades proper, I hit something, apparently, sharp enough to puncture my rear tire. A disappointing, yet minor setback. Best of all, Garrett was tremendously helpful in showing me how to change the tire - learn something new every day!
We arrived at a campground just outside of Skykomish, where we were greeted with a, "camp full" sign. However, we were fortunate enough to meet several campers who were kind enough to share the remaining space at their campsite with us for the evening. With that, camp is set up, dinner is absolutely necessary, and the sun is starting to disappear in the valley. Day one is in the books!
