Our first day turned out to be quicker going than anticipated, despite a number of stop starts fixing issues on the bikes left over from transit. The baggage handlers were not merciful, and I had a broken guard for my gear system and Owen was left with a damaged chain which snapped on the first steep hill we encountered. A few quick repairs and we were off again though.\
We took the Bellair Airporter Shuttle from SeaTac to Annacortes early in the morning. The bikes had to be boxed for this according to their policy, so when we arrived at the Anacortes ferry terminal we set about reassembling the bikes. This is when I discovered the broken guard. We gifted our grip bags to a couple of people who came over to chat while we were working before setting out.
The next thing was the obligatory dipping of the wheels in the Pacific. This we achieved soon out of the ferry terminal. By this point it was 2pm and we stopped for lunch at a small market/ cafe where we had the pleasure to chat to a very tall man called Tom who was curious as to our jerseys. It turned out Tom ex US Navy. After a quick chat and exchanging some details of our trip we ventured back out into the sun.
Our route takes us on Highway Route 20 known as the North Cascades Highway which crosses the mountain range over a series of passes. It started of very busy, and remained so until after passing Interstate 5 back to Seattle. Then it became quieter the further into the Cascades we went. Despite the busy traffic, we felt relatively safe on its very wide hard shoulder, much more room than we would get back in the UK. Although a dust devil did have a good go at whisking us into the traffic at one stage with its crosswinds swinging us right, off the road, then left hard into the speeding lorries.
Things calmed down and we cruised into the Cascades with tall hills all around. Large pine forest lined the highway and the Skagit River weaved in and out from the road. Soon we were in Concrete with its large grain silos and looking for a place to camp. We asked some locals and were directed to Rockport, a further 8 miles on. These 8 miles would see Owens chain break a second time, me receive a puncture and Jake's mudguard come loose! But we eventually made it to camp with enough light for a quick brew and dinner of spaghetti before bed.
We covered 58 miles today in all, and are set to clear the first big mountain pass tomorrow!
PS - I am having some issues uploading pictures on my tablet, but i am working on it! For now you can see them at www.facebook.com/RollingEagleCyclingExpedition
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