Day 13: To Port Townsend

8/18/22

Our fearless leader Noelle said it best: Biking is the worst part of Bike & Build. We all really love biking, so that is high praise for all the other bits.

Today was my day to drive the truck (one of our two support vehicles) so I'm going to share a little of what happens off the bike during a ride day. After the truck was loaded, my safety navigator Eric and I waited for all the riders to leave the host in the morning before heading on our merry way. We followed the route our riders were riding as best as possible, to keep an eye on them, and warn them of conditions up the road. We drove on ahead to a place near the halfway point on the route to set up lunch. A lot of today's ride was on the Olympic Discovery Train (and off-road paved bike trail), so we set up at a point just off the trail. Eric and I pulled out food bins and coolers from the truck bed and set up a spread. Then we waited for the riders to arrive.

It was a hot and sunny day so, in an effort to provide some shade, we improvised with our tarp on top of some stands that were next to our lunch spot. While imperfect, it met our needs.

We blasted some tunes and hung out while the riders re-fueled. The sandwich concoctions get more and more creative as the trip goes on, and there were a few outstanding creations today. Laughter follows this group everywhere it goes and it is delightful to watch the team gather around some coolers, make some food, and create some joy.

After the last group rolled out of lunch we packed up the truck, took down the tarp, and continued along toward the host. We dropped off our supplies at Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, our host for the evening. We have a rule that riders need to be off the road by 4pm, so we drove back up the route in anticipation of picking up anyone lagging behind. However, the team crushed the 69 miles just in time and no one needed to be picked up by my crew, so back to the host we went (with a stop for milkshakes along the way). A delicious dinner was generously provided by our host, and then we were free for the rest of the evening. As for me, I went to bed early.

-Kendra Rysan, SC2SC'13, DW'22