To Bellingham!!!
8/29/22
Just a dip: San Juan Island, WA to Bellingham, WA - Wheel Dip
I'd like to tell you that we slept in today, seeing it was wheel dip day and we only had 40 miles to go. That would be a lie. We woke up the earliest we have all trip, 3:00am, officially known as stupid am. We solemnly packed our few possessions and dismantled our tents. It is hard to believe that this day has finally come. We made it all the way across the PNW. Today was our last official ride together. It is a bit of a shock to realize how quickly this trip has passed.
As we rolled out of the campsite towards the ferry terminal we saw a UFO (turns out it was Starlink, but like, close enough). After a quick pitstop at the 24/7 gas station for coffee and snacks, we sleepily shuffled on to the 5:45am ferry from Friday Harbor to Anacortes. Some people immediately passed out on benches. Others used the time to work on their "see you later" love notes (it's never goodbye, always see you later). We saw the SICKEST sunrise over the water.
With a ridiculous amount of liquid strapped to my back (gotta stay hydrated yo), a nearly unquantifiable number of snacks stuffed in pockets (my bag is like a black hole, snacks just get lost in there and accumulate), and hopefully enough supplies for a team activity, I stepped off the ferry to hit the lost and found to see if my backlight was found from our last ferry ride. It was not (don't worry, I found it in the van later, I can still be safe and sexy).
We meet up at the end of the ferry terminal parking lot to have our last route meeting. Skyfire gave an amazing rap about Bellingham while Tori highlighted alllll the statistics pertaining to affordable housing. Ryan attempted to lead our last route chant. We were getting to the end of our meeting. Final totems were given. Confessions were made. People dawdled, ride groups slowly trickled out, trying to really appreciate what little time we had left.
Leader sweep devised an impromptu scavenger hunt. Riders were tasked with
documenting the following:
1. Consumption of a gas station hot dog
2. Hitting a coffee shop and getting an espresso
3. Taking a ride group selfie
4. Hugging a tree
5. Playing on a playground
6. Sasquatch impression
7. Making a bouquet of flowers
8. Taking a photo with an animal
Throughout the day we made little stops here and there, reminiscing about the trip. We rode over a bridge where we saw seals and through some marsh flats on a gravel trail (if I never heard the word gravel again, I'd be okay with that). Every person we had the pleasure of talking to asked if we were taking Chuckanut Dr. and were happy to hear we were. Apparently it's a really nice road and heavily traveled by cyclists (it was pretty nice). A few people got flats (Josh like 4, Susan 1, Cee 1). It was a real slow day in the flat department.
Towards the end of the ride we assembled at the Amtrak station, like a quarter mile from wheel dip. We ride into Marine Park as a team. We get to the beach, gently put bikes and camelbaks down, then race for the water. Hugs, laughter, tears (or maybe that was just ocean water, regardless, something was wet and salty), just straight up jubilation. We celebrate the only way a group of dirty cyclists (who knows when our last actual shower was) know how: ecstatically splashing our way into a group hug. Once the initial celebration completed we grabbed our bikes for the final act: the wheel dip. We dipped. And just like that the trip was officially over.
On the beach we put on paracord bracelets/anklets (I only burned two of my fingers until I "delegated" to Noelle, aka asked her for help). The premise of which is once the paracord bracelet/anklet falls off, you give a life update into our group chat (Nick still has his from his 2016 trip, mine from my 2017 trip fell off last summer, almost 4 years to the day).
People slowly started dispersing, headed towards the host for a nice cold hose shower and to figure out dinner and celebration plans. I ended up at The Black Cat with Bria, Cee, Kendra, and Skyfire. We ordered so much food that the waitress kept trying to close her notepad to go place the order, but we were like wait there's more. We ordered every item on the happy hour menu at least once.
After dinner we hit the local brewery and took over their backroom. We closed down the brewery and hit an arcade bar. I got the new high score on duck hunt but also was apparently only like 2 feet away from the screen soooo (I'm counting it).
It's probably passed midnight when I finally get to pass out, awake for not quite a full 24 hours (who knows, time is a human construct anyways). So much has changed over such a short period of time. I fall asleep content and ready to wake up to the next adventure.
Still squatchin'
- Jr. Ranger Casey Gilliams, DW '22 Leader, SUS '17, PhD Candidate