by Philip

Day’s mileage : 51

After many months of planning and preparation, and a few days sorting out minor things like buying our bikes, today was the day. The day of starting our expedition, of realising Liz’s dream, and of finally starting to ride from border to border.

We began by cycling from our amazing AirBnB up to the Canadian border so we could “officially” start the ride. Here we had our first piece of stress, when I found I’d lost a bolt in one of my cycling shoe cleats … which meant I couldn’t get the shoe out of the pedal. Somehow, I managed not to fall off. Most remarkably, I had a spare bolt, and even knew where I’d stashed it!

Having sorted the shoes, we started off, cycling back down towards Bellingham. After some ten miles, whizzing down a lovely hill, one of my panniers made a run for it, flying off the bike. We are both struggling a little with panniers that don’t quite fit the rather chunky luggage racks on our bikes … but a couple of cable ties sorted that out once I’d recovered the pannier.

Lunch was, for the second day running, on a bench in Ferndale, and then we rode in to Bellingham to re-visit the bike shop. We needed some adjustments to be made having done about 50 miles since we got the bikes, and wanted to say goodbye to the lovely couple who run the shop.

A quick stop for a stash of cable ties for my pannier for the rest of the trip, and we were on our way further south. Once through Bellingham the scenery changed and we had several miles through beautiful forests before the landscape opened out at lake Samish (don’t ask me how to pronounce it). We had some hills to contend with, and enjoyed the power of our Dutch e-bikes as we climbed them. Leaving the forests we came across vast fields used for agriculture, with road signs warning we were entering a tsunami hazard zone. The fields looked as if they had been flooded, and there was evidence of crop damage. 

Finally, after 51 miles, we made it to our quirky 100 year old cottage. We decided on dinner at the local (500 yards) pub rather than another 6 mile bike ride to a supermarket, and had a lovely fish and chip supper (we weren’t convinced by the Skagit Gizzards offered on the menu), and I enjoyed the Larrabee IPA and Chuckanut pilsner to wash it down,

All in all, a successful first day!

Additional notes

Blaine to Bow, Whatcom and Skagit counties, WA.

Left at 10.30am. Arrived at 5.30pm.

Weather: Cool and sunny. Cold in the forests, warm in the sun.

Landscape: Coast. Snowy Mount Baker shining. Forest with ferns and mosses. Steep hillsides. Samish Lake. Smallholdings with chickens and ducks. Flat, cultivated fields, some flooded and brackish (and smelly!).

Towns: Ferndale. Bellingham.

Breakfast: Scrambled eggs on toast.

Lunch spot: The lake in Ferndale.

Dinner: Fish and chips at The Corner Pub, Bow, with live music. Claire and John’s Ritter marzipan with tea in the cottage.

Wildlife: A bird of prey on a post.

Plants: Stripy asparagus-like plants, later identified as pinedrop.

Things we saw: ‘No hunting’ signs. Tsunami area warning signs. On the pub menu, 1lb fried Skagit chicken gizzards for $10.

People we spoke to or saw: Muriel, the AirBnB owner. Cyclists at the Peace Arch. Staci, Craig, Max and the gang at Earl’s. Friendly locals along the route.

Incidents: Philip’s cleat broke at the Peace Arch. My mirror came off in Blaine. Philip’s pannier flew off in Ferndale. The road closure in Chuckanut altered our route inland instead of along the coast (we knew in advance as Staci had warned us).

Shopping: Painkillers and cable ties in Bellingham.

Accommodation: An old house among flat, ploughed fields – best of all it was warm!

Today’s sound: A driver honking his horn as he passed (not sure why). Live music at the pub.

Today’s smell: Brackish fields in Bow.

Special moments: Setting off on day 1 of the PCH ride felt cool, simple and epic. Seeing Mount Baker in the sunshine. Being able to fix everything that broke. Managing 55 miles. Waking up to Colin’s lovely Facebook comment. The peaceful scenery and sun setting on the way back from the pub.

Positive experience from my journal: Starting the ride and managing 55 miles.

Appreciation from my journal: Taking everything in my stride today.

Blog comments from Tracy Green, my mother and Jennifer, and Vickey. Tracy: ‘I love following the blog!! Looking forward to cheering you on across the pond. Go team Taylor!!’ Vickey: ‘Wow the menu and the scenery look incredible and the weather looks great too. Love the cottage’.

Social media comments from Raquel Didier, Noel Tredinnick, Doug Clark, Caroline Chalmers and Sebastian Fenton. Raquel: ‘Go Taylors Go!’ Noel: ‘All the VERY best, Philip, for this momentous adventure. Stay safe and thankful for good health and resilience’.

Video: Sunset at Bow (25 sec).

Audio: Live music at The Corner Pub (1m27s).

Mementos: Haggen receipt, Bellingham (painkillers). The Corner Pub receipt, Bow.