Bremerton to Seattle

On July 6 we completed our journey from Stampede Reservoir near Truckee, CA, to Seattle following the Adventure Cycling Sierra Cascades route with some improvisation at the end. Overall it was another great trip, and we’re a bit sad it’s ending but also excited to go home to friends and family, to our comfy bed, to cotton towels, to regular showers, to clean clothes, and to a kitchen capable of more than boiling water.

In Seattle we stayed with Warm Showers host Aaron. He owns a great bicycle repair shop just outside the city limits of west Seattle. At his nearby house we spent the evening with him, his girlfriend, and an AirBnb guest discussing the state of the bicycle retail industry, dogs, and living in extremely cold conditions. Did you know if you’re out in -60 degree weather and your skin is exposed to the air it’ll take a mere twelve seconds to get frostbite?

On July 7 we made our checklist and promptly attacked it. Aside from securing food for the next four meals, our main goal was to box our bikes and get them to a FedEx store. *Touring tip: bikeflights.com gets you good shipping rates with FedEx. It’s far cheaper to ship your bikes than to fly with them. Another touring tip: End your trip by staying with the owner of a bike shop. He had spare bike boxes in his garage.*

A few hours later we had the bikes boxed but hadn’t figured out how to get the ungainly things about two miles to the FedEx Office store. We discussed carrying them for a few seconds, God knows we could’ve used the upper body exercise, but that idea was ruled out because it lacked all iotas of fun. I then called three taxi companies to ask if they had a van or SUV in their fleets. The answers were no, silence, and silence. The last two never picked up the phone.

I then summoned the future from my smart phone with an app called Uber. In five minutes a driver in a black Chevy Suburban would pick us up. I could watch his progress on the map on my phone. Wow. This was our first Uber experience and it was impressive. After dropping off the bikes we opted to take an Uber back to Aaron’s house just out of sheer convenience. I can see now why Uber has blown up.

And so another trip has come and gone. We had many iotas of fun. When we get home I plan to write a recap, in which I’ll review the Sierra Cascades route and our evolving touring strategies, including techniques and gear. Thanks for reading!

Bremerton to Seattle
15 miles
Food $40.29
Shipping bikes $107.24
Uber $49.17