Day Zero

We are off to La Push! Jeff, along with his wife Amber, picked me up about 6:30 AM. We hit the road and made a quick pitstop in Grandview to pick up Jeff’s dad, Henry, who’s coming along so Amber has company on the return trip.

It was rainy and windy the whole trip over but it looks like we’re going to catch a decent weather window – at least for the Olympic Peninsula – with minimal rain during the days over the next couple days and the intense precipitation coming down at night.

We arrived in La Push a little bit early and sat in the truck because of the wind coming off the ocean. Cyclists started arriving on foot, driving in like us, and pedaling in as well. We gathered next to a fire pit at the local resort and got our instructions from Troy Hopwood, who developed this route and is the “non-race director.“ You see, in the Bikepacking world, these races that begin with a grand depart are unofficial, therefore not needing permits and insurance, and all the things that go along with an organized event. There is an honor system with the set of rules, and as Troy emphasized, we are all 100% on our own – no one there to support us no one expecting us at the finish – and once we start, everybody will be spread out riding their own race., and as Troy emphasized, we are all 100% on our own – no one there to support us no one expecting us at the finish – and once we start, everybody will be spread out riding their own race.There has been huge growth in this race with almost double the participants this year, probably 130 of us gathering tomorrow morning for the start. The group appears to be split about half-and-half with veterans who have done the race before and about half of us rookies. There’s a small group of women riding – I think somewhere between nine and a dozen – and the rest men. A few of the riders are shooting for a crazy 200 miles a day; I’m gonna be extremely happy if we can maintain 75 and finish in 10 days.

After the meeting, we headed to our motel in Forks, carbed up at a restaurant across the street, then return to the room to do a final inventory and pack. I pulled a few items out, saving about 12 or 16 ounces of weight – every ounce is important at this point.

I’m looking forward to this incredible challenge– probably the hardest outdoor activity I have ever attempted as far as the sustained intensity.

Now it’s time to hopefully get a good night’s sleep. Thank you for reading and coming along on this adventure!