RSVP Bike Ride: Seattle to Vancouver

RSVP Bike Ride from Seattle to Vancouver with the Black Pack

Daniel started talking about this Bike Ride to LeGrand.  They decided to put their name on the dotted line and sign up.  Soon they had talked Mike, Curtis and David into joining them.  It was quite a sacrifice to come from all over the West to ride a bike 200 miles but the boys seemed quite excited to test their mettle and have a unifying and unique experience together.  

We picked up Mike and his van/trailer and drove to the TriCities to add

Daniel to our group.  His family prayed mightily for our safety which proved to save us

on more than one occasion.

David flew into Seattle so Curt picked him up on his way to meet us.  We had a little time after we all met at the Motel so we went a tourin'. It took a awhile to figure out the parking meter but soon we were real tourists admiring the new and old construction in downtown Seattle.

New Construction.

Da Boyz.  We surely missed Brent!

Downtown Seattle

We were all astounded at the great prices for fresh flowers at the Farmer's Market.  

Public Market

Obligatory Shot with extended family--wait--who are those people?

Curtis bought the bubble gum.

Antipication mounts. . . 

Here's Mike pretty grossed out but added his gum/germs to the wall.  Good our germaphobe wasn't here for this part, huh Brent?

Dr. Black?

"EEEWWWWW"

 Window dressing.

The RSVP Black Pack

Weirdly framed picture because the guys wanted us to see Mr. Ranier in the distance.  Oh well. (Look in the above picture for reference.)

The Space Needle.

Shopping for Christmas Tree ornaments at the Space Needle.

The Black Pack mimics the shape of the odd building behind them.

Thai Goddess of Good Food.

It was great food!

Mike was always packing us in and out and about 50 feet ahead of the rest of us at all times.

Bikers don't have to worry about hair because they know their helmet is going on soon.

Too early for the breakfast so we brought our own and used the facilities anyway,

The Black Pack started early while everyone else was sleeping.

Marcia's Ride

The Ride started at the U of Washington

Getting the gear ready to go.

A thousand of our best friends at the start line. I did not understand that in a ride (as opposed to a RACE) there was no starting gun or big hoopla to get the riders off.  Everyone just sort of started when they were ready.  I was so confused I missed the Black Pack's start--they just rode off into the distance. 

End of the first 103 miles on Day One.  Bellingham WA.   Photographing bike road races is not that exciting because you see your team for a total of five seconds and they are gone again.

Because I was driving the support van, I showed up long before the bikers arrived at the end of the first day's ride.  I sat down in the lobby of the Days Inn where the bikers were supposed to check in and all of a sudden I looked up and saw this  speedy rider.  He was one of the first guys there.  He lost the other members of the Black Pack somewhere along the route.  While waiting for the others to arrive, he managed to close a deal, merge a business or two and participate in some conference calls before anyone else showed up.

Notice the cool rack system Mike invented for his trailer to transport our bikes.

Brook and the kids joined us in Bellingham.  Andrew showed us his beatboxing technique.

Grandpa found some yummy sugars to snack on.

That evening, a few of us decided to check out the local attractions.

After biking 100 miles, the best thing about this fieldtrip was the comfortable cement beds.

We watched some guys paddle their kayak out into the ocean and retrieve their traps.  They were so interesting and friendly. These two fishermen showed us how they trapped these crabs, measured them, checked the sex, and sorted them.  So different for us desert dwellers.

What a beautiful train ride that cargo enjoys!

Remember those crazy little fish that swarmed through the water near the shore?  

The Next Morning.  Preparations for the last leg of the ride to Vancouver. Only 98 miles to go!

Everyone gets their Strava going. 

Daniel laughed a me laughing at them.

The finish line wasn't really a line at all.  We just arrived at this Hotel downtown and it was over.  I thought they needed a little more fanfare for that big achievement. Because they were the first there, no one was even there to clap or welcome them in but at that point they were just giddy about accomplishing the 200-miler.

Brook and I had our own obstacles to overcome and we both got separated and lost in downtown Vancouver--one of the largest cities in the world.  YIKES!  She was driving a van with five little kids without a phone that would work in Canada and I had Mike's tank and trailer.  Thanks to all who were keeping us in your prayers that week!  As it turned out, the bikers were less scary than the support team.  But in the end we all found the small hotel in the huge city.  I even found a parking place which was the biggest miracle of all.  

LeGrand adopted a few more boys to join their Black Pack Peloton.  These guys loved riding with the Blacks.  This group was one of the top finishers in this Ride.  It wasn't a timed race, but I'm pretty sure the Black Pack could be competitive if they wanted to race.

Packing up is hard to do.

After we finished our festivities at the end of the  RSVP Bike Ride, we decided to go see the sights of Vancouver.  I found a little advertisement for the Botanical Garden and mentioned that might be interesting.  Of all the things a bunch of boys would not want to do, this is probably on the top three list, but to their credit they acted excited to fulfill their old mammie's wish so they accompanied me to these Gardens.

After that arduous race, a hike through a huge garden was pretty anti-climatic for these guys.  

The end of the trail for David.

We knew the beach was close to the Gardens because we could see it so we walked over to a  trail that we thought might go down to the ocean.  The boys and I were looking at this sign to see how far the beach was when a guy walked up the trail towards us.  I asked him how far it was to the shore and he said it wasn't far at all.  Then he looked at me with my handsome escorts and said, "You realize this is a clothing optional beach, don't you?"  

"What do you mean, clothing optional?" I asked.  I knew we looked a little causal, but who dresses up for the beach?

"Oh no," he said, "This is a nudist beach."

I started at a trot down the trail but the boys stopped me and said we didn't have time. They didn't want nightmares. Oh Toto we're not in Kansas anymore. It is probably good the boys wouldn't let me go down--I would have stared and/or gawked even though the sign expressly prohibited it.  (Kids, you know I'm kidding right?)

There were thousands of big logs waiting to be processed at sawmills along the coast.  

At the Botanical Garden, some fine folks were having a very formal wedding.  Couldn't resist this picture from the entrance.

 

Sunday, we found an LDS Church and attended Sacrament Meeting.  Biking together is wonderful, but being with your worthy children in a sacred setting is much more satisfying and joyful.  

During the meeting, a single young adult gave the best talk about practicing suffering.  LeGrand was so intrigued by this subject, he developed a wonderful essay to compliment his experience biking with his boys.  Be sure to ask him for a copy, guys.  It is awesome.  

Thanks guys for fulfilling an old man's dream to bike with his sons! We love you fine men.  

P.S.  Brent joined us for the Will2Will Ride from Bountiful to St. George in September.  More on that next. . . 

Will2Will