rickallendunn

Some days just don’t finish the way you think they will. That was the case today. Brandon and I left Denny Creek and had to hike about 3/4 of a mile up a hiking trail with our bikes to get to our starting point on The John Wayne Rail Trail.

When we got to the trail and started riding, within 5 minutes Brandon had a flat tire, and went through both of his spare tubes getting it fixed. That delayed us probably 20 minutes, but soon enough we were back on the bikes.

One of the big things we were anticipating today was a 2.3 mile long abandoned train tunnel that the trail routes through, and we would be riding. Not really sure what to expect, except that It would be pitch black and pretty cold inside the tunnel for a long way. We both have really good headlamps on our bikes so we could actually see really well once we were inside. In the end, it was really a fun experience.

Not long after we got out of the tunnel, Brandon had another flat and no more spare tubes. His road bike was struggling on this part of the trail that was pretty much all gravel & some rough dirt roads as well. We called Mary-Beth, she came and picked up Brandon and I ended up riding the rest of the day alone.

A couple pieces of good news for me was that the remainder of the day was a beautiful ride along the Yukon River and several mountain lakes as I came down the Eastern side of the Cascade Mountain Range. I even saw a few deer along the way to keep me company.

The good news for Brandon was he bought a beautiful new gravel bike in town today and will try it on the trail tomorrow.

Some days don’t end like they start, but even in. those days God sometimes gives us a wink with some great stuff. The picture below was taken when I rolled into camp this afternoon and Brandon meet me holding his new bike. Thanks for coming along for the ride!