A group of 2018 Coasters decided to join the maiden voyage of Alpaca Tours Northern Tier Bike Trip. Their odyssey began June 9, 2021 in Seattle, Washington, with an ending 68 days later in Portland, Maine. Along the way, they stayed each night in a hotel or inn. They traveled on an Interstate Highway, back roads, a few mountain bike trails, Rails to Trails routes and even across some cattle ranches in the far west. I had also considered joining this tour, however, family matters (a new baby granddaughter) meant it wasn’t going to happen. Although, that was not the end of the story because another Coaster, Sue, also could not complete the entire 68 days. The two of us decided to pick up the very last week of the tour and ride with our friends about the last 400 miles.
Logistical challenges included how to actually get to a point along the route, with bike and gear in tow, and still have a way to move our vehicles to the end of the route. I opted for leaving my car at the end of the route and having a nephew who lives near Portland drop me at the airport so I could fly as close back to our “starting point” as possible. Then there’s that long drive back down to Florida…
Update August 1st: All good plans sometimes get thrown a curveball, and this is one of those times. My riding partner Sue was on a training ride last week of July and crashed. Unfortunately, she will not be able to ride afterall. :-(
Then, on the morning I was to leave for my long drive north, a tree had fallen completely across my road. After deliberating for several minutes, I decided to ride on a lawn and squeeze between the fallen tree and one still standing. My neighbor took the picture of the county crew that eventually came to clear the road.
