Joe Caropepe

CHEHALIS WA — We made it through day with flying colors. Before I get into too much detail, here are the vital stats:

Total Time: 6:54:59
Max. Speed: 32.3 MPH
Avg. Speed: 15.2 MPH
Distance: 105.31 Miles

We rolled out of the UW Husky Stadium parking lot around 5:45 and planned on hitting all of the major rest stops and a few of the “mini-stops”.

Our first big stop was in Kent at the REI store. There was a ton of people, but there were plenty of facilities and no waiting for anything.

Our next notable stop was the mini-stop in Puyallup, 43 miles in to the ride and one mile before the “big hill”. I suppose this is a chance to rest and recharge before conquring it. Turns out it’s not too bad: 6% for only a mile and a half.

Our next stop was at 50 miles in Spanaway. This was the lunch stop; we chowed on PB & J sandwhiches, bannanas, and fruit.

We skipped the 75 mile rest point and pressed on as the route left the roads and continued on the Yelm-Rainier-Tenino trail, a paved rails-to-trails path through the woods. This was completely enjoyable and continued on for about 10 miles. I probably paced us a bit too fast through this section, but it sure was fun!

There was a nice mini-stop at 86.6 miles where we rested, drank, and rested some more. Then it was on to the halfway point of the whole trip, Centralia. At the Centralia Community College there were tents, music, food, and even a beer garden. Most people stopped here for the day.

But not us.

Our host family was in Chehalis, about another five miles up the road from Centralia. So after a quick stop we continued on.

Speaking of our host family, what a wonderful service they provide! Let’s see, in order they provided us with bike storage, showers, cold (and frosty) beverages, pasta dinner (with cheesecake), and, a few minutes from now, a nice bed. Oh yeah, this is all wrapped in a 1912 Arts & Crafts house that they’re fixing up. Very nice!

We couldn’t ask for anything more.

Tomorrow we get up at 5:00 and do it again…