Day 85; Anacortes, WA Finale - Seeking a Bicycle Warrior's Death, Part I: The Northern Tier - CycleBlaze

July 29, 2021

Day 85; Anacortes, WA Finale

The Fat Lady Sings A Sweet Song

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Julia McAnultyBud! All the congratulations in the world to you and Andy on a truly remarkable accomplishment! How many times have I felt on shaky ground, wondering if this could be pulled off... And now, well ... you’ve both proved what can be accomplished when you set your mind to it... Have a good flight back and all the best as time rolls on!!
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2 years ago

Climbing Today; 345 ft                  Climbing to Date;  136,444 ft

I slept all the way till 05:00 this morning.  When I finally did crawl out of bed, I fussed around making coffee and having some of the garlic bread I bought last night for breakfast.  By the time I got Harvey prepped to roll it was nearly 08:00; what's gotten into me that it is taking me so long to get out the door?

There was fog on the bay, making it a moody coastal day similar to the day that Doc and I started this journey in Maine.   Wow, that seems like a lifetime ago; this has been a long journey.   I think 4,000+ miles on a bike qualifies as a "long journey" by any definition.

I rolled slowly through the downtown area which was still largely deserted, then began to skirt around the bay towards the Ferry Terminal.

Morning Fog On The Bay
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I Love Foggy Mornings
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It was only 4 miles to the Ferry Terminal, and it went by quickly.  I saw a couple of cyclists ahead of me on light road bikes and for no reason I got mad that they dared to ride in front of me and I decided to pursue them - I dusted them on the first little upgrade we hit, even though I was pushing a 100+ pound bike.  Twelve weeks of cycling across mountains and plains and dealing with record heat and headwinds and forest fires has made me into some kind of wild animal on a bicycle - actually, that ain't right, the fact is that I have merged with the bicycle and evolved into some kind of hybrid machine.  My legs have become a unique alloy of titanium and kryptonite capable of explosive movement when needed.   OK, maybe I'm exaggerating a little bit, but I did blow past those cyclists like they were standing still.   "I love it," Harvey said, "but slow down Dude, we need to re-enter earth orbit soon or we'll miss the Ferry Terminal.  Besides, you're scaring the local cyclists."  I hauled it down just in time to arrive at the Anacortes Ferry Terminal, the official endpoint of the Northern Tier route.

The Official Endpoint Of The Northern Tier Route
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Hard To Describe What I'm Feeling Now (photo credit; some nice lady)
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The Ferry Boarding Point; I Made It (photo credit; some nice lady)
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Steve HenryBud it’s really hard not to get chocked up! But that’s ok! What an experience this has been for you and Andy and all of the armchair bicyclists 🚴🏼‍♀️ along for the ride. The nice couple at the souvenir shop were the icing on the cake. Now I look forward to the last posting. Have a really well deserved rest day and a safe flight home. Once again, thank you 🙏🏾!!!!
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2 years ago

I have done this coast-to-coast thing before, and I know that the emotions can come unhinged when you finally make it to the end.  Even us real men can find ourselves teary-eyed after completing an endeavor like this; the fact is, there are so many things that can keep you from finishing the journey that you never know for certain that you will make it until the very end.   And so I told myself that there would be no emotional outbursts today.  And there weren't any, but as I was rolling away from the harbor I noticed that some of the fog must have gotten into my eyes and made them a bit misty.

Back in the hotel room, I unloaded all the panniers and sorted out what I needed to keep for the next couple of days and what could be shipped home. I made sure that I could fit the electronics and small amount of clothing and such into one of my small panniers, and then I began packing everything else into the 3 remaining panniers.  I packed the handlebar bag full, then packed it into one of the large panniers.  I removed the seat bag from the bike and also packed it into the panniers.  I packed my helmet into one of the large panniers and stuffed items into it as well.  When it was all done, I had everything packed into 3 panniers for shipping, and I loaded Harvey and we headed for a nearby UPS store.  The clerk was very helpful; she measured my 3 panniers and determined a box size she thought would work, and we managed to just fit them into the box.  

So then, with everything gone except for the pannier that I will use as carry-on baggage on the flight home, I headed Harvey towards a local bike shop.  It felt strange riding an unloaded bike!   The bike shop (Bikespot) gave me the dimensions of the box they would use to ship Harvey and their contact info for the UPS pickup, and I left Harvey with them and walked back to the hotel.  Once there, I went online and arranged for Bike Flights to pick Harvey up next week and ship him home.   Finally, I was able to do some personal business and went online and renewed the Certificate of Authorization for my 1-man engineering consulting business - I had only 1 day to spare to get that done.  Now, I can finally relax a bit.

There is more that I want to say, but it's late.  I will do an epilogue, and will write at least part of it tomorrow.  But for now I'm going to get some rest.  I hope you all have some rest time built into your schedule as well.  In the following amateur video, I forgot that the GoPro was running when I cycled up to the ticket house at the Ferry Terminal; so you will hear some conversation and the picture goes upside-down when I take off the helmet to pose for a photo.  Hey, did I mention that it's an amateur video?  Good night folks...

Today's ride: 9 miles (14 km)
Total: 4,259 miles (6,854 km)

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Kathleen JonesCongrats, Bud!
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2 years ago
Kelly IniguezI'm going to miss your journal entries.

Thank you for taking us along on your journey.

Safe travels home.
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2 years ago
Allane BallCongratulations from Steve and Allane! You were inspirational!
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2 years ago
Rick FerlCongratulations Bud and Doc. This is Rick from Conneaut. (Gonna catch every fish in Lake Erie guy) I have really enjoyed following you two through this. I read from the beginning once I met you two at the Ohio Pennsylvania line. You two are truly amazing. I hope you enjoy that cup of coffee. Best wishes and I'll be looking for your next endeavor.
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2 years ago
George HallThanks Rick! I remember you and hope you someday have many enjoyable days of retirement fishing in Lake Erie - but don't catch ALL the fish, save a few for others. Best wishes,

Bud
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2 years ago
George HallTo Kathleen JonesThanks Kathleen! It's great to know that folks followed along. Best wishes,

Bud
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2 years ago
George HallTo Kelly IniguezThanks Kelly! I will be following along and reading your journal entries every day - best of luck,

Buddy Hall
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2 years ago
George HallTo Allane BallThanks Allane! And now that I noticed how your name is spelled, I will correct my mis-spelling of your name in the journal (oops, sorry about that). I hope you and Steve have a great visit with the family and a wonderful trip back home. And should you do something like this again (or a saner and shorter tour!) consider doing a journal on Cycle Blaze so I can follow along. If you someday find yourself in Oklahoma, you can comment here to let me know and we could meet up. Best of luck,

Buddy Hall
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2 years ago
Miranda KohutCongratulations, Dad! Quite an amazing and impressive accomplishment…again. Very proud. Now, come home! I have 3 little girls very excited to see you.
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2 years ago
Patsy ModenWell done Buddy!
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2 years ago
Gregory GarceauMajor congrats to both you and Doc. I think I would have gone Doc's route in similar circumstances, but I seriously admire your determination to find an alternate route to Anacourte no matter what it took. It would have been so much easier to just take Highway 2 down to it's terminus and ridden to the Puget Sound in Seattle.

Anyway, I truly enjoyed meeting you guys in the western Wisconsin hills near the Mississippi River.

Until we meet again,
Greg
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2 years ago
Rich FrasierLet me add my congratulations! Well done, and a great journal that I’ll miss. You’ve completed a ride I’ll probably never do, and it’s been a pleasure and a privilege to ride along with you!
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2 years ago
Jeanna & Kerry SmithCongratulations, Buddy, on your achievement. We have enjoyed your journal and will miss our daily "Where's Buddy?" fix. I'm sorry that we never got to meet in person, but we feel as if we have gotten to know you through the blog and our shared experiences. Have safe trip home and we'll look forward to your next tour!
Jeanna and Kerry
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2 years ago