| Volcanoes of Washington Bike TourSeptember 10 - September 23, 2003 |
This was to be our last day in Portland, Seattle and the West Coast. The plan was to take the four-hour train trip to Seattle, eat dinner and do some more exploring on foot there before catching a taxi to the airport for our red-eye flight back to Dulles.
When traveling I usually miss eating a simple breakfast of cereal and soy or rice milk. The night before we had found a good looking bagel place where we returned for breakfast. I bought a bowl of granola and some milk and had the best breakfast of the trip. We bought some bagels for the train trip and wandered back to finish packing and catch a cab. Even the cabbie said he cycled when he wasn't driving a cab.
We had decent seats on the left side of the train as we headed north to Seattle on the Amtrak Cascades. There's nothing quite like getting settled into your seat on a train and watching the world pass by. We drifted in and out of sleep, but we were wide awake as we passed the coast near Tacoma and watched the shorebirds and boats outside the window.
When I checked out the Seattle Amtrak station the week before, the ticket agent tipped us off to the fact that if we checked our bags from Portland, we could leave them at the baggage room in Seattle for free while we walked around town. We wandered among the street people in Pioneer Square park, visiting a couple of the nearby art galleries. We encountered lots of street people, both in Seattle and Portland. It's a little unfortunate that they seem to take over many of the small urban parks. We wandered around looking for a decent restaurant, not having done much research about this section of town.
After a light dinner at Trattoria Mitchelli we returned to the station for our bags and to catch a cab. The only other people at the station were a couple from Arizona on their honeymoon. They had purchased “train” tickets for what turned out to be a bus trip to Vancouver, which sometimes happens with Amtrak. They were also making a film of their adventure as their audition for The Amazing Race television show. Having never seen it we weren't impressed. However I was impressed that we saved about $18 on the cab fare.
I was glad that we took the red-eye but don't think we'll be repeat customers. We saved on a hotel room in Seattle but it was a long day of traveling. It was topped off by a cab ride with a rude and inconsiderate taxi driver from Dulles, perhaps the result of Dulles Washington Flyer taxi having a monopoly on taxi traffic from the airport. Welcome home.
Later I discovered that the part on the frame where the rear derailleur is attached on my Bike Friday was somehow bent during the return trip. I've heard that this is a common problem with some Bike Friday's. The way the bike is packed, the frame is folded and the front wheel sits on top, putting pressure on the derailleur. Next time I'll be sure to use an additional brace to try to prevent this for recurring.
In summary, we had a great trip. Cycling conditions in the Northwest were excellent. Good bike route maps are produced by local government agencies, and many people cycle for transportation and recreation. We saw some wonderful sights and made some good friends. I recommend Bicycle Adventures to anyone who wants a pampered bike vacation. The Volcanoes of Washington and Oregon tour has some difficult climbs, but the sense of accomplishment afterwards, as well as the views from atop the climbs, makes it all worthwhile.