I am writing this as I head west, having just arrived in Houston. The next flight will be to Seattle, then a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to Anacortes, Washington, just 16 miles front the Canadian border. It will be a very long day of travel in anticipation of about 36 days of cycling. I know that this ride will take me through Idaho, Montana, both Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. There is also a side trip into Alberta, Canada, near Glacier National Park. My route is not clear cut past North Dakota and therefore lots of changing on the fly is possible.

Yesterday was a busy day on the farm and otherwise trying to prepare for the trip. I often worry that I don’t have what I might need but the space is so small in the bike bags that every item must be well thought out. Daytime temperatures in the 50s and 60s are predicted with some colder segments near the tops of some of the upcoming mountains. Hilly climbing will be the norm for the next couple of weeks. Very small and distant towns are also a big part of the early journey and I expect cell phone coverage to be very sporadic.

My bike arrived at Skagit Cycle Center in Anacortes last Monday and hopefully will be ready for me to pick up when the shop opens at 10 a.m. on Monday morning. From there, I plan to ride about 60 miles on the first day probably ending near Concrete. The following day comes with the first major climb of the trip netting out after crossing Washington Pass with about a 5,000-foot elevation gain. Usually, I get to break the climbing legs in on this ride but not so on this trip. The climbing will begin on the second day. This will be the largest climb on any one single day of my previous cycling adventures.

I got to eat a few early blackberries yesterday. This trip will have huckleberries, although probably not ripe yet. This was my favorite ice cream flavor while in Oregon on the 2013 trip. My diet has already started to slip and will fall even farther as the days go on and food choices come often from convenience stores.

Sponsors so far for the ride this year include Fowler Physical Therapy, Father and Son Produce, Gear for Races, Vac and Dash, Skinny Wheels Bike Shop, Men on Missions from First Baptist Church in China Grove, Leonard Wood and Wayne Cobb. You’ll hear more about them as the days go by. Of course, the Salisbury Post puts it all together and publishes my daily updates.

As before, please feel free to email me at david.freeze@ctc.net with suggestions and questions. Most of these states are new to me on a bike and the readers usually have great ideas for my upcoming travel.

See you back here tomorrow as the riding begins!