Slow and Sporadic

Our apologies for the lack of updates! Our biggest challenge of the trip so far has been getting in enough miles in a day, so internet breaks haven't been an option yet. But we're getting stronger and we're trying to elminate some of the incidents that have required us to stop pedalling, such as:

- Someone runs over a rock and thinks part of their bike has fallen off, so we stop and look for the mystery piece.
- People ask for our autographs or ask to take our picture. (Well, when three 12-year-old boys stopped us in the middle of their little farming town, I offered them our autographs, and they were thrilled.)
- Stop to read the map. Then some kind-hearted soul usually stops and asks us if we need help. One woman even led us for miles in her VW Bug all the way to a grocery store.
- A pannier gets loose and falls off.
- The road turns into a freeway and we have to use a Swiss army knife to cut our way through thorny bushes to get up onto a side road.
- Chris can't remember the words of the third verse to "Yellow Submarine" so stops to ask Amy.
- After a break, Jen clips in and then falls over from a complete stop. Then we wait for her to stop hurting.
- Catch our breathe and celebrate at the top of a hill. (It's WAY hillier than we expected. I'm in my lowest gear more than a dozen times a day.)
- Stop to get out our super-dork-reflective-vests and bike lights because we're still 10 miles from our campsite and it's completely dark. The first night we didn't pully into camp until 11pm.
- Put on rain gear. Rain destroyed us on day 4. The mud spraying up into our faces (except for Chris - he has fenders) wasn't as bad as the soggy socks and shoes.
- Stop to ake a picture of the stunning views of Puget Sound.
- Jen and Amy stop because they are shaking and faint from lack of nutrients because they ate wheat thins for dinner the night before. They try to down some energy goo down before gagging.