It was the best of rides, it was the worst of rides... KHG, I'm glad you were in a good bubble. The bubble I was in seemed crazier than I remembered. It might have just been me though... still a bit nervous on rough patches of road after my crash (and concussion) in April. And so many people were passing so close to my left, I didn't have room to maneuver around obstacles or ruts. I kept pulling over to let big fast groups ride on by... Didn't see any crashes though, but saw so many close calls with cars... riders not pulling over to the right when they COULD easily have... riders pulling out right in front of cars speeding by, drivers laying on their horns, no wonder they hate us...whew, made me so nervous. There seemed to be a lot more riders this year, every rest stop was just crazy busy, especially the REI stop in Kent. But again, maybe that was just the bubble?? As late as I got into Portland on Sunday, (after 5 pm) the finish line was a zoo, and they WERE OUT OF CHOCOLATE MILK!!! I was living for that chocolate milk the last 10 miles, ha!! But I did get a massage and that made up for it!

Headwinds slowed me down more than my usual slowness, but it didn't seem all that bad, and I was so grateful for the cooler weather, I didn't mind. Had some rainfall just outside the Tennino trail rest stop, but it didn't last long.

I also loved the route through JBLM, such pretty roads, and nary a car the whole way, wow!! I was unimpressed by the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches though, after getting the impression we were going to get something "special" at the base, but my DH (who was riding at least an hour faster) said he had a nice turkey sandwich. Well, that's what you get for being slow I guess, ha.

One of the best moments for me was right before we got to the Longview Bridge and a big group of riders stopped at the traffic light...a group of riders wearing top hats on their helmets singing along to "Minnie the Moocher", so everyone else joined it. It was hilarious, what a moment! Hi-de-hi-de-hi-de-ho...