Hello friends, family and those we've met on the road! Welcome to the fourth edition of our newsletter, this time being typed from a campsite just outside of Bandon, Oregon, where we're taking a day off from pedalling. (Actually, I'm finishing up sending it in Northern California, but that messes up the timeline, so shush.)
First things first: In the next installment of this letter, we'll be answering questions submitted by you, our lovely readers. If you want to know anything about our lives on the road, please reply to this email with your query, and, as long as the answer isn't gross, we'll publish it in the next edition.
It's been a while since we spoke - in the past month we have traversed city streets (Vancouver, Portland), blissfully maintained trails (Washington, Oregon) and miles and miles of highway 101. As with all of the journey so far, the scenery has been incredible, but it's been acts of kindness by both friends and strangers that have been the most memorable parts of the trip. There's not space here to list all of those kindnesses, but to everyone who has made this section so special: thank you.
After the ferry to Bellingham, we made our way north to Vancouver where we stayed with some friends. After being on the road for so long, returning to a major city was a bit of a shock. We had so much fun there, enjoying the beaches, parks and shops, but we were undoubtedly overwhelmed by having so many decisions to make - in Alaska there was only one road. Thankfully Nick and Court made us feel totally supported while the reality of the road ahead really hit us. And we were so grateful to have had a chance to spend a little more time in BC - we encountered wonderful people, careful drivers, delicious sushi and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
From there we crossed back over the border and into Washington, immediately encountering quite different topography. Fields certainly felt more familiar than the mountain ranges of Alaska, and they were complemented by sweeping bays, stunning bridges (google 'Deception Pass') and island views, as well as huge naval bases, old military forts and picturesque towns.
We then began to ride the Olympic Discovery Trail, which is a path for bikes and walkers that skirts around the Olympic National Park and National Forest. It's around 70% traffic free, which made for easy riding with our new pals, Meredith and Bigsby, who we met in the town of Sequim. Meredith was on her first ever bike tour, and Bigsby, her Collie-Spaniel mix, enjoyed riding in a milk crate affixed to her rear rack. We had a really lovely few days pedalling together, with a swim in Crescent Lake, followed by ramen consumed on a rock, proving a highlight.
Almost immediately after saying goodbye to Meredith and resuming our southward trajectory, all fears that our journey was about to get more lonely were upended by running into Greg - a Brit that had been living in Sheffield until he too decided to blow up his life and ride the length of the Americas. Although he started his trip in Calgary rather than Alaska, he also hopes to make it to Ushuaia in Argentina.
After our inital meeeting in a state campground, we reunited a couple of days later to traverse a terrifying four-mile bridge into the Oregon city of Astoria, and since then we've been riding as a three. The plan is currently for our bike gang to stay together until San Franciso, giving us at least a few weeks of ambitious mealtimes ahead (yes, we did make pancakes).
Having someone to share these experiences with has certainly helped with our homesickness, but has also served to highlight just how ludicrous and exciting some of our day-to-day activities are - it can be easy to get caught up in daily chores, and we've really felt the benefit of having someone around to say 'look at that!' to. It also helps that we have lots in common, and I'm thankful that Ed can finally discuss bicycle components with someone that understands what he's on about. Greg's blogging too - you can read his musings here.
Having crossed into Oregon (after an incredible Warm Showers stay in Cosmopolis, Aberdeen - thank you Marnie and John!) we immediately headed in-land, via beautiful, quiet roads and trails, to Portland - a city we were keen to visit due to it's reputation as a bike Mecca and generally fun place to hang out. Ed and I stayed with old colleagues and friends of his, Jack and Verity, who welcomed us into their home despite the fact they have two children under three. Even with wee-uns running around, it was such a restful place to be, and their generosity enabled us to mainline city-standard donuts and ice cream until we were barely able to traverse the 300m climb (!!) from downtown back to their gorgeous abode.
After getting our fill of third-wave coffee, all three of us sought to escape a quickly warming city - this involved climbing a biiig hill out of the Willamette valley on a 37-degree day. It wasn't a hugely pleasant experience, but views of the area's vineyards and vistas kept us going, along with ice creams provided by a kind man who lives along the route and has made it his hobby to offer cyclists water and snacks.
Descending the hill towards the coast, we found plenty of opportunities for refreshing river swims - probably one of our favourite parts of being on long-term tour. We then swung onto the Pacific Coast Highway, where dramatic fog, gray whales and huge jagged rocks became our companions, as well as a trickle of through-hikers that have sadly been rerouted to the Oregon Coast Trail from the Pacific Crest Trail due to wildfires. It's been inspiring to meet people adventuring with even less kit than us, although I'm happy we've chosen a method of transport that's less hard on our feet.
Finally, a big thank you to Tim and Sharon, who despite being in their 80s and having just recovered from Covid, hosted the three of us in their beautiful seaside home in Lincoln City, Oregon. Having originally met in an Alaskan RV park, we weren't sure if things would work out to see them again, but everything aligned and we were able to spend an evening hearing all about their travels, their family, and their, ahem, gardening skills.
Phew. It's been a big one - we'll try not to leave it so long until next time. And remember to email over any questions you have about our journey.
Toot or boot
Groceries FINALLY being more affordable now we're in the lower 48 TOOT
A curious lack of availability of vegetable stock and red lentils BOOT
Hiker biker campsites in state parks offering cheap places to stay TOOT
Plenty of traffic on the 101 BOOT
Camping on the beach in the sun TOOT
Getting sand everywhere BOOT
Thanks and shout-outs
Masha and Ian - thanks for the ride!
Nick and Court
Stephen
James and Rachael
Chris and Pricill
Donny, Gina and Molly
Marnie and John
Thia and Gerry - again! - for their Portland suggestions
Meredith
Carol
Walter
Keen
Jack, Verity and family
James
Ryan and Tessa
The Carlton jammers
Lenny and Gustav
and Greg, I suppose
About us
We are Edwin Foote and Suzie McCracken - thanks for signing up for our newsletter! Edwin is from England and Suzie is from Northern Ireland and normally we live together in Deptford, south-east London. We arrived in Fairbanks, Alaska, in May 2022 and are attempting to ride our bicycles the length of the Americas, hoping to finish in Argentina in 2024. If you have any recommendations of things we should do, people we should meet or places we should stay, we'd love to hear from you! Please reply to this email, or follow us on Instgram (ed_win or _suziemccracken).