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Tuesday, June 28, 09

SEDRO-WOOLLEY, WA - Heading into the North Cascades National Park.

First day is supposed to be relatively easy bicycling with a climb of about 1,800 feet into Diablo.

My biggest fear, aside from the challenge of the climb is bears.

Locals say they'd LOVE to see a bear. "Your biggest predator will be mosquitoes," said Bob Freeman from the Seattle bike shop.

But I'm still bear wary.

How come every totem pole has a bear face? Every wooden chair and wall decoration at the small town shops is of a bear.

There are bear warning posters and bear t-shirts.

I manage 66 miles and pull into Diablo by 6:30 p.m. Monday night. The temps have dropped dramatically into the 40s.

Terry and Deb from Arizona let me camp next to their site. They have a dog, a golden retriever named Meadow. She wears a red bandanna, pilot goggles and a cow bell.

I pet her and play tug of war with a stick. Deb loves that I'm giving Meadow all this attention but my true intention is she'll protect me from bears.

I'm crushed when they take her inside their camper for the night.

My dreams are of bears. Every acorn or pine cone that drops and bounces off my tent sounds like a bear.

I make a dozen trips to the trash bin across the campground, throwing away grape stems and water bottles, napkins... anything with a hint of bear temptation.

I scold myself when I find crumbs from previous trips in my tent.

I sleep with my cell phone, dubbed the bear emergency phone. It's a bad plan, we get 'no reception' at the campsite and more doom, I've left my pepper spray in a pack on my bike.

I wake up Wednesday with a pounding headache from fending off all my dreams of bear attack and probably dehydration.

Guess I' d better pull up my big girl panties and head out to tackle the 65 miles to Winthrop. Rainy Pass is a climb to 4,585 feet and Washington Pass is 5,477.

OVER THE TOP...

It took more than three hours but I managed the punishing climb. The uphill was grueling; average speed was about four miles an hour.

After cresting Washington Pass it's 15 miles of downhill.

I don't have to pedal at all for seven miles. My top end speed is 41 miles an hour. It's so fast my eyes water from the speed of the descent.

I drift into Winthrop and treat myself to a Coke and packet of peanut M&M's. I savor each one, pretending their tranquilizers.