Day 9 - Home

We again wake up at first birdsong. A cup of yogurt and a banana hopefully will get us 15 miles down the road to our first breakfast at an Indian casino. We cast early morning long shadows as we roll south across farm fields of plowed earth and raspberry fields of north western Washington. The winds are calm in the morning so we soon arrive only to find the casino does not open until 10 so we are back to gas station food. We order the whole breakfast pizza and enjoy the biscuit gravy oozing with thick cheese, egg, bacon and sausage - a true artery clogger. A stranger (after buying his vodka at the gas station liquor store) entertains us with a commentary of the area while we eat. People are interesting. We continue down hi-way 9 to Sedro Wooley and then on to the Arlington Safeway for lunch sandwiches. The centennial bike trail then takes us off the highway where the sunny day has attracted lots of bike and walker traffic. John quickly drops us on this stretch as the Snohomish bakery ahead makes an excellent croissant and his sweet tooth gives him extra energy. John is eating a pear croissant as I roll into town. Tom follows shortly and orders a cherry one. I roll ahead of them knowing my legs are tired and needing a head start up the last climb before home. Almost 700 miles and just over 20,000 feet of climbing makes for a good week and a tired rider. Time to start training for a planned back packing trip in August.

Keep Rolling,
Pete