[I was just doing the internet equivalent of flipping through my post archives, and found this old post still languishing in draft form, never published. So despite the fact that I took this bike trip, oh, a year and a half ago, I’m going to post it. Not only for the sense of closure, not only because it was an amazing trip, but because with the hints of spring we’ve been having in Portland recently, I’ve got the itch to travel. This morning, I set out with my bike trailer to pick up some snowshoes for the weekend, and the sunny morning, springy (albeit cold) air, and the fact I was carrying my trailer made me feel like it was high time to pack up my tent, clean up my bike, and set off… ]
My bike trip to Mt St Helens? Well, I’m back. And oh my goodness was it amazing.
I don’t think I can really do the whole travel narrative thing right now; suffice it to say that I spent my days biking and hiking my ass off, surrounded by natural beauty, and I fell asleep in the super-quiet of non-mechanized space. I don’t think there was a single flat road until the very end of my trip, the rather unscenic commute between Battleground and Vancouver, Washington–but like my title says, I think all the best roads are the hilly ones, since they’re the winding, woody, rivery ones that not as many people drive on.
People’s reactions to my biking fell into one of two extreme but predictable camps: either the “you are a badass” camp–I liked that one–or the “you are completely insane and does your mother know you’re doing this?” camp. Seriously. There was no one who was just kind of eh about it, everyone I talked to either thought I was totally awesome or a total raving lunatic. It kind of made me feel like a biking iconoclast or something. And honestly, I kind of like that.
Anyway. Check the rest of my pictures if you want: Gifford Pinchot Bike Trip And then take a trip yourself and tell me about it!:)