day 13

after a good meal the night before and a good rest on a sofa, i got an early start so doug and annie to get to work. i headed north to seattle, going through the hanford research area and by mt. ranier. it was the coldest day of riding so far on the trip, especially near mt. ranier. this was mainly due to the overcast conditions and the proximaty to the ocean. luckily i was able to see mt. rainier well before the clouds set in. on the descent from chinook pass, i rode through some of the tallest pine trees on the trip. most of the way down i even lost my gps reception due to the trees and mountains.

when i reached seattle, i hooked up with my friend tim at his restaurant smarty pants (http://www.smartypantsseattle.com/). he and his friend andy then helped me get some new tires for my bike. they had gotten significantly more worn from the trip, especially from the mountain riding. we then hung out for a while and i helped his brother jason with some renovations on their new house.

friday afternoon alex is arriving in seattle. i will be staying here until monday. i have almost 4000 miles logged on the trip so far, but won't be doing much more until monday, at which time i will start heading down the coast. i can't wait to ride down the 101 and through the redwoods.