intro
This trip almost ruined my love for riding bikes. I hit a point where I was so frustrated and thought, “this is the fastest way to get someone to hate cycling.” I brought to mind the friends who aren’t as enthusiastic about cycling and felt all their grief and complaints in my body. YES, my ass hurts from sitting on this tiny seat. Oh my gosh why am I soo sweaty EVERYWHERE!! Why would you put up with treating your body like this?? That’s when it clicked that I don’t want to cycle, at least not like this.
Looking back at the bike itinerary, plus the lack of information I received prior to the ride, this experience was not facilitated or organized to the level I was expecting. I had high expectations because I had heard glowing reviews of ClimateRide from other women my age. As a former outdoor educator who has hosted, planned, and run trips in parks, there are a lot of things to consider to ensure everyone’s safety and enjoyment. I was challenging myself to show up as a participant and follow the lead of the facilitators.
ClimateRide primarily hosts supported rides, meaning vans are following participants with hydration, food, repair kits, and mechanics. In a worst case scenario, they will pick up riders if they’re injured or need a rest to avoid injury. When I first signed up, I was training for a supported ride, and the folks who had positive experiences had also participated in supported rides.
After my back injury this April, I pivoted to participating in an unsupported ride; we had to carry all of our gear, most of our food, and would be more remote during our ride. I have bikepacked before, but not for 4 days straight, without any rest days sandwiched in between. While the mileage was significantly less, the ride itself went from riding on roads to riding on gravel and trails. There is a lot more going into planning a ride where you won’t have access to water right away, or if wildfire smoke makes for poor air quality.
I was an outlier in the group as I was the only one who rented a bike. Everyone else had flown or driven with their bikes. They had a lot of knowledge and countless hours clocked on riding something that was theirs, time to fine-tune and adjust how their gear was attached. While the bike I rented was fancy and new, omg yes disc brakes are amazing, and literally cost as much as I fundraised for the trip, it was not my bike. My two bikes unfortunately did not meet the requirements for the ride, one with wheels too thin meant for road cycling, the other with a frame that is old and heavy. Thus, the main challenge was not only operating a new-to-me vehicle, but also balancing all my gear on the bike.
While I do admit to over-packing (I was never known to be a minimalist) I also was willing to cycle with the amount I brought. It just takes longer for me to maneuver with a heavier load, especially since a majority of the weight was on my rear rack. It is much more efficient to “push” weight on a bike than “pull” it. I was borrowing or received camping and biking gear from family and friends too! Shout out to Anna, Francis, Martine, and Jessica! This was a community effort. And so the pieces did not come together as I had planned. I wanted to have my tent on the front of the bike, and unfortunately the handlebars were too narrow to accommodate my tent.
Day 1
We boarded the ferry in Seattle, and got to chatting. The other cyclists in the group were kind folks and many of them have ridden with ClimateRide or toured before. Shout out to Joe who writes about cycling on his site, and who has a lovely family tradition of gifting each grandchild a bike when they are 3.
When we finally disembarked the ferry and were smack in downtown Victoria BC, everyone was anxious to ride to camp. Folks hopped into Sunday tourist-filled traffic and started winding through on paved bike greenways. I hopped on and almost collapsed!! I wasn’t used to the weight, the balancing, even how to switch gears. I was NOT OK, fearful of causing a bike pile up in such a busy and public space. My rear was wobbling so hard. I was panicking, trying to stay with the group. We finally pulled over to refill water and had some time to re-adjust gear. I flopped into some grass to regulate my breathing, and felt a lot better.
The facilitators recommended moving some weight to the front of my bike, so we placed my tent atop the handlebars, to ensure it wouldn’t interfere with the brake mechanism, my hands and the bars sandwiched between, and a sleeping bag at the bottom. Even though the majority of the weight of the tent was on the bars, there was pressure on my hands. So I point to this as the “main ingredient” to my injury pie.
The second “ingredient” was being told we’d stop for water twice. Since we hopped straight from the ferry onto the road to cycle, I didn’t have time to check and make sure I had put on all my bike gear. I quickly swapped my bike glasses on, but I didn’t put on my gloves. 4 hours later, my palms felt like they had calluses forming, were quite red and sore. Then I remembered my gloves in my pockets. We had burst through the hydration stations earlier during the ride.
Riding the fancy rented bike was great for gear shifting and it had amazing suspension. It was really smooth to shift gears. and I understand why this cost a pretty penny, but at the end of the day, it was not my bike.
We saw some brilliant views along the trail, and the infrastructure to get to this camp was astounding! I am used to a lot more trail hazards while cycling, but the crossings were clear, cars were mostly friendly, if non-existent, and there were so many people enjoying the trails. The weather was also amazing for cycling and we lucked out that the air quality had improved for our first day of riding, since there were wildfires in Eastern Washington. I would want to go back and enjoy it at a slower pace, and of course sight see more of Canada.
There were two challenging parts of this trail where there was a sudden steep dip and incline. I had to dismount both times since I tried using momentum on this first dip, but with my weight on the bike, it was very scary and I almost spun out/wiped out. I passed a cyclist who was also walking her bike and she said she’d rather take it slow than be tossed over her handlebars, and I wholeheartedly agreed. I was the slowest rider in the group, but this first day was a gradual uphill into camp, so returning would be a gradual downhill, which I was looking forward to.
We rode the majority of the Galloping Goose Trail to Sooke Potholes Regional Park Campground, got to use the bike-in camp sites, and enjoyed our first night at camp. My favorite part about PNW summers is that the sun is OUT late, since we are so high in latitude! I was able to go to bed before last light. We were told to aim to roll out of camp by 10AM the next day, and our goal was to catch the ferry back into Port Angeles that afternoon. In my head, I tried to calculate how fast they were expecting us to ride. Usually when I ride without gear and take my time, it takes me 6 hours to ride 40 miles. So I was concerned about the pace, but wanted to trust the facilitator’s itinerary. I woke up and my hands were still numb from the day before. I asked the facilitators what to do, and they recommended “jazz hands” to shake it out.
Day 2
Since everyone was ready to go sooner than 10, we got some “bonus miles” in and rode to the end of the trail, stopped by a swimming hole, and then that’s when things started to feel more disorganized. It really felt like “every man for themselves” since the other riders barreled forward. I was intent on keeping a sustainable pace, and told myself, “as long as I am the second to last one, I won’t be left behind.” I was a lot more consistent in eating more calories on day 2, and hydrating as I was getting used to the ride, but man my butt was feeling it.
Upon returning to the challenging dip on Day 1, I was helped by a mom, who was also biking out of camp with her 2 sons and husband. I was really impressed with their set up and it was great seeing more families on the road together too.
As we got closer to the city, I was told by one of the facilitators to “keep on going” because we were cutting it close to the ferry. We were not following the route they provided prior to the trip, but following signs back into downtown. I found myself with another ClimateRide participant, Hector, who also had a rear rack full of gear. For me, it is crucial to stay together during group riding, and everyone else seemed to be far far ahead. We had one facilitator in the front, and one in the back with us, who would disappear at times but then catch up with us again.
Hector pulled over for some food, and I asked if I should wait. He encouraged me to keep on going. So I kept biking. The facilitator caught up with me, asked about Hector, and told “we have 25 mins and 5 miles to go”. I shared I didn’t have the route downloaded, so he told me some directions aloud. By then my stomach was roaring for food and I could not stop to eat. This was hour 5.5 of biking that day. There were construction detours. I was afraid of getting lost, and slowed my pace. In my heart I knew we already missed the ferry. But I also wanted to try. I paused to ask another Canadian cyclist on an E-bike for directions, who helped me get to the heart of Victoria.
When I finally got to the waterfront with the ferries I was relieved but also overwhelmed. This was really the closest I’d ever get to “the amazing race”. I was confused because I saw the ferry back into Seattle but it was unclear where the ferry to Port Angeles was. I hopped off my bike, turned on my phone, and things were just not loading. So I kept following signs, and there was more construction. I asked another person for directions, they said I overshot it. I had to turn around, and ask again. I went to the car terminal for the ferry (by accident) and the woman there said the ramp to the ferry had been lifted. Feeling defeated, I walked my bike up to the pedestrian entrance for this ferry, and saw Hector and the facilitator waiting. They also missed the ferry.
We went to eat at their Fisherman's Wharf (haha yes they have one too) and walked around a little. The plan was to take the 7PM ferry into Port Angeles, and bike into camp, another 4ish miles, in the dark, closer to 10PM. This is when I had time to sit and check in with my body. My hands were still very very numb, and Day 3 would have been the most challenging portion of the planned ride. We also would be heading into a more remote area as we biked west towards Forks, WA. I called Jess and cried a lot. She reassured me it was ok and helped me find a hostel nearby. I had to tell the facilitator that I needed to pull out of the ride and made arrangements to return the bike to them on Thursday, back in Seattle.
outro
The rest of the trip was me resting, eating, and slowly feeling less aches and sores in my body. I went to get a cupping massage for my arms. I got to chat and eat dinner with my lovely host family. I walked around soo much of Downtown Seattle and Downtown Victoria, which in-it-of-itself is amazing because I could barely walk 10 blocks back in April!! My body has limits and that’s OK. I know I am strong. I know I can bike, and I have amazing friends who not only encourage me, but are willing to plan exciting and restful bike rides that don’t feel so rushed, and where we get to eat better too.
It was so funny, the night before the ride, I cooked a meal for my former coworkers who used to host the summer trail youth camp with me, as we caught up and laughed together. It had been almost 3 years since we had seen each other. And my heart was overflowing with so much joy. I joked as we were cleaning up and saying our goodbyes, “who decided to sign up for this silly ride? I wish I could spend more time with y’all.”
But I think that was the most honest I felt. It was never really about riding for this trip. It was having a reason to see people who don’t live so close to me anymore. I really do have a part of my heart up in the PNW, and I will fondly think of the summers of my mid 20s, where I got to play outside, in nature, with really cool and amazing people. Where I got to learn how much I enjoy being outside, and how much I want to share that with others.
So thank you for supporting my journey, and I hope you get inspired to go outside, even if it’s hard, even if it’s just for a lil’ walk.
With lots of care,
Natalie
