My bad

Amtrak station Seattle 

 So it never entered my mind to even do the slightest bit of research to insure that all or any of the mountain passes were clear. Only after having notified all contacts of my impending tour did I receive a return text from a former touring partner , 

Mr. Rodger Harding , that a portion of the second days route was closed due to severe erosion and won't be passable until late June. Placed into high gear to find a solution, I find myself sitting in an Amtrak train station in Seattle preparing to board for a 4 hour journey to a small town on the eastern side of the blockage.  Ride still starting tomorrow.

Final preparation.

 Bike is boxed. Saddle bags are loaded. Checked in for flight out of Newark. Shuttle arrangements made to get nearby the start point. First 3 nights booked. Related and cheering for a phillies win. Keeping an eye on the weather holding out for a dry start out of Anacorted Wa. Anxious to get started. Much more to come

St. Augustine north to Anastasia Island.

 5 mile ride to meet up with the camera crew (Linda) at the nearest point where I had safe access to the Atlantic Ocean. The ceremonial dip in the surf was a welcoming experience. 

Mission completed. 

Surviving Milton

Named hurricanes

 Survived Milton.  Winds and rain all day Wednesday as Milton makes landfall on the western coast of Florida. Awoken Thursday morning to clouds and slightly debris covered roads as the storm passed through the night. Not nearly as impactful as predicted. Looking forward to truly completing the ride on Saturday morning as Linda arrives in st augustine. 

Earlier named hurricanes 

Debris 

My place

Lee to st augustine.

 Car ride into st augustine. Awoke to a brilliant sun filled morning. It was hard to imagine what was on the way. Pleasant ride to the coast. Witnessed much traffic headed north bound to escape the hurricane. Settled into my Airbnb only to be made aware that st augustine had just been upgraded to a mandatory evacuate status.  With only a bike and nowhere else to go I have decided to hunker down and ride it out. I will let you know tomorrow how that decision worked out. 

Monticello to Lee.

 38 miles to my former step father in laws house. Due to the impending hurricane I opted to enlist Howard to ferry me into st augustine to wait out the storm until Linda arrived on Saturday. Spent Monday night at his compound to await an early Tuesday morning ride in.

Midway to Monticello

 48 miles give or take. Cycling through the city of tallahasse. The large cities are rarely fun. No shoulders. Heavy traffic and to add additional challenges, it rained almost the entire time.

Debris from Helene. 

Prepping for final push.