Northern Tier Day 7 =>Wenatchee

Our planned Route 20 through the Cascades is blocked by a landslide. We needed to rent a car and take highways far to the south to get around it. We’ll spend the next three days cycling north from Wenatchee to Omak to pick up our planned Northern Tier route on the other side.

Only 12 miles today to get to car rental. But about 5 hills >12%. Seattle has a lot of steep hills.

We were able to get a new tire for the rear of Mike’s bike at Center Cycle, the largest Specialized bike shop in Seattle. Even though it was a busy Saturday morning and repairs take up to a week, Dave the store manager put the new tire on Mike’s bike professionally right away! So nice. Thanks so much Dave!

We are about to enter sparsely populated areas with few services for the next 1500 miles. After 3 flats on day 2, a small hole in the tire, it feels good to have a fresh quality tire for this stage of the journey.

We were able to stop in the town of Leavenworth for lunch. In 1950 it was half boarded up after the lumber/railroad businesses moved away. But the town leaders decided to reinvent themselves, built Bavarian style architecture through Main Street, opened Bavarian restaurants, beer haus, wine bars, sweets. The town is now booming with tourists. There is no Bavarian heritage or immigrants - just some innovative leaders. And now there is a beautiful Bavarian village nestled in Cascade Mountains.

Early start tomorrow, so we were able to find a church Saturday evening in Wenatchee.Read more