Bonking, strawberries and on the road at last!

Arrived in Anacortes (via some necessary shopping for socks and underwear at Target, Walmart, and some camping supplies at REI) to catch up with our friends Dave and Kay Smith.  It is quite funny, as we feel like long lost friends, but actually we only spent one day together on a cycle tour to Versailles in France in 2009 and then dinner that night together.  But we continued where we left off, great to see them, and such wonderful hosts.

First night BBQ with friends and family .  The weather decided to remind us that Las Vegas weather is not normal, and we had some rain, some wind, some squalls and huddled under the outdoor heater.  Then it got warm again!

On Monday, getting Bikes set up - and seeing the lovely little town of Anacortes.  Only ended up with one bike ride later in the evening - 11.5km, as needed to take the two bikes into a bike repair shop.  This seems to be the norm each trip, you think we would be used to it now - the airlines knock the bikes around a lot.

We decided on some major bike repairs  for Peters bike.  It has had a dented and cracked rim, for a while now.  We made it through France, but thought might as well get it fixed now, as don't want to get stuck in the middle of forest and logging roads with a collapsed wheel.

BBQ with squally winds and rain and great company and food.

Carey worked on the packing of the panniers and sorting out of non riding gear (at least one bag which Dave and Kay are dropping down in Seattle for us - so much easier than organising a courier to the hotel!!!

These two bags and the REI bag of camping gear get to be packed into the 8 panniers.

Luggage to go in panniers

The two bikes materialised like transformers from these bags, thanks to the clever hands of Peter.

Bikes in Bags

With Dave and Kay Smith looking out over Puget Sound and the San Juan Islands (and the two oil refineries - not descriptive of how lovely the town of Anacortes is.)

Today we did our first real ride, to Lopez Island.  All up a 43km ride, with a relaxing ferry ride in between each way.

And THIS is where the bonking comes in - NOT BEFORE!!!!  AND NOT the kind of bonking you are thinking about!

According to that erudite manual - Wikipedia, Bonking means: A condition caused by the depletion of glycogen stores in the liver and muscles.  Another more colloquial term is 'hitting the wall'.  What happens is that you have sudden fatigue and loss of energy.  Milder instances of bonking can be remedied by rest and the ingestion of food and drinks containing carbohydrates.

Having followed professional cycling through regular updates from Peter over the years, I am aware of 'bonking' when cycling.  I experienced it myself when we did the Otago Rail Trail in 2008 and I couldn't keep my food down.  It wasn't quite as bad as what happened today.

We were riding along in the SUN!!! (beautiful weather on another day that was predicted to be wet -yay!).  Peter was ahead of me and I had been riding with Dave with Kay shortly behind us.  Dave had just been saying he was looking forward to stopping as his legs were really feeling the riding.  I went ahead up the hill and Dave stopped to wait for Kay.  Next minute I heard a crash and turned around and Dave was lying on the road over his bike.  I dropped my bike, yelled for Peter and ran back down. Both Peter and I were terrified that he had had a heart attack.  He was out of it, lying on top of his bike.

We managed to lift him off the bike, he came to, and we put him in the recovery position.  Fortunately a truck stopped with three nice ladies.  We got some fluids and sweet stuff into him and apart from a cut on the nose and burst blood vessel under his eye, he looks okay...   The nice ladies took Dave and Kay to the end point in the truck and gave him some bananas.  After quite a bit of liquids and food, he gradually regained strength.

But wow was it scary.  What happened was that he had stopped and got off his bike, looked down the road and then felt dizzy and fainted.  A lesson!  Peter has instilled in me eat and drink regularly when biking, even when I'm not hungry or thirsty.  Over the years, I have learned that it is a good idea!

Before this we had stopped and picked our own strawberries.  It was a warm day and we ate all of them during the day.  They were warm, big, sweet - so yummy!

End of the trip photo about to get back on the ferry to Anacortes

Tomorrow Peter and I head off on our own to San Juan Island.  An hours ferry ride away.  About the same distance to explore the island and the first night in a camping ground.  The weather is suggesting showers, but it would be nice if the weather forgets what it is supposed to do again...