Eiry Bartlett
Pacific Coast
Vancouver, BC to Bremerton, WA
So it starts. Breakfast sandwiches and a train ride out of the city centre. A wobbly first day on the bike and amended distance expectations. But it's beautiful and I'm finally on the road, all I have to do is ride. People can be so good. My first day, I was given great directions by the guys at Kulshan Cycles, all of which seemed to know Chas. A lovely girl at the bakery in Edison handed me a load of cookies, Mariposa provided the most enormous burrito and after getting to Deception Pass in the dark. I was lucky enough to be offered the corner of a campsite with a man and his hilarious four year old son...then offered a cold beer.
This kid was a hoot! From sitting quietly with his dad when I first showed up, a switch just flipped and he came to life with an audience. He kept talking about how cool my bike was, telling me about his teddy and doing jump-spins that made him 'invisible'. To top it off he'd often stare up into the trees and shout "come down here!". "Who's up there?" I asked, "Spiderman! I know he's there!" he exclaimed. The little known superhero, Man Boy (or was it Boy Man?) was also discussed, not to be confused with the 'Real' Batman who also made an appearance. It really was a full house by the end of the night.
Day two was ferry day. 30 miles down Whidbey Island to the Port Townsend ferry and soon to some mouth-wateringly good pizza. The aim was Shelton, but there was no way that was happening. I set my sights on Quilcene. Just before town I ran into a girl, her bike leaning against the fence and her hands quickly filling up with blackberries. She said that I should avoid the local camp (and local perverts) and head to Falls View campground, a few miles up the road in Olympic National Forest. She wasn't wrong. One stop in the village store brought an onslaught of oglers and comments about my legs. Classy, Quilcene, classy.
Then it got wet. I do love a good temperate rainforest...but not when it's actually raining. My planned hike down to the waterfalls for a morning coffee was totally nixed by the deluge. Even a couple minutes with my bags open turned them into mini redneck swimming pools, it was camp soup. Quit pissing on my parade, Nature!
After descending from Mt. Walker I hopped in a south bound truck and avoided a few miles of the notoriously treaturous Hood Canal section of the 101. The driver said he had some 'friends' in Triton Cove he could visit with. He apparently hadn't spoken to them in years and they didn't really approve of his 'habits'. The decision was made that maybe visiting them was a bad idea after all. I hopped out after a couple miles and took in the beautiful misty day, a coffee break at Hama Hama and a final destination of the Shelton Super 8 to get dried off and have a midnight breakfast at Denny's...who doesn't look forward to that at the end of a sopping wet day? To top it off I had to fight the construction workers at the motel so could use the laundry first, I told them they didn't want to know what a three day old chamois smelled like. I won.
- IMAGES OF THE ROAD -
- Pacific Coast Milestones -
Eiry Bartlett
Gear List
- Blackburn Gear -
- My Bike Specs -
- Frame Braun Cycle Works (Vancouver based frame builder), hand painted by Justin Wright
- Frame Size True Temper OX Platinum tubing, custom, 49 cm
- Fork Surly Disc Trucker, 26
- Headset Chris King NoThreadSet 1 1/8
- Crank White Industries VBC Road Cranks 165mm, 48/32, black
- Bottom Bracket Phil Wood Square taper
- Pedals Shimano SPD
- Cassette Shimano XT 10spd, 11-36
- Rear Derailleur Shimano XT M772 Shadow 9spd
- Shifters Shimano Dura Ace 7900 10spd
- Brakes TRP, Hy/rd
- Wheels: Rims Velocity Blunt 26
- Wheels: Front Hub SON 28 32 hole, CL disc, black
- Wheels: Rear Hub White Industries CLD 32 hole, black
- Tires 26
- Stem Thomson X2, 100mm
- Handlebars FSA Wing Pro, 40cm c-c
- Bar WRap ESI Grips RCT wrap
- USB Charger Sinewave Reactor, Black
- Camping/Living -
- • Golite 'imogene ul3' tent
- • Sleeping bag feathered friends 'petrel'
- • Roll mat + patch kit thermarest 'pro plus'
- • Headlamp black diamond 'spot'
- • Jetboil 'sol' stove
- • Stainless steel camp frying pan
- • Snow peak 'ti-single cup 2' mug
- • Gsi 'fairshare' bowl
- • Baladeo stainless steel folding cutlery set
- • Aeropress
- • Sawyer mini water filter
- • Nalgene bottle 32oz
- • Platypus bottle
- • Ronson lighter
- • Handmade arraworks knife
- • Packtowel ul towel
- • Sigma dp1 merrill camera + extra batteries
- • Notebook, sketchbook and pen/pencil
- • First aid kit
- • Sunscreen
- • Sewing kit
- • Ziplok bags
- • Ear plugs
- • Bungee cord & s-biner
- • Mesh ditty bags
- • Baby wipes
- • Assos chamois cream
- • Khiel's shampoo, dr bronner's soap, moisturizer
- • Toothbrush/toothpaste
- • Toiletpaper
- • Ibuprofen
- • Lip balm
- • Nail clippers/file
Eiry Bartlett
- FROM: Vancouver, BC, Canada
- DOB: 2015-08-09
- Single
- OCCUPATION: Owner/Designer - ARRAWORKS
- What was the genesis moment or inspiration for your upcoming adventure? I'd have to say it was the moment I saw the Blackburn Ranger call-out. This is exactly the kind of spontaneous change of course I thrive on: one minute you're settling in for a season of studio work, the next you're off cycling around the country. The Pacific Coast Highway is a route I've traveled many times in my life, now I get to experience it using my favourite mode of transport.
- Have you travelled by bike in the past? In recent months I've embarked on a couple bike-camping trips with Blackburn, but I had never traveled any further than a day of pedaling could take me until then. I never really thought that I could get into the idea of riding with a fully loaded bike. I'd certainly traveled with my bike or rented a bike to tour a town, but the added weight of racks and bags had always been an obstacle, one I've most definitely overcome.
- What is your goal for the route? To explore, to meet new people, to have fun, hopefully to make it all the way to Mexico, and to photograph the whole experience. For me, this isn't just about cycling down a highway with a pretty view. I want to expand on the traditional Pacific Coast Route, adding in some detours of the off-road variety, back-country camping, investigating the places that my previous road trips never let me see. You're pretty damn free when you're on a bike tour and I want to make the most of it. Cycling really is heaven for me.
- What do you hope to get out of this journey? I think the point of any adventure is to challenge oneself. I mean, the point is to have fun, but you gotta push your boundaries to really feel like you've made the most of it. This won't be the longest solo journey I've ever embarked on but it's the longest that will be powered entirely by me, the first that depends on my strength and endurance to complete. My life has completely changed in the last year; I left my full-time job to go freelance, I moved cities, I've made a whole new group of friends, and I've really started trusting myself when it comes to knowing what will make me happy. This trip seems like another step towards feeling like I'm actually living my life. Whether I finish or not, at least I'm trying things I've never done before.
