#2 Kicking the States; feeling overwhelmed with the task ahead

by | Last modified on Oct 23, 2023 | Adventure, Kicking the States

On day 3 of our scoot we found ourselves on a beautiful winding road called Chuckanut that meandered up and down through the forrest, occasionally offering views of the coast. I felt like I was on a proper American road trip. After a particular long hill we stopped at a view point and got chatting to a friendly couple Joan and Tim who were travelling for work and were amazed by our challenge. They later donated $25 to our fundraising efforts.

I have loved the reaction of the Americans to our scoot. My favourite was a rugged looking guy who caused a jam on a highway to slow down and yell “where are you heading to?”. When I yelled back Mexico he gave me the rock sign and yelled “F***, you guys are AWESOMEEEE” before speeding off.

Thanks Dave from Abovet it Media for the awesome drone shots!

Gil’s choice of lunch – avocado with a smashed crisp and ranch dressing filling…mmmm

At lunch we looked on google maps and saw there was a campsite by the beach which was a good distance away. When we got there we saw it was full but decided to try our luck anyway. The lady told us that state campers never turn away hikers or bikers so as we were somewhere in the middle we got a space….and at a reduced rate, $6 each. Perfect! It was funny camping in between all the huge RV vans, some of which are literally the size of a house.

We headed to the beach to watch the sunset and managed to get some nice snaps. It was so peaceful.

Such good views

The views seemed to only be getting better and better each day. We had a great time crossing Deception Pass, a huge bridge, although the car behind us was less pleased and gave us the finger as we passed. We were scooting as fast as we could!!

Thanks to Dave who had responded to a post Gil put on a local drone Facebook group, we even got drone footage of the crossing. We wanted to get some high up shots for our film and fundraising talks. Amazingly a day later, Khoa and his sweet family Evelyn and Gemma pulled us over – they’d also seen the Facebook post and as Khoa had his drone with him we got a second drone shot. It means we now have some decent content that we can share with media and also at our fundraising talks.

I look forward to sharing the footage on my Facebook and Instagram page soon….make sure you’re following!

Port Townsend

I listened to my podcast for the first time on Day 5 and it put me in a very reflective mood. I’ve been thinking lots about the work I do with Love Her Wild and where I want to take it next. It was a great distraction and just what I needed to get through our biggest day yet, 55km.

We’d arranged to stay that night with Ricki who we’d found on the warm showers app and who again took us in at a days notice. Her house was amazing, with a garden that reminded me of the one from ‘The Secret Garden’ and a view that instantly made me feel relaxed.

Ricki is such a cool lady – she’s worked on a Woody Allen film, lived on a boat, in New York and San Fransisco, volunteered in a Kibbutz and also worked as a tech programmer. She also happens to be incredibly generous and caring.

Also staying with Ricki was a dutch boat builder called Kees. We were fed a delicious spaghetti dinner and shown around the town of Port Townsend (which I loved!!), checking out the boats in the harbor. It was such a great little place with real character. Warm Showers has connected us with such interesting people and it felt like we were spending an evening with friends we have known forever!

A plummet in my mood

We had a rest day planned in Seattle but waking up on our last scoot day I had zero motivation. My body hurt (especially my legs and lower back) from the physical challenge of scooting. Mentally I was tired from working out our plan each day and the constant not knowing where we would sleep each night along with coordinating talks for later in the trip and press. It’s a lot of work and I don’t want to turn down any opportunity that could lead to a donation.

People’s reactions to our scoot has been really positive but it’s in human nature to think of the worst. In cafes and stops along the way, people will often tell us how huge the climbs are that we have coming up or how dangerous some of the roads are. I really struggle with pushy advice telling us we have to go this way or have to change our gear. I know most of the time the person is just trying to help but it just leaves a feeling that we are doing it wrong or that we won’t be able to complete our challenge.

The combination of a few negative encounters and the lack of motivation and fundraising got me in a real downer. I also had in the back of my head that from now on we would need to increase our mileage by 6 miles a day (which is a lot on a scooter!!!). The task ahead suddenly felt all very overwhelming.

By the time we reached Charlie and Carol our warm shower hosts in Seattle (they’ve hosted over 50 cyclists!!), I was knackered.

Seattle and the most AMAZING moment

Thanks to Tours Northwest we had a day off planned and a tour to see the best of Seattle and I’m so glad we did. It was just what we needed. We spent the morning being driven around the best sights (aaaah to sit….such luxury) and grabbing lunch in the famous Pike Place Market where we saw the first ever Starbucks.

The famous Seattle gum wall. Yuk!

In the afternoon we went to the Boeing tour and to the biggest (by volume) building in the world where they build all the Boeing planes. WOW!!!! It was seriously mind blowing. The scale of the building and the complexity of putting the planes together…..I’ve never seen anything like it. 6 million pieces go into building a Boeing plane. Like….how did that become a thing that actually then flies?!

Remember…if it’s not Boeing, we’re not going. Cheeeese!

At the end of the tour my spirits were lifted and my body feeling great having had a break from scooting. We jumped off the bus with 2 other couples, Margaret and Norm from Florida and Chris and Bob from New Zealand and all decided to head to Elver’s for fish and chips (or rather beer and chips for Gil and I being veggie!).

I was having a great time chatting and sharing stories and of course we told them what we were doing in the States. We had to leave them sooner than I would have liked as we needed to catch the last ferry back to where we were staying. As we left Norm handed us a $100 donation, Chris said they’d make a donation online and all of them insisted that they would buy our food and drinks. I was so touched I literally wanted to cry!! The kindness of it all was just so overwhelming.

it was just the boost that I needed. I felt so ready for the task ahead now, no matter what the challenges or how big the hills! There’s lots wrong with the world and our little fundraiser is an attempt to do something for those children we met who have so little….even if it just a drop in the ocean, your donations are actually making a difference to real lives. Thanks to our recent donations (including Caroline, Jane, Mummy B, Seanna, Trudi and Cucuruchos) online and also to our hosts Carol and and Charlie who handed us $100 as we left, we have now passed the $1,000 mark!!!

Next target, $2,000….please do help us get there. Thank you for your support!


This expedition is being supported by Vivo Life!

Bex Band

Bex Band

Welcome to my blog! I'm an award-winning adventurer, bestselling author and founder of Love Her Wild. My work and adventures have featured in BBC, The Guardian and Condé Nast. I love nothing more than travelling and getting outdoors on solo and family adventures. Using my years of experience, I provide advice and inspiration on various topics, including wild camping, charity challenges, glamping and travel itineraries.

4 Comments

  1. Elizabeth Bentley

    You are doing so well, a truly amazing woman.

    Reply
    • Bex Band

      You are too kind a Elizabeth. Thank you!! X

      Reply
  2. Daniel Partner

    We’re looking forward to meeting you tomorrow here in Coos Bay, Oregon where you’ll be staying with our friend Jay. I’m making the marinara sauce for supper! — Daniel and Margaret Partner

    Reply
    • Bex Band

      Looking forward to meeting you too Daniel and Margaret….and trying out this sauce!! We’ve got a tough day ahead scooting in the rain so this will keep us going 🙂

      Reply

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