Day 1- Part 1

[Abe's note: Steve is on a rest day in Spokane today and posting about the past few days of his trip. This post is about his first day--Saturday, June 19']

Hi there, everyone- Today we met at Holy Spirit Lutheran Church in Kirkland, WA at about 7:30 a.m.-- in typical McCloskey fashion, arriving after everyone else. But we were pleasantly surprised by both of our pastors, Pastor Mike and Pastor Katie, Pastor Katie's husband, fellow riders Pete Schnebele, our chiropractor and first corporate sponsor, Dr. Green and his friend Jorge, Susan and Brian Worthen, Fred Wicks, Ross Taylor and Joe (sorry I didn't get your last name) who has lived for years in Honduras, is a supporter of Association for a More Just Society (AJS) and came to cheer us on.

Prayers and Blessings

Prayer, a hymn (dangerous-- considering the fact that I can't sing a note on key), a psalm for the traveler read by Pastor Katie, a blessing of our bicycles and for our safety, especially important in my case considering I was hit by a car last week and, a blessing of the ministry that is AJS and ASJ. I cried.

They're off!!

I could tell that this was going to be a special day from the get-go since the weather prediction was for rain and we seemed to be skirting much of anything that looked it, despite the threatening clouds. Then, when we turned onto the Burke-Gilman trail, early in our ride and ran into three great fans who were waiting to cheer us on: Colleen, Jesse and their newborn Wyatt. I was so taken by surprise that I reached out for a high five then blew past them until I gathered up the mindset to stop and chat and ask them to participate in a "photo op." Our first fans. Yipee!!

We continued out toward Fall City and were met by our long-time Dutch friend, Freddie, who although I've never seen him on a bicycle, promised he'd meet us on one. When our connection didn't turn out as expected, he met us by car at a nearby Shell station. Hugs and kisses and well wishes abound.

The approach to Fall City had us feeling more than a few sprinkles as the clouds grew a bit nastier but this is Seattle and we are well capable of handling a little mist. Just outside Fall City we came upon the first of what I am sure will be many "Road Closed" and "Detour" signs. It turned out that the detour was for a running race and street fair. So, we took advantage by crossing the barriers and working our way toward town-- especially, talking with locals about our hopes for finding a bakery. It appears that there is no bakery in Fall City (an entrepreneurial endeavor likely to find great success some day for the right person) but we were introduced to a street vendor's elephant ears with crusty brown sugar and cinnamon. Mmm...mmm..mmm... Oh, the joys of long-distance cycling and how it can enable one the freedom to eat pretty much anything.

[Please note that I will be posting plenty of photos but happen to not have my camera cord to connect at the moment].