Castle Rock to Portland. Day 3

So, we set off from the hotel and eventually the sun comes out for the first time, then goes back in, then it goes warm, then it goes cold. The constantly changing conditions meant it was plenty of stops or slow downs to sort jackets or arm warmers out. The ride was fairly pleasant, the snow capped peaks of the Washington State mountains remained in visual contact with us, the lol-o-meter was high and we just cruised through the miles pretty easy. We stopped off for photos or to check things out. At one point we came across a motorbike display ramp, it literally took seconds for Seth to show his complete bike control skills. I was mesmerised at times as he mashed through traffic, effortlessly flicking and hopping his roadbike about. Taking off his backpack, catching waterbottles at high speed, it's easy to underestimate these skills but on a road bike sometimes the seemingly easy manoverurers can leave little room for error and even with his huge headtube he had immaculate control of his machine. Seth was our experienced roadie. As we progressed it was clear from the road signs and traffic conditions that we were approaching our first city of the trip, Portland.
Seth had arranged for us to stay at his friends house, even though he was on a fishing boat in Anartica he was still cool enough to let us stay at his house. It turns out the guy, Scott Whittlake, was a legendary snowboarder, Seth said he was an inspirational dude, for that comment to uttered from half, 'the kings of adventure' meant he was obviously an amazing dude. I must remember to check the internet out to see who he is.
Taj turned up. It was good to see him, the trip was starting to tie up loose ends. You could sence his excitement and optimisim to get his bike on the road, he laughed at us being the experienced roadies and perhaps had some self doubts on keeping up with us but we had already worked out we were a crew on the road and we'd get through whatever as a crew. The night was filled with good food, beer, washing, firepits, friends and talk of prince albert piercings. Andy Forgash, Shad Johnson and Ryan Barrett all called round to hang out and encourage our bike adventure. It was a welcome relief to meet such rounded BMX and skate dudes, roadbikes weren't disregarded in their thoughts or ideals.
As we went to sleep on various couches, we were 73 miles and 1 day behind our potential schedule, and it felt liberating to know that we had no strict schedule to keep.