RSVP

Last year I volunteered during RSVP (Ride Seattle to Vancouver & Party), which goes from Seattle to Vancouver, BC (north). It’s roughly 189 miles, so shorter than STP, but a tad hillier and a bit longer on the first day. This year I had planned to ride it on my bike.

Day 1

I woke up to a very rainy morning as I loaded up my bike and headed to the start line for RSVP. I put on waterproof pants, a semi-waterproof jacket, booties over my shoes and a rain cap over my helmet. The rain was coming down so hard that I was soaking wet within the first ten miles. I was NOT having any fun! I was downright miserable when I spotted a SAG vehicle, so I asked them if they could take me and my bike back to the start line. Once there, I loaded up, headed home, changed into dry clothes, then started to drive north to the rest stop in Arlington to see if they needed any volunteer help.

In Arlington, there were plenty of volunteers, but the rain had everyone feeling damp and chilled. I headed to Starbucks to purchase coffee to warm them up.

While at the rest stop, Lee, Cascade’s executive director, asked if I could pick up a propane bottle and take it to the Mount Vernon rest stop so his wife could set up the fire ring and allow cyclists to warm up a bit before continuing on.

I later arrived at the finish for day one in Bellingham and helped with the baggage pickup until Marlene finished riding. We were both going to a Warm Showers stay for the night. The host was also going to let me keep my car there until Monday so I could ride the next day.

Our Warm Showers host was wonderful! I took the bedroom upstairs and Marlene slept on a mattress in a window seat that was extra long.

Day 2

When I got up the next morning around 5am, it wasn’t because my alarm went off. It was because I heard Marlene moving around downstairs. I quickly dressed, packed my panniers and hooked them on my bike rack. The morning was slightly chilly, but beautiful. Once Marlene was ready, we rode our bikes to the start line for the day and headed north to Vancouver.

The weather turned out to be perfect and I really enjoyed the route! In Lynden, we were greeted with coffee and yogurt & blueberry parfaits, which made a great breakfast.

When I arrived at David Lam Park in Vancouver, it was starting to get hot. I hung out until I could load my bike onto the truck to get it back to Seattle, then called a Lyft to go to the hotel.

Once all the staff and volunteers were finished for the day, we met up at a sushi restaurant and had a fabulous time sharing stories, good food and drinks. It was a perfect end of the day!

I fell asleep quickly that night and had sweet bicycle dreams.

The next morning, Jean gave me a lift to Bellingham so I could pick up my car. Once back in Seattle, I collected my bike from the Cascade clubhouse and headed home.

I hope to ride RSVP again, but only if rain isn’t involved!