Well, today we're in Mount Vernon, Washington. Scott and I found a new sport after another long day in the saddle. First, we stayed at an Episcopalian church in Seattle, so this morning we attended service, and gave our presentation afterwards. Of course, all of this means we get a late start, but it's ok, we were in Seattle. After about 7 crashes today (hopefully we've learned how to negotiate railroad tracks and curbs a little better), we arrived at Lake McMurray to eat and swim. It was getting a little late, and I wasn't planning on swimming, however, Werkle jumped in, and after a brief swim, made a statement, "Who's gonna knock me of of this big blue thing?" Well, a little inspiration, and soon a handful of us were in the water, and we had a nice wrestling match. I was sporting my bibs for wrasslin style, however, I wasn't in my element. Slippery wood and a high center of gravity left me no match for the big boys, despite years of training with older brothers. Nevertheless, we all had a good time, and after a meal, rode in to Mount Vernon. It was in the wrestling room that Scott discovered the springboard. Being a wrestling room, the walls and floors are well padded to provide some protection, so naturally, inspiration hit, and soon we were launching off of the springboard into the walls. It was fun, but I'm a little sore from all the day's activities. I'm just glad we get a day off in Vancouver.

Tomorrow is the Canada line. It'll be cool crossing the line together into a new country, even if it does mean mosquitoes that resemble 747's. Yeah right... it's all downhill too. Which reminds me, if ever you wish to inquire about the terrain in an area, don't ask anyone who hasn't ridden a bike on it. Always expect a tough day, and always expect it to take 10 hours. That way, you won't be disappointed when the road turns to the sky for the twentieth time. OK, sorry about the little distraction there, it's been a while since I've been able to make it here, so I'm filling in giant holes of time with random useless information. Back to Canada. California involved no rest stops the entire day, with a brutal split in the pack by the end, Oregon involved a pair of missing tights, a missing person at 7:00, followed by a frantic search for a helmet, then the seatpost, and a chase that led to the defeat of a brilliant strategy by 5 feet. I'm just glad I was at the start line when the race started. The Washington line involved a broken pedal, and two missing persons at 5:00am. While Tommy was checking out Portland at 10:30am, the rest of us were on our way to getting there at 5:30pm.

So. Now we have Canada. I should be sleeping right now, but I must spend more time here to try to include more trip. I felt strong today, but every day is a new day, and the end of this one was spent jumping against the wall. Go brilliancy! We'll see what happens, but remember: it's not a competition.

Well, every working day, I'm reminded of Austin. UPS talks about worldwide commerce frequently, but this trip has shown me a little more of what Brown can do for us. There might have been 1 day where I haven't seen a UPS truck on a weekday, but then again, that might have been a Saturday. I learned a little about the company also in Olympia. Evidently, UPS was started in Seattle, as a bike messenging service. There's a UPS museum in Seattle where the first store was, but I took our rest day in Seattle off, and opted to rest up a bit. I definately feel like I've missed out on not seeing much of Seattle, but feel I've made the right choice, and will return sometime, along with another trip to San Francisco. I'm sure someone has already told the tale of the Contra-virus, but I figure I'll tell my version of it. Chapter 3: Steve vs. the Contra.

*Flashback*

So I'm riding with the front group into Gilroy, California, and after a sprint into the city, we decide to stop and get some food donated. After spotting a Chili's B-Hard's berserker alarm goes off, and he starts spouting the gospel of Chili's generousity in Austin, so we stroll in and end up getting three party platters donated. Still on the hunt for the ever-ravenous Texas 4000 machine, we head to Maui Tacos, where we get even more food donated. That night we were all stuffed, however, B-Hard and Doug first encountered the Contra. At the time, we didn't know what we were up against, disregarding Doug and Ben's ailing cries as those of classic food poisoning, alas, we had merely shook the hand of a villian in a clever disguise. It took it's time at first, waiting for Doug and Ben to go to the hospital to get the all clear sign before claiming it's next victim.

June 30th: We ride into Hayward, where we set up camp at Chris's Aunt's place, and proceed to explore San Fran a little, before heading over to Fisherman's Grotto #9. The whole group was meeting to have dinner there, but I was shocked, but impressed, as always, to see B-Hard there, ready to eat some seafood, after a bad night of violent illness. B-Hard is a kindred spirit in food consumption and competition, and can still make you work on the bike, even though he has asthma. He needs no computer to tell him how fast he's going, because he knows it's not fast enough. So I sit next to B-Hard at dinner, and watch and laugh as he endures the first few bites of "the worst snapper he's ever had," then sends it back to the kitchen in favor of some crab cakes. Well anyhow, after a night of walking around San Francisco, we head back to Chris's Aunt's, and fall asleep, ready for a day off.

July 1st: We woke up refreshed and ready to explore more of San Francisco. At first, I planned on hanging back and doing some needed bike maintenence, but after some persuasion, I hopped in the van to go along with the crew. It was Chris and Doug's cousin Xiaorai's birthday, so she was with us, and we stopped at the Grand Palace in Chinatown for some lunch. I was looking forward to some barbeque later on in the evening, so chose not to eat, but Werkle had me eat one coconut shrimp. After spending the rest of the afternoon walking around San Fran with Doug, Meg, Melissa, Suchin, and Xaiorai, we headed back to Hayward. On the BART back, I had a little headache, but thought nothing of it. When we got back, I really wasn't feeling good, but thought my body would work itself out with a little rest, so rested a little on the couch. I should've been hungry, but I wasn't, so I was a little worried. What had that one shrimp done to me? I ended up moving to a bed, and woke up a little later, but too many people talking about barbeque led me to seek refuge in the bathroom. I passed out again, waking up in 45 minute intervals to do Contra's bidding, but still thought the sicknesses were coincidental. When I woke a little later, I shared the bathroom with Don, but didn't know much else. By morning, Sunny and Stuart were added to Contra's list, along with Chris's little brother, George. I was in no shape to ride, still making bathroom visits, devoid of anything nutritious in my stomach, so had to stay the day in Hayward. That had to have been one of the worst nights of my life, but I survived, and we recouperated that day, until the van came to pick us up to drive us to Point Arena the next day. We made a stop at Bodega Bay to add Paul to the van team, and finally arrived at Point Arena. I was feeling better, and rode the next day to Mendocino for the Fourth of July. Well, to trim the story, Forrest, Chris and Doug's other little brother got the Contra, and it also spread to Mrs. Condit, and Chris's Grandma before finally disappearing. We dubbed it the Contra Virus in reference to it's cool-sounding-ness, coinciding with a wierd obsession with Contra for Super-Nintendo. So watch yourself, and remember if the Contra attacks: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right, B,A, start.

I think I'm done for now because it's my bed time, so enjoy this entry, for it might be my last for a while. Maybe I'll win the longest entry award.

-Steve