Day 4 - First Flat Tire

Day 4 - Thursday, July 3

Ellensburg to Yakima —42 mi, 68 km

Today we have been riding from Ellensburg to Yakima, just 40 miles (64 kilometers). This was a short ride, going through a beautiful canyon. We went basically downhill, with from time to time a short climb. A river in the middle of the canyon and we followed it downstream. A dry area. Left and right mountains with hardly any vegetation, only short grasses and shrubs. Sometimes steep rocks forming a wall of basalt. Close to the river some trees with many birds. We left early this morning (7 a.m.) and were around 11 a.m. already at the next camp. We are staying here at a Christian school, and our tents are on the grass in front of the building.

I had my first flat tire today, but I had it on the best place you can imagine – just when I turned into the school parking. I could walk the last few meters, and then change the tire in the shade of the school building. To be honest, I had been fearing that first flat, because I had never changed a tire of a road bike. I have always been on a mountain bike in Haiti. Even the valve of the tube of these bikes is different from a mountain bike. That was my first miracle today. The next one was early this morning when I packed. My laptop fell on the ground in the gear truck. There was even a piece broken off the corner of the casing, but it still works. Praise the Lord!

Greetings from the Sea-to-Sea tour.