A.K.A. Tour de Bogs

Our biggest concern before embarking on a mid-winter bike tour of the San Juan Islands was how we were going to keep our hands and feet warm and dry. The hands were initially solved by our fancy Bar Mitts which Jay installed on my Bridgestone – lovely and warm.  I was sad when Jay told me that these Bar Mitts don’t fit on my touring bike. Sad face.  So I packed at least three pairs of gloves and rain over mitts I use for skiing.

We were both worried about our feet. The temperatures were going to be in the high 30’s and low 40’s and it was no doubt going to rain.  Perfect for miserable feet.  Running out to the shed as part of the packing process, I wore my new red Bogs.  I took them off at the front door and it dawned on me – why not ride in Bogs.  So that is what we did. And, our feet were dry and mostly warm. Bogs are awesome!

We drove to Anacortes and left the car in the ferry parking lot. For $20 you can leave your car there for up to seven days – a good deal by any standards. We rode back into Anacortes where we stayed with our Warm Showers hosts – Al and Anne – two talented painters.  We were hosted in their studio apartment – which is a full apartment attached to their twin art studio.  The walls of the apartment and of their lovely home are decorated with their paintings – all for sale.  I am not much of an art critic – but I was very impressed with both of their work.

Al specializes in capturing migrant workers and Anne has a more whimsical take – both are beautiful –  check out their work here:  Alfred Currier and Anne Schreivogl 

After pizza and wine, Al and Anne helped me come up with a catchy title for the romantic comedy I wrote for a short story competition – we all laughed through many ideas.  A great start to our mini tour.

Postscript: April 7, 2016

I am happy to report that my short story submission earned an Honorable Mention in the NYC Midnight 2016 short story competition – first round.  I was excited about this unexpected outcome – I wish the advancing competitors luck as they continue the competition!  JP