Traveler’s Journal
About the presentation:
When: 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 11
Where: Sequim High School library, 601 N. Sequim Ave.
Cost: Suggested $5 donation (adults); 18 and younger, free
Presenter: Nick Batchellor
Presentation: “Freewheeling”
by Nick Batcheller
For the Sequim Gazette
I open my eyes and peer out from underneath my jacket toward my feet. Lying on the floor across from me, Nick is curled up using his jacket to cover his head as well. Wedged between seats and the cold metal wall, struggling to stay warm and trying to shield our eyes from the rows of lights beaming down off the ceiling of the observation car, we struggle to get some shut-eye.
It is 4 a.m. and we are 12 hours into a train ride to Whitefish, Mont., with sugarplums and single-track dancing in our heads.
I was on this train, because six years earlier, while on a cross-country bike ride, I met a man who got me excited about the idea of a multi-day, back-country bicycle journey. For years after that I had dreamt of putting together a group of close friends to share this journey with.
After many months of theoretical small talk and wavering, somehow four of us 30-something-year-old dudes deflected work, business ownership, kids, wives, finances, and other obligations, and ended up on this train with our mountain bikes and camping gear, headed toward the Canadian Rockies.
The Great Divide Mountain Bike Route dances back and forth over the Continental Divide from Banff, Alberta, to Antelope Wells, N.M. on the Mexican border. The northern portion of the route is regarded as the most breathtaking and grand and can be most tricky to negotiate due to the weather.
It is the longest mountain bike trail in the world and riddled with every type of road and trail. It is dirty, muddy, and buggy.
Before the trip I often imagined how epic it would be to roll together for eight hours a day on our bikes, side-by-side, laughing and catching up, letting all our worries wash away, spending entire days pedaling our rigs through areas only few people get to see, and stopping and camping where we wanted with no rules except for hydration and truth. Then one day I look up from the blur of passing dirt and rock beneath my tires and realize that it is happening, we are writing the story I had for so long been sketching.
I’m scared of a lot of things – rivers, spiders, cars, overcooked Brussels sprouts – but honestly, what scares me the most is saying, “I wish I would have” or “I talked about doing that for years but I just never got to it.” Sure, excuses are easy, but sacrifice is written in the prescription. “This ain’t no dress rehearsal.” In that sentiment this trip was a milestone because we all realized the importance of taking the time.
I will always remember the towering teeth of rock jutting from the earth and the glowing, blue glaciers hanging above the pristine lakes. I will certainly never forget catching that cutthroat trout in the Fording River or racing down miles of dirt roads at unsafe speeds, eating my friend’s dust. But most of all, what will never fade is the image I have of one afternoon, high on a pass, looking over at the glowing, collective satisfaction on the faces of my three best friends who set it all aside for a couple of weeks to discover themselves once again.
About the presenter:
I’ve always been drawn to far off places and to the solitude of those finds. The hunt has taken me all over both hemispheres; led by wonder, fueled by anticipation, and often laced with irresponsibility. After years of traveling together and multiple moves in search of our Eden, my girlfriend and I are excited to have found it here in Agnew. Relocating from Southern California three years ago, I’m constantly amazed by the Olympic Peninsula’s diversity and bounty. Working at my father’s company, Rainshadow Coffee Roasting, in Sequim, has allowed me to connect with the community. With a new baby on the way comes a whole new chapter in our lives and the gift of one more person to share this wondrous world of adventure and beauty with.
About the presentations
Traveler’s Journal is a presentation of the Peninsula Trails Coalition. All of the money raised is used to buy project supplies and food for volunteers working on Olympic Discovery Trail projects.
Shows start at 7 p.m. in the Sequim High School library at 601 N. Sequim Ave. Please note the change of venue: All shows are in the library, not the cafeteria as in previous years.
Suggested donation is $5 for adults. Youths 18 and under are welcome for free.
One selected photo enlargement will be given away each week as a door prize. Creative Framing is donating the matting and shrink wrapping of the door prize.
Call Dave Shreffler at 683-1734 for more information.
