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Get your cycling shorts ready. We’re going on a bike ride from SEAttle, WA to KEY West, FL this summer. I hope you’re more prepared than I am!

I plan on leaving June 13 from Anacortes, WA which is about 80 miles north of Seattle. I just like the Sea2Key thing so I say starting from Seattle.

I don’t really have a set time to finish but I am guessing that it will take somewhere around 10 weeks to finish this 4,800 mile trek. My only important timing is to be in my hometown of Bristol, SD on July 9. The Bristol High All-School Reunion is July 10 and I will be there. Hopefully no one has to do a recon mission to pick me up somewhere short of there!

My bike was assembled and functional last Friday. I tried to assemble myself but I required a little (OK…lots) of help. Fortunately I had ordered the bike through Courtney Spratt and bikesdirect.com. They have a shop about 10 miles from me and they finished the assembly for me and ensured that everything was operating. Much thanks to Courtney and her staff in Jax Beach.

I’ve just been riding around our neighborhood. Pedaled 9 miles/day on consecutive days and my butt survived so I’m feeling good. I only have to do that 8 times a day with about 25 lbs of saddle bags added on going over and down mountains while trying to avoid traffic. Piece of cake!

I’m planning to do a couple 40 mile rides on a busy road to get used to being near traffic. I’ve got a good helmet and I will have a rear view mirror attached to it. Don’t worry, Mom!

As you can imagine, I’ve still got a bit of preparing to do but wanted to make sure you’re all ready to roll!

Roll on!

Just Pete

I really hope each of you, your family, and your friends are doing well during these trying times.

Pretty crazy times. huh?  I can’t wait for those murder hornets.  You couldn’t even make this stuff up!!

Things seemed to be much happier a year ago.  We were walking across Spain and Portugal one smile at a time.  Remember?  That was fun.

I put together this video to help you remember to not worry and be happy.  We’ll all get through whatever is thrown at us by sticking together.

Happy trails, buen Camino, and, most importantly. PEACE!

We got some exciting news from K9’s For Warriors last month.  You have donated enough for us to sponsor another Warrior and K9.  It was so gratifying to see Adam and Blaze graduate 15 months ago.  We are beyond excited to have this honor once again.  Thanks to all of you for your support.

Now, we just need to come up with a name for this next K9.  Blaze was named for the white blazes which marked the Appalachian Trail.  I’m hoping for something related to the Camino de Santiago.  If you have an idea, please let me know.

I get asked on a frequent basis what my next adventure will be.  My response has been that I have a few things in mind but that I wasn’t ready to commit to anything yet.  Well, I’m ready now.

Get your bike tires inflated and strap on your helmet.  We’re going on a little bike ride.  In the summer of 2021, we’ll hop on a bike and ride from Anacortes, WA (very NW corner of continental US) to Key West, FL.

It’s somewhere around 4,700 miles so should be a challenge.  I have as much cycling experience as I did hiking experience before the AT.  That would be 0.  I have ridden a bike before so it shouldn’t be a problem!!

One of the highlights of this ride will be travelling along Hwy 12 in South Dakota from Mobridge to Ortonville, MN.  I will pass right through my hometown of Bristol, SD!  I’ll also ride right near our current home in Ponte Vedra Beach, FL.

Thanks once again for all the support you have given me in these adventures.  I can never tell each of you how much that means  to me.  I look forward to taking you along once again.

Happy trails.

If you know the amount you pledged and the charity you pledged to, please follow instructions below.

I will follow up with the rest of you (Pete’s Choice or unsure of amount pledged) next week.

For Sun Dial Manor: Make check payable to Sun Dial Manor and mail to me at address below. If you’re in Bristol and just want to drop it off, that’s fine, too!

For K9’s For Warriors: Make check payable to K9’s For Warriors and mail to me at address below.

For the Down Syndrome Program at Boston Children’s Hospital: Make check payable to Boston Children’s Hospital and mail to me at address below. Please put Mae’s Market in memo section.

Send checks to:
Jeff Peterson
189 Laurel Lane
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082

I’ll pass the checks on to organizations when I get a big batch!!

Thanks once again for your support.

Just Pete

That makes 3,001 miles in the past 28 months. That’s really a long way if you think about it.

Walked through Vila do Conde. Made me think of the Conde Spartans!

This Conde just has nicer beaches than Conde, SD.

The “Hola” smile of the day. She enjoys working in her garden and it shows.

I’ve seen several of these portable libraries parked near the beach. What a great idea!

Labruge was my target destination but the room I booked was actually a mile further south in the small fishing village of Lavre.

The majority of the walk today was along the beach. You can see the path in left and center of this picture.

It was a pretty non-eventful end to this hike. Met the lady I’m renting room from at her sister’s restaurant (a block off Camino). Felt a bit like Forrest Gump. Then one day I just stopped walking.

Did celebrate a bit. Had a few beers at a local bar. Bought a round for the house (myself and 2 guys who spoke no English!).

This guying is grilling sardines (right). The kebob is peppers, onion, and octopus. I didn’t try either. I do like hake. It’s a flaky white ocean fish. Very good grilled.

I am going to just relax in Lavre for 3 days and then Porto for 4 days.

I’ll be in touch regarding your pledges in a couple days.

Thanks to all for your support and encouragement. I appreciate it.

Hope you enjoyed the hike.

Happy trails and buen Camino!

The mornings have begun with a pretty dense fog in the early AM. Burns off by 11:00. Reminds me of June gloom in San Diego.

I’m taking every beach route possible so pretty much walking through lots of beach towns. They’re getting closer together as I get closer to Porto.

Lots of fishermen, boats, and seafood.

Some of the towns along here have the look and feel of an “Old Florida” beach town. Modest sized, nice homes on decent sized lots next to the ocean. Nice! Esposende (Kris notes) seemed particularly nice.

Some of the beaches are getting a bit more crowded. Lots of tour buses bringing people to this wide open stretch of beach for the day.

The “Hola” smile of the day is me incognito. Well, it could be if I don’t stop walking pretty soon.

They are big fans of the cabanas on the beach. Cabanas are pretty thick in spots. They also use smaller, very portable ones with no roof for wind protection.

I’ve eaten quite a few salads but not seen much lettuce growing. Been wondering where that occurred. Found out today.

The towns are so frequent now that I’m not carrying any water at all anymore. 3 miles is a long stretch between towns.

Póvoa de Varzim is a fairly large city with a wide beachfront. There are lots of small bars in the sand. By lots, I mean somewhere near 100 in a 3 mile stretch. Small, casual. Most tents. Some more permanent structures. My big question…where are all the bathrooms? There is no plumbing in most, if not all, of them. Things that make you go, hmm?

9 mile walk tomorrow and then I’m done. Ready to be finished and get home. Missing my wife and my retired bum life!

Happy trails and buen Camino!

Your generosity has officially exceeded my expectations. Your pledges to date total $41.61/mile. That means we will have raised more than $33,000 this hike for the charities I’m hiking for. Thank you so much. I am humbled by your support.

This is Aucke Ilff, my host for the past 2 evenings. He is a retired fishing boat captain from Amsterdam and a really nice guy. He has a nice house, too!

Going to day care during the summer must be pretty fun. You get to see your friends and it’s recess all day long!

It was a bit foggy along the beach this AM.

I came across this potential “Funniest Home Video”. Big RV is stuck in sand. Owner recruits guy to drive 4 wheeler to pull him out. I watched recruitee get instructions on how to operate 4 wheeler. He had no clue!

I was expecting something bad to happen. The RV was still stuck when I left but nothing eventful happened. I guess that’s kind of good.

Saw several of these along coast today. At first thought it was a small lighthouse. No light however! Stone grain bin? They have small doors at ground level but I didn’t notice anything higher up.

Mussel hunting.

This bar is right across from the marina in Viana do Castelo. I am guessing this is the spot where the local fishermen meet to discuss the day’s catch.

I’d much rather take a ferry than walk across this busy bridge on that narrow path. Driving and pedestrian traffic each direction. Got a bit crowded meeting someone walking other direction.

I thought about using Aucke or the smiley faced rock as “Hola” smile of the day. I’ve got to use this one however. It’s from a week or 2 back but I really got a laugh out of this lady!!

Portuguese longhorn.

This tile art of a “Santiago Peregrino” (Pilgrim) was on the gate of a house.

Pretty dramatic rock mountains right close to coast.

25 more miles to go.

Happy trails and buen Camino!

Spent a good portion of the day exploring Caminha. Got a ride into town (10 miles) from a local guy.

Caminha is surrounded by Atlantic Ocean to the west, a river on the north, and another river to east.

This is the “Hola” smile of the day. He had lots of fun chasing the pigeons around the plaza.

Well, he had lots of fun until he face planted a few minutes after this.

There are some distinct word differences between Spanish and Portuguese. Apparently only the Spanish words I actually know are different. For example, gracias (thank you) is obrigado in Portuguese.

The good news is that more people speak English in Portugal. Students are required to learn a second language (English or French).

Had lunch in the big central plaza area of town.

Took the train back out to the burbs late in the afternoon.

Got my plan made up for last 10 days I’m here. Over the next 3 days I will hike to Labruge. That is 43 miles away and will put me at my goal of 810 miles.

I plan to spend 3 nights in Labruge, walk to Porto, spend 4 nights, and then fly home on July 24. Anxious to be heading home.

Happy trails and buen Camino!

The Camino left A Guarda by going right through the center of Saturday’s swap meet and market. Not my favorite type of scene. I only paused long enough to take this picture. 

Good morning, Portugal!  This river is the border between Spain and Portugal. 

Today’s walk is pretty much entirely right next to ocean. Nice paved pathway for a long stretch. Beautiful place to exercise if you lived here. 

At one point walked through the grazing area for a bunch of goats and sheep. 

OK, OK, I know I’m not technically on the Camino but give me a break. All this little guy wanted to see was me getting gone!!

This is a small coastal town, Vila Praia de Âncora, just south of Caminha.  Very nice, expensive looking, town.  No lodging here, either. 

Other parts were board walks on the beach. The walks are really nice in most parts but they are apparently difficult to maintain (loose, broken, missing boards). There were also small areas where vegetation was trying to take over and areas where sand dunes had taken over. Couple areas where sand dunes were like 5’ snow drifts across walkway. 

The weather the entire time I’ve been along the western coast of Spain has been extremely moderate. Sunny and temperatures in the 70’s. Similar to San Diego except a bit more humidity. 

This guy is putting up hay the old fashioned way. Raking by hand and then pitching it up onto bed. 

Nice pastureland. 

It’s easy to see why this was referred to as the Coast of Death. It is so rocky that if your boat came close to the coast at the wrong place, you were probably going to be swimming (best case). 

The “Hola” smile of the day. Caught her a little by surprise but I don’t think she minded!

After many years I’ve come to accept and even appreciate traffic circles. Now traffic semicircles?  I don’t get this. 

A Guarda is the southern most Galician port city in Spain. We’re about 4 miles from Portugal here. 

There are lots of really old boats tied up in the harbor and being used. Saw a couple sailboats that looked like they were at least 100 years old… and lots of work to sail!