The group gathered at the appointed place and we rode down to the dock for our first ferry ride across Puget Sound to Bainbridge Island. The riding began and we all spread out to ride at our own pace. Mostly back roads took us up the island through the quaint village of Port Gamble with its well kept row of clapboard houses, all with at least 8 steps up to the front door. Crossing the Hood Canal Bridge with its narrow shoulder and expansion joints placed at the proper wheel grabbing angle was a challenge for some. We continued north, up the Quimper Peninsula to Pt. Townsend. The correct route took everyone along the hilly shore with plenty of water views, but having biked that way before, I went up the center and enjoyed valley views of farms and animals. After setting up my tent on the football field on the edge of downtown, I wondered through the artsy community and met up later with my fellow riders for dinner.
It was still dark when the sound of many zippers zipping became the second day wake up call. I guess most of riders were very eager to get going. Another ferry started the day, this time over Admiralty Inlet to Whidbey Island. I was riding with a couple of guys most of the day. They kept me entertained and riding faster than I would have by myself. We rode tree lined rolling hills catching many views of the water through Coupeville and Oak Harbor on our way up the island to Anacortes where we caught our second ferry of the day over to Orcas Island. The ferry ride brought us amazing views as we sailed by some of the other islands in the San Juan Island group. There were little secluded beaches surrounded by trees, I could imagine having my own hide-a-way if I had piles of money. I was tired of cycling at this point so the hills probably seemed harder than they were on the way to our destination. I was very happy to get to our campsite for the night with a wonderful view of the water.
The next day our ferry didn’t leave until afternoon, so we shuttled in the van to the top of Mt. Constitution, the highest point on the islands. It should have been an incredible view, but we saw mostly fog. We got back down to camp and pedaled back to the ferry terminal for a fairly long cruise to Vancouver Island, Canada. A very short ride on the other side over a sizeable hill got us to our camp for the night. We all pitched in money for a staff person to go into town for beer and wine. Most of us stayed up late talking and laughing, the group was really coming together.
After a good night’s sleep we were off to Victoria; again a short ride which some of us made even shorter (and flatter) by finding a waterside bike trail. We rode the tree lined trail over small creeks on our way into town. After cleaning up we then had the whole afternoon to explore the beautiful city - the harbor lined lamposts with baskets of cascading flowers, the Empress Hotel, museums and science center were all great places to visit. A bunch of us stayed out late and probably annoyed the rest of the group when we settled in for the night in our “indoor camping,” a school gym.
We were able to leisurely get to breakfast the next day because our next ferry across the Strait of Juan De Fuca to Pt. Angeles didn’t leave until 11 a.m. During the long ferry ride I took the opportunity to talk to some of the more experienced bicycle tourists. Two couples in the group had gone a year-long, all-over-the-world bike trip, I knew there was a bunch I could learn from these people. Their tour account and encouragement for me to tour had me thinking, “What ever happened to that dream of mine to bicycle across the country?” Then is was back to reality, off the ferry and cycling again. There were some rolling hills to get past, but I was feeling great, moving along watching the trees go by. I had a brief rest stop at scenic Lake Crescent and then it was a wind assisted ride into the logging town of Forks. Rain threatened, so most people opted for the “indoor camping” again, this time in a church.
No ferrys and 70 miles to go the next day, probably the best day of the trip. I rode by myself setting out in somewhat misty conditions. The route zagged back out to the coast, I was feeling good, letting my mind float to whatever thought came along, work and reality were nowhere to be found. When I got out to the ocean I spent some time exploring around Ruby Beach. Its a wonderful little spot with rock haystacks to observe, tide pools to ponder and a whole Pacific Ocean to wonder about. The route stayed along the coast until our Kalaloch lunch stop. By then the sun had come out and we could enjoy the beach until it was time to get moving again. Turning back inland I joined some people I hadn’t rode with yet. One gal from New York had only bought a bike about a month ago, I was surprised at how well she did. The group rode a bit more slowly than I would have liked, but the company made it very enjoyable. Our camp that night was at Lake Quinault, in the Olympic National Park, home to many huge trees.
Cool weather and a decent sized climb greeted us first thing in the mornings and then it was just a few rollers as we headed back toward the ocean again. The sun came out by mid-morning, making it a great day to cycle. There was another tiny passenger ferry to catch in Ocean Shores, but I didn’t know the schedule so I pedaled along at my usual pace only to get to the ferry with a lot of time to kill, but not really enough time to go back into town and look around. The baggage truck was there, with snacks spread out to us to nibble on to pass the time. I noted the seasoned bike touring couples were in the truck packing small backpacks. I wondered what they were doing, but didn’t give it much thought. When the ferry finally came we all helped each other lift our bikes into the boat and we were on our way across the opening to Grays Harbor. We were dropped off in Westport and only had a few miles to go to our camp and the end of our ride. Then I figured it out, the truck had to drive around the harbor and couldn’t leave until all of the riders had taken the ferry. The seasoned tourists had packed clean clothes and could take showers, while the rest of us had to wander around in our skanky bike lycra – another lesson learned – think ahead! That night we had a goodbye group banquet in town and most people stayed in the bar after to watch the karaoke performances of many of our staff, a very hilarious way to end our trip.
I decided that I liked bike touring, seeing and getting places under my own power. I kept thinking about my dream I had to bicycling across the country in my younger days. I relised I still wanted to fulfill that dream, how would I do it? Oh someday. Someday…
I went to work on Monday and told my workmates about my trip, most of them didn’t understand and didn’t know what to say to me. The day after was 9-11. I watched the plane fly into the World Trade Center and then collapse on TV. I finally went to work in a daze, wondering what was going to happen next? What control did we have? I finally said to myself, this is it, time to fulfill that dream. Within weeks I had signed up for Southern Cross, a trip from Disneyland to Disney World starting the middle of April. It was amazing how once I made the decision to go, everything fell into place, problems just took care of themselves all and all I had to do was train.
