Today we continue our side trip ride while we wait for Greg and Lea. After leaving Lys's house (we will be back in a couple days) we headed towards the grocery store and decided to get some cereal and milk so we were nice and full for the day. It was pretty chilly this morning, but as the day went on there were periods where it was a little warmer. There were a couple rather long hills on the way out of Port Townsend in route to hwy 101, but nothing too strenuous. Unfortunatley there were a couple windy, narrow sections of road, but it still wasn't nearly as scary as when we rode through the Cooper Landing area on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska. When we got to the 101, there was more traffic, but there was also a nicer shoulder too. A few more hills continued as we dealt with the ever so popular rumble strips on the shoulder, oh how I have grown to dislike them so much. About 8 miles before reaching our first town, Sequim, a touring cyclist had caught up to us on one of the hills. His name was Mac and he was from Juneau, AK! He flew down to Seattle and is doing a sort of loop ride around the Olympic Peninsula before returning to Seattle. A few miles after meeting him, our maps indicated there was an alternate route, other than the busy 101, so we took that. It was so nice to be away from the traffic and actually be able to talk to Mac and be able to hear each other. From that side road, we were able to find a bike trail that took us all the way into town. There were a couple steep hills near the state park as the trail dipped down closer to the water and then came back out. We said our goodbyes in Sequim, since Mac was staying in town tonight and we would be continuing on to Port Angeles. Joe and I went to Safeway to get something different for lunch. We ended up making some mini bowtie pasta with alfredo sauce and enjoying some freshly made, still warm, french bread. It was so tastey! From Sequim, there was a bike path all the way to Port Angeles. It was flat for about the first 10 miles as it meandered through farm country, with cows and fields all around. For some reason, Joey's rear brake cable broke, so he only had his front left, but he thought that would be enough to get him to the bike shop in Port Angeles. Following that, the trail changed quite a bit and was now very hilly, and lots of really steep hills I might add. Going up all of those steep hills made our legs burn, which was good in a sense since we were probably still out of shape from the cruise. The one hill was labeled with a bicycle hill sign, and even had a switchback as we went down into a raveen, crossing a bridge at the bottom and then having to climb back out again. That one was so steep and long that I just couldn't do it. I got about 40 feet from the top and my legs just gave out, I had to walk the rest. About 5 miles later, the trail changed again. Now it was flatter again and was taking us out towards the water; that's when it got really cold. As we approached the waterfront the fog was very thick, making only a little bit of the water right near the shore visible. At one point the trail took us in a big loop around the water treatment plant. As we were coming around one of the corners down a slight grade, all in a split second, I looked at Joey, who had a panicked look on his face, asked what was wrong, he replied with "NO BRAKES!!, and next thing I knew Joey and his bike were laying in a pricker bush along the side of the trail. I was so scared that he had gotten seriously hurt, probably more scared than Joey-the one who actually crashed. But being the tough guy he is, there were no tears or complaints. He pulled his bike back onto the trail and we got all of his scratches all cleaned up. It looked like he had gotten into a brawl with a big mean cat. Joey said later that it was either the bushes or the pavement and the metal fence- I guess I would have picked the bushes too, even with the pricker bushes (which he found out were there after the fact). At that point, we were only a couple miles from getting to town and the bike shop, so Joe was able to fix his breaks enough to get us there without any more incidents. So, with the trail now covered in leaves from the commotion, we continued on. Right before getting into town, a couple guys sitting on a bench asked us where we were traveling to and from. We gave them our usual explanation and talked for a few minutes answering their questions. Just before we were ready to leave, one of the guys gave us a small dream catcher with blue feathers that he had made out of a twig and twine. He was so impressed with our trip that he insisted on giving it to us; it was just so nice of him. The bike shop was only about a block away from where the trail ended, so we were able to make it there on time. It was a little after 6 when we walked in, but the lights and everything were still on. Joey was able to get what he needed and get his brakes all back in working order. We stayed there talking to the guy for a little bit and explaining that we might ride to the hot springs in the park (which we learned was 40 miles away). Since we were kind of tight on time, the guy at the bike shop suggested we take the bus out to get us closer to the hot spring tomorrow and offered for us to leave our bags at the shop. So, that's what we plan to do tomorrow so that we have plenty of time to relax there. After riding around, we found a park area near the fair grounds to camp. It looks like it was set up as a campground originally. We were still so full from lunch, that we just ate the rest of our french bread and went to bed. It was already getting really cold out, so we got in our sleeping bags really quick. We rode 55.62 miles today.
|
|