Day 4-Salt Creek to Bogachiel State Park

Our earliest start so far-we were on the road by around 9:15. Previous to this, we were riding generally by 11:15 or so. Leaving the campground, the road follows the shoreline of Crescent Bay, a lovely arc of white sand beach, maybe a mile or longer. We saw a group (herd?) of otters just offshore catching fish and devouring them.
On the previous day, we had a fast downhill run off of the highway down to the beach, and we had to pay for it on the way out. Crescent Bay Road climbs steeply from the beach-a 10 to 12% grade for about a mile gets you back up to the highway. This road is a rude awakening to the first bit of riding in the morning. The day heated up quickly, and by the time we made it to the little hamlet of Joyce, we were ready for a cool drink , and each quickly downed a quart of Powerade. We were also very pleased to know that Powerade contains a substance that they call “Ion 4”. We have no idea what it does, but are pretty sure that it converts quickly to something we called “PeeOn 2”, as we had to stop shortly there after for couple of “nature breaks”.
On Hwy 112, we again enjoyed killer easterly tailwinds, that sped us along at speeds that made us feel like dudes in the Tour de France. I didn’t take too many photos, as the riding was way too fun…cruising on the flats at 26 and 28 mph. Also way fun were the fun downhills on Hwy 112. Whenever there was a hill to climb, it was followed by an outstanding downhill on good pavement and fun, technical turns. On one downhill, my top speed was 46mph, with turns that the signs said “30mph” taken at about 40, and 15mph indicated turns taken at 30mph+. The miles flew by occasional glimpses of the water and the Strait. Past Pysht, the road starts a gentle climb towards Hwy 113, which climbs over Burnt Mountain.
The climb up Hwy 113 is about 2 ½ to 3 miles long, gains about 800 feet at a reasonable 6 to 8% gradient. We had very little traffic, and the shoulders are adequate. After the summit, the road drops down to the Sol Duc river drainage and US 101. We were happy to see Janet and the Getaway van at a pullout offering cold water and delicious PBJ sandwiches.
On Hwy 101, we again had favorable tailwinds, inflating our cycling egos. The miles sped by, and soon we were approaching Forks. Just north of Forks, we stopped at the Smokehouse Restaurant and Lounge for refreshments. The restaurant looked more like a café (without the accent mark)or diner. The lounge was upstairs, and by the looks of things, it could be the happenin’ place, complete with a cranky old bartender and beer taps that didn’t work. But, they had big screen Tee-Vees, a Wii game, Guitar Hero, a big dance floor, and my favorite, a brass pole in the center of the dance floor! Pole Dancin’ in Forks! Yee Haw!
As we rode into Forks, we noticed everything in the town was all about “Twillight”. Twilight tours, Twilight gifts, gee gaws and souvenirs. Steve suffered some equipment failure earlier the day (a water bottle cage had broke), so we looked for a bike shop. We found several stores (like the Ace Hardware Store)that sold sporting goods, but that mostly meant fishing and hunting supplies. We did find Mr. Lew’s Bike Shop, and stopped there. The shop was a mess. It is primarily a bike repair shop, but he did have some retail stuff. The repair shop looked worse than my garage-there was crap everywhere. When Steve asked if he had a bottle cage for sale, Mr. Lew said no, but when Steve pointed one out in a cardboard box of junk, Mr. Lew said “You can have it for free”. Steve then turned on his excellent negotiating skills and gave Mr. Lew $5.00 for it. Mr. Lew was kinda cranky too, but pretty entertaining. He recommended some place at the south end of town for cold beers-said he couldn’t remember the name of it as he had a serious case of CRS. We cruised south and found the Mill Creek Bar and Grill, and enjoyed frosty cold Mac and Jack’s. The folks there were friendly, and the bartenders were not cranky.
After Mill Creek,we rode the remaining 6 miles to Bogachiel State Park where Janet had secured a site for us. At this camp, we met a couple of girls that were beginning their ride down the coast to San Diego. They were all enthusiastic-however we did have our doubts as to how having one cargo trailer that they shared towing duties was going to work out.