Days One & Two

I left my house at 8:40 Tuesday morning, with great weather-a little on the cool side, but very nice. The ride to Steve's house was routine, and Laura took a break from work to send us off. We rode to Seattle, and just missed the 11:25 ferry to Bainbridge, so we went and had espresso at Cafe Paloma in Pioneer Square. We made the 12:20 ferry, and soon were on Bainbridge Island, and took some time at Classic Cycles looking at their collection of classic and historic bicycles, talking with shop owner Jeff.

Back on the bikes, we retraced part of the Chilly Hilly route, to the west side of B.I., over Agate Passage to the Kitsap Peninsula. More riding through forest and trees, with the occasional glimpse of the water. We rode into Poulsbo, and met Steve's friend Steve Touger at the Central Market, grabbed a snack, then rode the beautiful Big Valley Road towards Steve's home overlooking Hood Canal. A couple of miles from Steve's house in 4 Corners, we stopped at Skellie's Tavern and had a cold beer, then continued on to Steve's great log home high above Hood Canal, with views of the Olympic Mountains. Janet met us at the house with the Getaway van, along with Brew, on his first big road trip.

Steve and his wife Jeanne were fabulous hosts, and we enjoyed delivered pizza for dinner, warm showers and great accommodations. We finished up with a great evening of conversation.

Total mileage for the day was just about 50 miles, with about 3,500 feet elevation gain.


On Wednesday, Jeanne made cappuccino, and Steve made some great cinnamon bread toast and oatmeal. Another day of great weather greeted us, and Steve and I hopped on our bikes and headed out with a strong north easterly breeze. We lucked out on our crossing of the Hood Canal Bridge, as some road construction on the approach to the bridge backed up traffic and gave us a break in the traffic so that we crossed almost entirely without vehicle traffic.

Once across the bridge, we got on small local roads, a short bit on State Hwy 104, then up Hwy 19 to Larson Lake Road, then Eaglemount Rd. to Hwy 20 back down the water. These roads climbed steadily to about 500' elevation, across a really pretty agricultural valley. The drop down Hwy. 20 was a great descent on smooth pavement.

We stopped at Discovery Bay for coffee, then back on US 101 for a while, then onto smaller secondary roads like Old Gardiner Hwy, Old Blyn Road, and others. We found the Olympic Discovery Trail, near the Klallam Indian Casino, and followed this newly finished trail int Sequim.

In Sequim we stopped at the Oasis Sports Bar, had a beer, and Janet met us there. We loaded the bikes in the van, and went in search of dinner. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant where the average patron's age was probably 75 or so. After dinner, we headed off to camp at Dungeness County Park.

Day's mileage-about 48. Elevation gain-about 2,500 feet