SIR 1,000K Washington Coast Pre-ride

Am I more tired now than after the Portland - Glacier 1,000K two weeks ago? Geez, I don't know. I'm tired, no doubt about it. If I look at the pictures of the three of us - Mark Thomas, Vincent Muoneke, and myself at the end of each ride, I'd say we're more tired now than at the end of that ride. At least we look more zombie like. A midnight start, a 440K day one, and then it being the 2nd 1,000K in two weeks (on top of 2 600K's shortly before that) probably give the nod to this ride.

So where did we go? We started out at the Bainbridge ferry terminal at about 11:30 PM on Thursday and headed west to Port Townsend, and then around the Olympic Peninsula, ending day one a bit before 11 PM in Aberdeen. We had a nice breakfast in Sequim and enjoyed the great views of Lake Crescent (left) from the very narrow, curvy shoulders of US-101. A not so pleasant climb up from the Lake in the heat and searing sun ... probably only mid 80's, but we're used to the cool, cloudy, rainy NW ... before a late lunch in Forks. The heat was especially hard on Mark ... he almost lost what little of the lunch that he did eat.


From there it was down the west side of the Peninsula ... we made it to Kalaloch ...and I nearly froze. It was cloudy and cool ... the ocean was probably there somewhere, we did hear it...and eventually saw a little of it. It was a long stretch from there to the day's end in Aberdeen ... with one more stop at Amanda Park near Lake Quinalt where it was hot again ... 85 or so. One of the high points of the day was a surprise when we got to the motel ... Trudy had left us some cold bears and Arby's sandwiches when she left the drop bags ... they hit the spot! After 440K and 23 hours of riding, we were wiped.

Day two was trouble ... a cumulative lack of sleep (3:45 AM wake-up) and horrible coffee at Denny's almost put Mark over the edge. Starting the day with almost losing your breakfast is not a good way to start. Fortunately Mark's stomach eventually settled down and we were able to pick up the pace shortly after Westport. However, that was when Vincent's bike started making more noise. It came and went, our diagnosis was a possible bottom bracket problem. Vincent was not a happy camper, as he had just taken the bike in to have that very issue looked at. When we reached Raymond, Vincent called his son to have him bring a replacement bike to the next control. of course this was the farthest distance from Seattle at Ocean Park on the Long Beach peninsula. But it all worked out ... the bike held out till then, his son made it there with the replacement bike, we had a much needed lunch, and we were back on the road. If our pace on the 2nd half of the day was similar to the first half, we wouldn't finish until 1:30 AM. Ugh.

We did pick up the pace though. The rollers that were so tough when we rode south were not so bad going north ... don't know why. We rolled into Aberdeen around 11. while Lacrosse had thrown us a parade two weeks earlier, Aberdeen welcomed us with fireworks ... it was distracting to say the least ... but spectacular and memorable. No Arby's for dinner tonight though. we had stopped and eaten in Raymond, 25 miles earlier, so we weren't famished. I did have an Ensure and a beer before bed. 770K of 1,015 K done. Great progress.

Day three was by far the shortest day, with "only" 245K to go. And we got to sleep in ... til 5:20 anyway. Don Jameson, the ride organizer had driven down to pcik up the drop bags, so we were able to take care of that detail before we left ... thanks Don!


Aside from starting on empty, the day would be relatively easy. It didn't feel that way though. Lots of rolling hills and that nasty, nasty chip seal took its toll. Here are Mark and Vincent at the top of Walker Pass (right).






We were back on familiar roads ... the ride from Aberdeen to McLeary was much of what we had ridden on the Fleche back in April and then the ride north from Shelton on US-101 to Quilcene along the Hood Canal was one we've ridden on permanents several times this year alone. From Quilcene to Port Hadlock on Center Road ... with chip seal, sun, and hills was one we were glad to get behind us... now only 37 miles to go! The ride across the Hood canal bridge was much more pleasant ... and safer, now that the east half of the bridge has been replaced ... but it is still a stressful experience. On the way to Poulsbo, up an 18 % grade my Garmin insults me by "auto-pausing" as I climb ... apparently so slowly (3.5 mph at one point) that it thought I was stopped and it should stop recording.

We make it to the end with time enough before the next ferry to stop at a convenience store for a beer and chips for the ride back to Seattle ... what a nice way to end.

Hood Canal Repeat Hood Canal

Don Boothby, Bill Gobie, Dave Harper, Vincent Muoneke, and I met at the 6:10 AM ferry yesterady to do the Hood Canal Loop. Don, Bill, and Dave did the Hood Canal 2.0; Vinceent and I went for the original - having just done 2.0 on Wednesday.

The courses are very similar, sharing the same start from Bainbridge to the Beaver Valley turnoff on 104, the same Center Road to Quilcene, 101 to Potlatch, and Gorst to the ferry sections. They differ in that 2.0 has a 104 to Chimacum to 104 stretch and takes 106 along the south end of the canal and then Old Belfair highway to get from Potlatch to Gorst, while the original gets there via Shelton and SR-3 and a loop to Grapeview. The original has more climbing 6,600 feet vs. 5,300 feet. They both share the opportunity for German Sausage & beer at Fritz' at the Bremerton ferry terminal ... a great motivator!

Having just done both, I'd say the new one is the nicer ride, but it does miss out on the wonderful Grapeview loop ... and more fast food choices (in Shelton). We went for the taco option. They took a while to kick in, but did in time for the climbs up SR-3.

We all rode together Port Gamble and then across the Hood Canal bridge over to the Beaver Valley turnoff from 104 ... with Bill on his recumbent lagging behind on the uphills and zipping past us on the downhills. Then we parted ways, meeting back up at the ferry terminal in time for the 5:30.

The first half of the ride was foggy and cold, barely above freezing ... and with a wind chill of 15 degrees as we zipping down from Walker Pass. There was evidence of black ice ... a van spun out in front of us on 104, ending up at a 90 degree angle across the opposite lane. The sun came out midday and we actually had blue sky. It was a nice day for a ride!

The ferry rides were enjoyable too, as we relived our SIR exploits. Did you remember when ...

RUSA 0536 Hood Canal Loop 2.0

2 Degrees above Celsius

That's what the temperature was when we reached the first control at Chimacum. It was cold (obviously), we were wet, and had been riding into the wind. The word "miserable" came to mind. It could be worse ... there could be ice. After stuffing our faces, we headed down the road towards Quilcene. Before we got there ... what did we run into? Not ice, but a bit of slushy snow was falling. Oops!

Fortunately it stopped by the time we hit Quilcene. On the way out of town Joe wanted to stop at the Forest Service office, but the parking lot was covered with ... yes, ice. He decided to wait.

From there we headed up Walker Pass ... would it be snowing? and sitcking? Part way up what do we see but a DOT snowplow coming down. Is that a good sign? Probably not. It is now raining again ... and soon it turns to snow. And now the snowplow comes back, headed up the hill. Definately not a good sign. As we near the top, the snow starts sticking, but fortunately it is pretty slushy and we ride through it. It is cold though! Especially as we ride down the south side.

We soon make it to Brinnon, almost the half-way point. What do we see as we pull into the Tesoro but Vincent! A welcome sight for sure. December 31st, snow along the roads, and we run into a fellow SIR randonneur! We spend a few minutes catching up and then head south together. We ride to Hoodsport, where we refuel, then to Potlatch, where we head our seperate ways ... Vincent to Olympia (end of Olympia-Brinnon ride), Joe & I to Bremerton (end of Hood Canal Loop 2.0).

We are making pretty good time ... close to being able to make the 4:35 ferry. Past Belfair, on the Old Belfair Highway, Joe got a flat. Changing the tire in the cold was tough ... took quite a while. Joe pumps it up and ... it leaks out the valve. Darn. He pumps it up again and ... it holds. We were now at risk of missing the 5:30 ferry. But we hit the road and make the ferry (barely)! We've done it!

RUSA 083: Why would anyone

... in their right mind ride across the Hood Canal Bridge? Sure, if you look at the scenery from the bridge it is wonderful, but who can look at it? The "shoulders" are minimal to non-existent on either end, there is the gap in the middle of the bridge that is great at grabbing tires, and then there are the metal grates on either end and in the middle. While you can avoid the grates by riding on the very edge of the road, the covering on the metal plates has worn off in large chunks ... so not much better than the grates, but okay as long as you keep it totally straight. Not easy to do with a semi blaring by and the metal plates banging. It is a stressful experience. And on this ride (RUSA 83, Hood Canal North) you get to do it twice !!

A screw loose, not playing with a full deck, bonkers ... but that is what I did today. At least it wasn't foggy when I crossed it today.

On the other hand if I had ridden the Hood Canal Loop and only crossed the bridge once today I would have ended up in Bremerton ... where the ferry terminal was closed due to a bomb threat. So this must have been the right choice.

Rational thought was not my strong suit today. Or was it? On the way back I convinced myself that it was better to take it easy, stop and get something to eat, than push it a bit and catch an earlier ferry. So I missed the 4:35 ferry by 2-3 minutes and was able to ride "easy" the last 3 hours and stop at McDonalds because it made more sense?

I must have fallen out of bed and hit my head last night!

RUSA 203 Hood Canal Loop

Sunny and 71 in late October. It was a great day to be out on the bike. Steve Davis, Albert Meerscheidt, Thai Nguyen, Eamon Stanley and I got up well before the roosters crowed and caught the 6:10 AM ferry to Bainbridge to do the Hood Canal Loop.

Billed as a ride to control the symptoms that have led to several mid-week sick-day rides for ailing SIR members, I for one can state it was succesful. I did not realize however, that my symptoms would be replaced by sore, tired legs brought on by a sub-9 hour ride. While the five of us rode together for the first stretch of the ride to Suquamish, shortly thereafter we split into two groups. Eamon must have had a burr on his saddle, as he was riding fast. Thai seemed to have no trouble keeping up, but I kept dropping off the back. Fortunately a few construction zones, with stops by the flaggers provided me the opportunity to catch up. However, by Shelton, I was done. After a quick stop, Eamon went on while Thai and I took the opportunity to refuel with a bite to eat.

We did catch up with Eamon neear the Grapeview info control ... which was no longer there. So I came up with a new question for the next riders.

While it was cold to start and there was fog along the Hood Canal Bridge, the rest of the ride was clear and sunny, with temperatures quite comfortable. Although the reading was a bit suspect, the sign in Belfair read 71 as we rode by in the middle of the afternoon.

Thai, Eamon, and I reached the end by 3:40, with time to enjoy a sausage & beer at Fritz' before the 4:15 ferry. Alfred and Steve had a more sane ride and caught the 6:40 ferry.