Week 1 Done! It's in the bag folks!
I have officially made it through one week. I survived and have all of my lives intact. Life is good.
This trip started off with a bang. I landed in Seattle LATE last Wednesday and was somewhat astonished when I discovered that my bike had arrived unscathed.
I put my bike together and rode a few miles down the road to a grocery store (an important first stop) where I was greeted kindly by an officer of the force who inquired about my destination for the evening. I told him the truth ... I was going to finish my meal, ride a few miles down the road to Saltwater State Park and go to sleep. I finished my meal, said good evening and did just that!
The next day was the real start to my adventure. I rode my bike North toward Seatac, took the metro in to China Town and promptly got a ferry ticket to Bainbridge island. After a quick stop at Swift Industries for some last minute repairs on my bike (turns out I had installed the front rack backwards ... whoops!) I set off for Bainbridge.
Bainbridge is one of a handful of islands in the Puget Sound and would be where I would spend my second night.
Fey Bainbridge State park, a small coastal park on the northern portion of the island would be where I would sleep for nights two and three.
It was a beautiful little park with a handful of campsites nestled into the woods with a few more along the beach. Day 3 took me back into Seattle for a few errands and then I was ready to head off to the peninsula.
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Day 4 would be a rather short day, riding from Fey Bainbridge to a park just north,
I ended up setting up camp just barely above the tide line ... as the water came in I discovered that the path to my camp WAS NOT above the tideline. Looks like I wouldn't be going anywhere that evening...
As was my experience most days, I woke early with the sun and reveled in the freedom that I had claimed for myself.
Day 5 would be the hardest of the trip to date. I was planning on a decent ride, 30 or so miles culminating in a state park near Port Townsend. As I was riding north I matched with a REALLY cute girl on tinder ... my path had been altered!!
I ended up taking a ferry over to the island she lived on ... only to get ghosted ... looks like my east coast game may need some practice in order to get any out here on the West Coast.
That day I rode 40 miles. Not a humungous amount but with the weight of my bike and the hills of the Pacific Northwest, I was beat!!!
I took a short day the following day, riding back to Port Townsend, my original destination, lounging around town all day and camping just outside of town that evening. In Port Townsend I met a really cute girl who I ended up spending an afternoon an early evening with. Bike life is Freedom!!!
Day 6 would be medium day of about 30 miles. I rode to Sequim Bay State Park, a GORGEOUS park along the Puget Sound. I probably spent 3 to 4 hours relaxing on a park bench, waiting for the day to pass by and for my stomach to notify me that dinner should be prepared shortly.
I met a cool couple from France who were riding their bikes along the West Coast. In the morning I offered them some coffee and they graciously accepted. To my surprise, the young woman offered me some shower tokens (they use tokens in WA to deter thieves) and I took my first shower of the trip. Hoorah!
From Sequim Bay I rode 20 miles to Port Angeles. My legs were on their own personal last legs. I needed a break. I got into town and instantly found myself at a bar with a cold beer in front of me ... how did that happen!?!?
After two brews I began trying to discover where I would be spending the night that evening. I had reached out to a few people on couch surfing. One responded ... but he was nearly 10 miles back in the direction I had just came. I stopped by a grocery store and was told by a young woman who worked there that there was a hostel not far from where we were... Salvation!!
I've been here at the Toad Lily house for the past two nights and will be spending one more here.
Tomorrow I am departing for the Olympic Hot Springs, an eden hidden in the woods. I am going to be spending two nights there, soaking my body in the warm, healing waters. I am going to do a day hike into the mountains and then return back to Port Angeles for a few more days before heading west.
