We started our trip in Seattle. First thing after breakfast, we rode to the ferry
which took us across to Bainbridge Island, one of the larger islands in the Puget Sound. This was our longest day of riding.... 100 miles. Of course, since we were self supported that meant that we could jump in and out of the SAG van at any time. A couple of the guys did ride the full compliment of miles. Others stopped at the lunch stop, Fat Smitty's, while a few of the girls took advantage of the SAG for a while and then started riding again after lunch. Us girls rode parts of the Olympic Discovery Trail until we saw a sign that mentioned a cougar siting. At that point, we called Paul and Brad to come get us. As it turned out, we were tired anyway and another cyclists told us we still had about another 5 hard miles to go before we reached town. We stayed at the Inn at Rooster Hill in Port Angeles, a B&B we highly recommend if you are in the area. The following day, a couple of the guys ventured up Hurricane Ridge while the rest of us rode the Salt Creek Park loop. We rode along the Little River Road, made a stop of the Joyce General Store, cycled the shoreline, and passed under some WWII bunkers before returning to the inn.
Another ferry ride the next morning to Victoria, BC, in Canada and a short ride to Sidney and the Sidney Waterfront Inn. This was a beautiful ride along the coastline; probably the most scenic of all the days. We had rain the next morning, so we all went sightseeing in Victoria at the Royal British Columbia Museum, had a bite for lunch, and stopped by a local bike shop before returning for an afternoon
ride. Our ride took us out to Butchart Gardens. Some of the group toured the gardens. Paul and I had been through them before so we did a load of laundry and then rode out to meet everyone.We are off for another ferry ride, this time to Orcas Island. There was a lot of fog which put the ferry schedules behind and our SAG was late arriving on the island. Once on Orcas Island we had to ride a short 12 miles in the rain. We stopped in town for some wine, though. Paul carried 3 bottles in the backpack and Brad carried another bottle in his camelback. Do we sound desperate?
Light rain and fog the next morning so we went sightseeing around the island. The
afternoon was beautiful so most everyone went for a spin. Everything was very green and just beautiful with little to no traffic and just hilly enough to make you work hard at times.The next morning we caught the ferry from Orcas Island to Anacortes. Once in Anacortes, it was raining again. Since we were self-supported, our van would hold all of our luggage, 6 bikes, and 6 people. That meant that 4 people had to ride at all times. This was not a problem til today. Paul along with 3 of the other guys rode 60 miles in the rain to Mukilteo; even crossing over Deception Pass. Boy, were they dirty and muddy when they finally arrived.
Our last full day before heading home and we shuttle everyone back to Seattle. We
took some time to explore the famous Pike Place Market, took a short ride along some of Seattle's bike trails, then packed the bikes for the return trip home.We have to give Rickey credit for organizing this trip. He found us great bike routes with low traffic and beautiful scenery. The weather was typical Washington State weather... usually fog and light rain in the mornings with sunshine in the afternoons.
