Day 3: August 2, 2013: Mercer Island to Montesano, WA
79.3 miles, pace: 13.7 mph
Day 3 was a "mixed-media" day. We started early--around 630AM--with a "quick jog" of 6+ miles to the Seattle Ferry Terminal where we caught a boat to Bremerton, on the Kitsap penninsula. The day was more than foggy, with a very light, misty rain over the Sound. The views were classic Seattle, and we had a great view of the city through the overcast skies.
At Bremerton we took an immediate right and boarded the "foot ferry." The foot ferry is a fast-moving, non-vehicle ferry that takes foot (and bike) passengers from Bremerton to a couple of destinations immediately across the Sound. In our case, the 12 minute ride took us to Port Orchard where we started the next, longer segment of the day's bike journey.
Our ultimate destination was a small western Washington town called, "Montesano." I had spent about 1 1/2 hrs the night before trying to plot the best route, but it was somewhat challenging, as there were a variety of different paths, and it was unclear which had the most favorable elevation changes (meaning, I wanted to avoid big hills). The road immediately leaving Port Orchard had some nice views of the Sound and the hills of Bremerton immediately across from Port Orchard. But, quickly enough we were on busy highways, climbing pretty big hills along WA-3 and then WA-106.
WA -106 led us to the-appropriately-named, "E. Trails End Rd" which started with one of the steepest hills I've ever had the misfortune to encounter. Perhaps it would have been better named, "your-trails-end road." We had about 12 miles on this byway. It was dark; rain was threatening; there were big forests on either side of the road. Cars were few and far between. It basically felt as if we were in the bicycle version of the Blair Witch Project. I considered taking some shakey video to complete the mood.
East Trails End eventually took us back to civilization and the town of Shelton where we were fortunate to find a Denny's for lunch. At least it was fortunate for me. I had a killer pancake "slam" meal. Everyone else seemed to get indigestion. The Denny's established my pattern for the trip--totally pigging out at lunch. Have to get those calories in!
After leaving Shelton we met up with the road that would be our near constant companion in the coming days--Hwy 101. At first blush, riding a bike along the edge of a busy 4-lane highway doesn't seem like the kind of experience cyclists yearn for. But, after spending a number of miles on several other local Washington highways (I'm talking about you WA-108!) the 10 ft shoulder of US101 seemed like a real luxury. Remember--it's not how fast the cars go that you need to worry about; i
t's how close they are.
We finally exited the freeway and local highways and followed several local country roads through a beautiful pastoral landscape. This was one of the nicest parts of the ride and we enjoyed both the scenary and the lightly trafficed roads. This took us to the small town of Elma--11 miles from Montesano--where we stopped at a small local coffee shop for some refreshment before we rode the last leg to our destination.
At this point, we thought we were pretty much home free--flat roads with enough life left in our legs. The road from Elma was called Monte-Elma road and like many of the back-roads we encountered that day, it had a kind of weird paving surface. It seemed like WDOT was too cheap to pay for actual asphalt. So, they built roads with this super-rough surface, constructed--I believe--by mixing together a thick flour and water paste, and then setting gravel on top of it.
For cyclists, this is like affixing one of those "magic fingers" vibrators to your helmet and turning it to "max." We arrived in Montesano shaken--not stirred (note poor 007 reference).
Our lodging made up for it. We stayed at the Abel House B&B, and were hosted by Jerry and Granny who delighted us with their hospitality, and who recommended the "Bee Hive," where we dined that evening. The Bee Hive makes killer chowder.
79.3 miles, pace: 13.7 mph
Day 3 was a "mixed-media" day. We started early--around 630AM--with a "quick jog" of 6+ miles to the Seattle Ferry Terminal where we caught a boat to Bremerton, on the Kitsap penninsula. The day was more than foggy, with a very light, misty rain over the Sound. The views were classic Seattle, and we had a great view of the city through the overcast skies.
At Bremerton we took an immediate right and boarded the "foot ferry." The foot ferry is a fast-moving, non-vehicle ferry that takes foot (and bike) passengers from Bremerton to a couple of destinations immediately across the Sound. In our case, the 12 minute ride took us to Port Orchard where we started the next, longer segment of the day's bike journey.Our ultimate destination was a small western Washington town called, "Montesano." I had spent about 1 1/2 hrs the night before trying to plot the best route, but it was somewhat challenging, as there were a variety of different paths, and it was unclear which had the most favorable elevation changes (meaning, I wanted to avoid big hills). The road immediately leaving Port Orchard had some nice views of the Sound and the hills of Bremerton immediately across from Port Orchard. But, quickly enough we were on busy highways, climbing pretty big hills along WA-3 and then WA-106.
WA -106 led us to the-appropriately-named, "E. Trails End Rd" which started with one of the steepest hills I've ever had the misfortune to encounter. Perhaps it would have been better named, "your-trails-end road." We had about 12 miles on this byway. It was dark; rain was threatening; there were big forests on either side of the road. Cars were few and far between. It basically felt as if we were in the bicycle version of the Blair Witch Project. I considered taking some shakey video to complete the mood.
East Trails End eventually took us back to civilization and the town of Shelton where we were fortunate to find a Denny's for lunch. At least it was fortunate for me. I had a killer pancake "slam" meal. Everyone else seemed to get indigestion. The Denny's established my pattern for the trip--totally pigging out at lunch. Have to get those calories in!
After leaving Shelton we met up with the road that would be our near constant companion in the coming days--Hwy 101. At first blush, riding a bike along the edge of a busy 4-lane highway doesn't seem like the kind of experience cyclists yearn for. But, after spending a number of miles on several other local Washington highways (I'm talking about you WA-108!) the 10 ft shoulder of US101 seemed like a real luxury. Remember--it's not how fast the cars go that you need to worry about; i
We finally exited the freeway and local highways and followed several local country roads through a beautiful pastoral landscape. This was one of the nicest parts of the ride and we enjoyed both the scenary and the lightly trafficed roads. This took us to the small town of Elma--11 miles from Montesano--where we stopped at a small local coffee shop for some refreshment before we rode the last leg to our destination.
At this point, we thought we were pretty much home free--flat roads with enough life left in our legs. The road from Elma was called Monte-Elma road and like many of the back-roads we encountered that day, it had a kind of weird paving surface. It seemed like WDOT was too cheap to pay for actual asphalt. So, they built roads with this super-rough surface, constructed--I believe--by mixing together a thick flour and water paste, and then setting gravel on top of it.
For cyclists, this is like affixing one of those "magic fingers" vibrators to your helmet and turning it to "max." We arrived in Montesano shaken--not stirred (note poor 007 reference).
Our lodging made up for it. We stayed at the Abel House B&B, and were hosted by Jerry and Granny who delighted us with their hospitality, and who recommended the "Bee Hive," where we dined that evening. The Bee Hive makes killer chowder.
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