Map courtesy of AAA

Friday July 9, 1999, evening - In Seattle, WA
We have arrived in Seattle and we are on our way to Bainbridge island.

Saturday July 10, 1999 morning - Hello from the Olympic Peninsula
We took the 10:45 ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island. The view of the night skyline was quite spectacular.

We asked one of the ferry attendants where we could camp for the night. She called the captain who lives on the island and he directed us to a place. From the ferry we took a 9.62 mile night ride to Faye Bainbridge State Park. It is really not that far but it was a new moon and we passed it the first time. We got there late, about 1:00 am, and it took us a while to find a place for us to sleep. We ended up just throwing our pads and bags near someone's tent and sleeping. It was amazingly warm and seemed to be without the threat of rain.

We woke up to the cacophony of crows in the trees. We got sort of a late start. Dan had to wait about a half hour for some guy in the shower who must have been getting ready for his senior citizen prom. We took cold showers because we were too lazy to get quarters.

We rode north on 305 for about 6 miles before taking a detour for breakfast in Suquomish at a place called Doc Marlin's.

We will head to Port Townsend today.
Tad

Saturday July 10, 1999 evening - In Port Townsend
As we sit in a McDonalds in Port Townsend we are dreading the ride back to the camp ground. Last report was from Doc Marlin's in Suquomish. We ride up hills and down them for a beautiful but hard day to Old Fort Townsend State Park. It was 42 miles to the camp ground with lots of big hills and some wind. We stopped and had some cherries, $1 per basket, yummm, and we ate them straight away. We met a couple in Port Gamble before crossing the hood canal, they were from Seattle and you could tell they did not like Californians. They told us to tell all our friends that it rains all the time, which it does, ALOT.

We have been lucky thus far with the weather, it has been very nice. Now it is windy here in Port Townsend, blowing the wrong direction to blow us back to the tent :(

Bye for now,
Dan and Tad

Sunday July 11, 1999 - Old Fort Townsend to Quilcene
We had a great campsite in Old Fort Townsend. If it would have had showers I would give it five stars. We met a couple, Blaze and Amy, and boy, a friend of the family, there. They were very nice. We sat by their fire for quite a while, ate some of their peanuts, and they also gave us chocolate chip cookies!

We left in the morning around 9:30 and had a pretty good ride of 22 miles into Quilcene, where we sit now in a small cafe called Loggers Landing.

Another big event is that Dan had the first flat tire of the trip. It happened by hitting a bump and pinching the oversized tube in the tire. We changed it in no time and we were on our way.

Till later,
Dan

Monday July 12, 1999 - Quilcene to Potlatch and Potlatch to Olympia
We had a long hot ride wit lots of great views and Dan had another flat tire. We got groceries in Hoodsport and marveled at the white trash going in and out of town.

We camped in Potlatch; the campground was great but the biker site was crummy.

We got up late and headed off to Olympia to Rich's place. We went past his place and put on some extra unnecessary miles into Olympia itself. We got back to Rich's place and were truly impressed by the splendor of the Sound.

Now we are cruising around Olympia with Rich.

Till Later,
Tad and Dan

Map courtesy of AAA

Tuesday July 13, 1999, afternoon - Olympia to McCleary
We got a late start from Riches place but we tuned up our bikes and charged our radios. We both slept very well and we also washed our clothes so overall it was a very good stay at Rich's.

As we got on the road we had to go a mile past our turnoff to Hwy 8 because 101 south did not have an exit. Then we had to go back up a big hill that turned into the wind when we merged onto Hwy 8 west. We grinded up the hill hoping to be rewarded with a nice downhill coast, but it ended up being a battle versus the wind, we won but there were casualties... we are not to our destination yet :) We are currently in McCleary and we will probably stop short of Westport and stay in Montesano. We could use another short day.

Till Next Time,
Tad and Dan

Wednesday July 13, 1999 - McCleary to Lake Sylvia State Park in Montesano

We had the wind at our face for about 30 of the 40 miles we put in today. There was nothing particularly eventful. We keep meeting people who ask us how far we are going. That is sorta fun. One note about the Lake Sylvia State Park: it is about two miles UP the hill once you reach Montesano. We wish we would have known that before we came all the way up here. Neither of us feels like riding back into town to get food so we will just have black bean soup tonight.

There is apparently some rain in the forecast for tomorrow or the day after. I have heard both.

Dan is riding very strong. If I let him lead, he goes at a pace that is painful for me on almost every peddle stroke. We are both pretty sore right now and hope tomorrow's ride is without the headwind.

Catch you later,
Tad

Map courtesy of AAA

Thursday July 14, 1999 - Montesano to Westport 32 miles
Dan and I got an early start today in hopes of beating the rain to our next camp site. It worked pretty well.

Another group did make it into camp with us last night; they were a young couple. They pulled in just before dark. They were both on mountain bikes and he pulled a burly trailer loaded with stuff. We talked to them a little bit but they did not seem that interested in talking. They said that they had come from Potlatch that morning and were headed to Bush Pacific Park today. That is a lot farther than we are going but they may be staying on 101 and bypassing Westport all together.

We ate breakfast this morning at Duffys in Abberdeen. We both had biscuits and gravy which were too much money and not very good. We then moved on to the other side of town and bought some groceries before continuing on our ride to Westport.

In Bay City, just before Westport, we stopped at a little sausage shop and bought a couple of German garlic sausages for dinner tonight.

After we reached camp, Dan and I read a bit and then set up the tent for a nap. Our nap was cut short by a racoon stealing our marshmellows and the rest of an italian sausage we had bought for lunch. He was a daring little guy. I guess we will have to bag our food to keep him out of it.

Talk to you soon,
Tad

Sunday July 17, 1999 - Across the Oregon Border
Dan and I will soon cross over into Oregon. We took a rest day and are about ready to leave.

Yesterday was cloudy and misty or rainy all day. Today might be a little better. I will write more at lunch.

Tad